Delaware's Thomas de Villardi
Men's Soccer Weekly Honors - Oct. 19
Rob Washburn
CAA MEN'S SOCCER WEEKLY REPORT - OCT. 19 (PDF format)
CAA MEN'S SOCCER PLAYER OF THE WEEK:
Thomas de Villardi • Delaware
Jr., Defender, Vincennes, France/Lycee Notre-dame Guingamp
de Villardi contributed a goal and three assists as Delaware posted conference victories over Drexel and Northeastern last week. The junior defender had a career-best four points in a 5-1 win over the Dragons as he scored his first goal of the season and assisted on two others, including the game-winner. De Villardi also assisted on the game-winning goal in a 3-2 triumph at NU.
CAA MEN'S SOCCER ROOKIE OF THE WEEK:
Jaiden Fortune • Elon
Fr., Forward, Bedford, England/Pine Ridge
Fortune scored the game-winning goal in the 82nd minute as Elon rallied past James Madison, 2-1, last Saturday. The freshman forward was able to retrieve a deflected ball in the box and dribble past the keeper for his fourth goal of the season and his second game-winner. The victory pushed the Phoenix’s winning streak to four and moved them into a tie for first place in the CAA.
Around The League:
THREE CAA TEAMS RANKED IN NATIONAL POLL: For the sixth consecutive week, three CAA teams are ranked in national polls. In this week’s College Soccer News Top 30 poll, Elon moved up to #10, Hofstra is ranked #22 and UNCW is ranked #23. In the Top Drawer Soccer Top 25, Elon is ranked #14 while UNCW and Hofstra were among others receiving votes. In last week’s NSCAA Top 25, Elon was ranked #11, Hofstra was ranked #22 and UNCW was among others receiving votes. Soccer America ranked Elon at #16. Both groups will release a new poll on Tuesday.
THREE CAA TEAMS IN TOP 31 OF NCAA RPI: The CAA has three teams ranked among the top 31 of the NCAA Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) through games of October 18. Elon leads all CAA teams at #13, UNCW is ranked #30 and Hofstra is right behind at #31. The CAA, Big East, American and Conference USA are tied for the second-most teams in the top 31 of the RPI, trailing only the ACC with nine.
FOUR TEAMS CLINCH TOURNEY BERTHS: Four teams have clinched berths in the six-team CAA Men’s Soccer Championship. College of Charleston, Elon, Hofstra and UNCW have secured berths. Delaware needs one point over its final three matches to lock up a spot, while James Madison can make the field with one more win.
THREE CAA TEAMS AMONG TOP FIVE IN REGION: Three CAA teams were ranked among the top five in the NSCAA Midwest Region rankings on Oct. 13. Elon topped the group of conference squads at #1, followed by Hofstra at #3 and UNCW at #5. The Midwest Region includes schools from the CAA, Big Ten and Atlantic 10. A new poll will be released on Tuesday afternoon.
CAA TEAMS, PLAYERS AMONG NCAA STAT LEADERS: UNCW ranks ninth in the nation in goals per game (2.23) and seventh in points per game (6.31), while Elon is 13th in goals per game (2.14), 16th in points (6.07) and 19th in shutouts (.50). College of Charleston is 16th in saves per game (5.15) and Drexel is 17th (5.14). Individually, UNCW’s Colin Bonner ranks 23rd in points per game (1.46) and Hofstra’s Joseph Holland ranks 17th in assists per game (0.50) and 31st in points per game (1.36). Delaware keeper Todd Morton is 19th in save percentage (.833) and 21st in GAA (0.67), while CofC’s Kevin Shields is 18th in saves per game (4.80 spg).
COFC’S LUNDY RECORDS 300TH VICTORY: Head coach Ralph Lundy recorded his 300th win at the College of Charleston as the Cougars knocked off first-place Hofstra, 1-0, last Saturday. Lundy, who is in his 29th season at CofC, ranks fifth among active Division I coaches with 431 victories over 40 years. Junior Hamilton Carlin scored the game-winning goal vs. Hofstra in the 19th minute as he headed in a pass from Adam Purvis. Freshman goalkeeper Kevin Shields made it stand up, making seven saves and recording his third shutout of the year. CofC suffered a heartbreaking 3-2 loss at No. 2 North Carolina last Tuesday as the Tar Heels scored in the 90th minute. The Cougars twice erased one-goal deficits at UNC as Nico Rittmeyer scored his fourth goal of the year and Jacob Nelson had his second.
ELON MOVES INTO TIE FOR FIRST PLACE: Nationally ranked Elon earned 2-1 victories over UNCW and James Madison last week to move back into a tie for first place in the CAA. Senior James Brace scored the game-winning goal at UNCW in the 65th minute as he converted a cross from Caue Da Silva. It was Brace’s fifth goal of the year and his third game-winner. Senior Eduardo Alvarez also tallied his fifth goal of the year at UNCW as he converted a penalty kick in the 56th minute that gave the Phoenix a 1-0 lead. Elon rallied from an early 1-0 deficit against JMU as senior Nathan Diehl recorded his third goal of the season in the 39th minute and freshman Jaiden Fortune followed with the game-winner in the 82nd minute. It was Fortune’s fourth goal of the season and second game-winner. Elon’s crowd of 1,300 vs. JMU was its third crowd of better than 1,000 this season.
BACK-TO-BACK WINS FOR BLUE HENS: Delaware posted back-to-back wins for the first time since early September, defeating Drexel, 5-1, and Northeastern, 3-2, last week. The Blue Hens had their top offensive performance of the year against Drexel. Junior Thomas de Villardi tallied a career-high four points with a goal and two assists, while junior Guillermo Delgado recorded his team-high sixth goal of the year and added an assist. Sophomores Ryan Talbot and Thibault Philippe contributed a goal in each match last week. Senior Joe Dipre tallied a goal and an assist at NU and is now tied for fifth in career assists at UD with 13. Redshirt freshman goalkeeper Todd Morton made eight saves last week, including five against NU. He has a 0.67 GAA in seven matches this season.
FOSTER LIFTS UNCW TO ROAD WIN: Nationally ranked UNCW rallied for a 2-1 double-overtime victory at William & Mary last Saturday when junior Kellen Foster scored the game-winning goal with 1:27 to play. It was the first goal of the season for Foster, who found the net from 10 yards out following a Ben Fisher corner kick. UNCW had its eight-match home unbeaten streak snapped in a 2-1 loss to Elon last Wednesday. Freshman Joel Bylander tied the match at 1-1 in the 57th minute with the first goal of his collegiate career. He became the 11th different UNCW player to score a goal this season. Fisher also assisted on that goal and he now has five for the year.
HOFSTRA’S HOLLAND TAKES OVER CAA POINTS LEAD: Nationally ranked Hofstra edged Northeastern 2-1 in double overtime last Wednesday as junior Joseph Holland scored the game-winning goal in the 107th minute. It was the sixth goal of the year for Holland, who tops the CAA with eight assists and took over the league lead in points with 20. The match was the fourth consecutive double overtime contest for the Pride, which was the most since 2012. Lerthon Theuma scored his first goal of the season in the 34th minute and sophomore Jon Fraser assisted on both scores vs. NU. The Pride suffered their first CAA loss, 1-0, at College of Charleston last Saturday despite out-shooting the Cougars 15-6.
TWO-GOAL WEEK FOR JMU’S COWARD: James Madison split a pair of conference matches last week, defeating William & Mary 3-1, but losing 2-1 at Elon. Junior forward Connor Coward scored a goal in each match, recording the Dukes’ final goal in the 68th minute against W&M and providing JMU with a quick 1-0 advantage just 8:03 into the game at Elon. Coward has scored a team-high four goals, all of which have come in the past six games. Toby Appleton picked up his second goal of the year to tie the contest against W&M and senior Bjarki Aðalsteinsson provided the game-winner in the 60th minute. Freshman Billy Metzler had his team-leading fourth assist at Elon.
NORTHEASTERN’S PIERROT CONTINUES SCORING SURGE: Northeastern came up short in a pair of CAA matches last week, losing 2-1 in double overtime to Hofstra and 3-2 to Delaware. All five of the Huskies’ conference losses have been by just one goal, including two in double OT. Sophomore Frantzdy Pierrot recorded his team-leading fifth goal of the season at UD and has now scored in four of his past five matches. At Hofstra, sophomore Christian McKenna’s first goal of the season tied the match at 1-1 in the 54th minute. Sophomore Khesanio Hall picked up two assists last week and tops the Huskies with four for the year.
W&M SUFFERS PAIR OF SETBACKS: William & Mary suffered a pair of setbacks in CAA play last week, losing 3-1 at James Madison and dropping a 2-1 double-overtime decision to UNCW. The Tribe held a 1-0 advantage in both matches. Freshman Ryder Bell moved into a tie for the team lead in goals with five after scoring in the 10th minute at JMU off of assists from Ryan Flesch and Jackson Eskay. Against UNCW, junior Reilly Maw tallied his first goal of the year in the 61st minute with the aid of Jackson Eskay’s team-best fourth assist.
DREXEL FALLS 5-1 AT DELAWARE: Drexel was beaten 5-1 at Delaware last Wednesday in their only match of the week. Sophomore midfielder Colin McGlynn scored his team-leading fourth goal of the season in the 61st minute. It was the second straight game with a goal for McGlynn, who had tallied just one career goal entering the season. Drexel visits Loyola (Md.) on Tuesday.