Jahiem Wickham earns ACC Defensive Player of the Week honors

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Syracuse goalkeeper Jahiem Wickham has been named the Atlantic Coast Conference’s Defensive Player of the Week, announced by the conference Tuesday. Clemson midfielder Ousmane Sylla was also honored as the ACC Offensive Player of the Week. Wickham is the first from SU to receive a Player of the Week award in 2023.

After taking over for Jason Smith as the starter in net, Wickham shined in two straight games. He kept a clean sheet against Colgate and followed up with another shutout against then-No. 13 North Carolina.

Wickham faced just five shots versus the Raiders, but came up with two crucial saves to maintain the Orange’s 1-0 lead in the second half. His presence in net was far more stable than Smith — who committed multiple errors in the 5-3 loss to then No. 21 Duke.

Three days later, Wickham had a career-high four saves on nine shots faced, helping the Orange defeat the Tar Heels 1-0. Wickham made a diving, full-extension save with less than two minutes left in the game to secure SU’s first away win of the year.

Through four appearances in net, Wickham has given up just one goal, averaging just 0.31 goals allowed per game. In all three of his starts, he’s posted a clean sheet and led Syracuse to a victory.