W&M's Jackson Eskay earned CAA and National Player of the Week honors.
Men's Soccer Weekly Honors - Oct. 26
Rob Washburn
CAA MEN'S SOCCER WEEKLY REPORT - OCT. 26 (PDF format)
PLAYER OF THE WEEK:
Jackson Eskay • William & Mary
Sr., Forward, Urbana, Md./Urbana
Eskay scored three goals and added two assists in William & Mary’s 2-0 week. The senior forward tallied the Tribe’s second goal and assisted on the final two in a 4-2 triumph over UNC Asheville, and then contributed W&M’s last two goals in a 3-0 road victory at CAA foe Drexel. For the season, Eskay leads the team and ranks among league leaders with six goals, six assists and 18 points.
PLAYER OF THE WEEK:
Khesanio Hall • Northeastern
So., Forward, Santa Cruz, Jamaica/St. Elizabeth’s Technical
Hall scored two game-winning goals and also had an assist in Northeastern’s 2-0 week. The sophomore forward tallied the lone goal of the game in a 1-0 road victory at Holy Cross on a chip over the keeper in the 31st minute. In a 2-1 CAA triumph against College of Charleston, Hall assisted on a goal by Christian McKenna and then converted a penalty kick in the 27th minute to give NU a 2-0 lead. For the season, Hall has three goals and five assists.
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK:
Todd Morton • Delaware
Fr., Goalkeeper, West Chester, Pa./Henderson
Morton made 11 saves to help Delaware go 1-0-1 against a pair of nationally ranked opponents last week. The freshman goalkeeper came up with four saves as the Blue Hens knocked off 20th-ranked Maryland, 2-1, last Wednesday. He then stopped seven shots as UD battled to a 1-1 double-overtime draw with UNCW to clinch a berth in the CAA Men’s Soccer Championship. Morton has a 0.73 GAA in nine matches this season.
Around The League:
TWO CAA TEAMS RANKED IN NATIONAL POLL: A pair of CAA teams are ranked in the national polls released on Oct. 26. In this week’s College Soccer News Top 30 poll, Hofstra is ranked #20, Elon is ranked #21 and UNCW is receiving votes. In the Top Drawer Soccer Top 25, Hofstra is ranked #24 while UNCW is receiving votes. In last week’s NSCAA Top 25, Elon was ranked #10, Hofstra was ranked #24 and UNCW was among others receiving votes. Soccer America ranked Elon at #11. Both groups will release a new poll on Tuesday.
W&M’S ESKAY NAMED TO NATIONAL TEAM OF THE WEEK: Along with his CAA Player of the Week honor, William & Mary senior Jackson Eskay was chosen to the 11-member National Team of the Week by College Soccer News after posting three goals and two assists in a pair of victories.
THREE CAA TEAMS IN TOP 36 OF NCAA RPI: The CAA has three teams ranked among the top 36 of the NCAA Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) through games of October 25. Hofstra leads all CAA teams at #21, Elon is ranked #24 and UNCW is ranked #36. The CAA has the 4th-most teams in the top 36 of the RPI, trailing only the ACC (10), Big Ten (5) and Conference USA (4).
LOT ON THE LINE IN FINAL WEEK: There is still a lot to be decided heading into the final week of conference play. Hofstra has locked up the #1 seed and will host the semifinals and finals of the CAA Men’s Soccer Championship for the first time on Nov. 13 and 15. Elon can secure the #2 seed and an opening round bye with a tie or win against College of Charleston on Saturday. UNCW, Delaware and CofC have also made the six-team tournament field, but are separated by just one point as they try to earn home-field advantage for the quarterfinals on Nov. 7. Defending CAA champion James Madison needs one point over its final two contests to claim the final spot in the field, while William & Mary and Northeastern can remain alive with a win and two JMU losses.
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. 20. Elon topped the group of conference squads at #1, followed by Hofstra at #4 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 18th in the nation in goals per game (2.0) and 20th in points per game (5.67), while Elon is 23rd in goals per game (1.94) and 21st in points (5.56). Hofstra ranks 20th in save percentage (.814), while Drexel is 9th in saves per game (5.44) and College of Charleston is 15th (5.07). Individually, UNCW’s Colin Bonner ranks 33rd in points per game (1.33) and Hofstra’s Joseph Holland ranks 30th in assists per game (0.44). Delaware keeper Todd Morton is 13th in save percentage (.837) and 24th in GAA (0.73) and Hofstra’s Patric Pray is 30th in save percentage (.812). Drexel’s Tyler Afflerbach ranks 20th in saves per game (4.80) and CofC’s Kevin Shields is 24th (4.73).
HOFSTRA CLINCHES REGULAR-SEASON TITLE: Hofstra clinched at least a share of the CAA regular-season title with a 1-0 victory over Elon on Saturday. The Pride will host the semifinals and finals of the CAA Men’s Soccer Championship for the first time. Sophomore Mani Walcott scored the game-winning goal in the 80th minute off an assist from Rory Murphy. It was Walcott’s third goal of the year, all of which have been game winners. Senior goalkeeper Patric Pray made four saves to record his sixth shutout of the season and the 17th of his career, which ranks second in Pride history. Hofstra has now beaten three ranked teams in a season for the first time since 2005 and it was the Pride’s first victory over a Top 10 foe since 2005.
ESKAY LEADS OFFENSIVE EXPLOSION FOR W&M: William & Mary broke loose for seven goals in a 2-0 week, posting victories over UNC Asheville (4-2) and Drexel (3-0). The Tribe scored three times in a seven-minute stretch of the first half to break the match open against UNCA. Senior Jackson Eskay finished with a goal and two assists, while William Eskay and freshmen Ryder Bell and Marcel Berry each found the net once. Jackson Eskay contributed two more goals at Drexel and is now tied for second in the CAA in goals (6) and ranks third in points (18) for the season. Berry tallied the game-winner against the Dragons in the eighth minute and has three goals for the year. Goalkeeper Mac Phillips stopped three shots and earned his second shutout at Drexel.
DELAWARE EXTENDS UNBEATEN STREAK TO FOUR: Delaware extended its unbeaten streak to four with a 2-1 road victory over 20th-ranked Maryland and a 1-1 draw against UNCW that clinched a spot in the CAA Tournament. At Maryland, junior Thomas de Villardi assisted on the Hens’ first goal by Ben Sampson and then scored the game-winner from just outside the box in the 89th minute. The Terps were the highest-ranked opponent that Delaware has beaten since 2013. Sophomore Thibault Philippe gave the Hens a 1-0 advantage in the 15th minute versus UNCW as he headed in a pass from Joe Dipre. It was Dipre’s 14th career assist, which ranks fourth all-time at UD. Goalkeeper Todd Morton had 11 saves for the week, including seven against the Seahawks.
BACK-TO-BACK WINS FOR NORTHEASTERN: Northeastern recorded back-to-back victories for the first time this season after defeating Holy Cross (1-0) and CAA foe College of Charleston (2-1) last week. Against CofC, junior Christian McKenna scored his second goal of the year in the 20th minute and Khesanio Hall, who assisted on McKenna’s goal, tallied the game-winner when he converted a penalty kick in the 27th minute. At Holy Cross, Hall netted the game-winning goal in the 31st minute and goalkeeper Jonathan Thuresson made two saves to record his second shutout of the year. Hall has three goals and a team-high five assists this season and has picked up at least one point in four consecutive matches.
UNCW RALLIES TO TIE DELAWARE: UNCW moved into sole possession of third place in the CAA standings after rallying for a 1-1 double-overtime draw at Delaware on Sunday. After falling behind 1-0 in the 15th minute, senior forward Nathaniel Goodwin scored the equalizer off an assist from Colin Bonner in the 64th minute. The goal was the fourth of the season for Goodwin, but his first since September 12. Bonner’s sixth assist of the year moved him into a tie for the CAA points lead with 20. Goalkeeper Sean Melvin made five saves at UD.
TOUGH WEEK FOR ELON: Elon suffered a pair of difficult road setbacks last week, losing 2-1 in overtime at Duke and falling 1-0 at Hofstra. It was the first time the Phoenix have lost consecutive matches all season. Elon jumped out to a 1-0 advantage at Duke when senior Cooper Vandermaas-Peeler scored his fourth goal of the year in the 14th minute off assists from James Brace and Luis Argudo. The assist was the fourth of the season for Brace, who moved into the top 10 in Elon history with 52 career points. Elon took 11 shots at Hofstra and put four on net, but was held scoreless for the first time all season.
COFC’S ARCHER SCORES THIRD GOAL: College of Charleston was beaten 2-1 at Northeastern last Saturday in its only match of the week. The Cougars trailed 2-0 at the break, but cut the deficit in half when sophomore defender Leland Archer scored his third goal of the season in the 62nd minute. Archer ranks second on the team in goals. CofC goalkeeper Kevin Shields stopped four shots and ranks second in the CAA with 4.73 saves per game.
DREXEL LOSES HEARTBREAKER TO LOYOLA: Drexel went 0-2 last week, including a tough 3-2 loss to Loyola (Md.) last Tuesday. The Dragons fell behind 2-0 early but Erik Alexandersson scored his second goal of the season in the 21st minute and sophomore Tristan Thompson provided the equalizer in the 51st minute off an assist from his brother, Aaron Thompson. Loyola regained the lead with 15 seconds remaining in regulation. It was just the second mult-goal for the Dragons.
SEASON-HIGH IN SAVES FOR JMU’S MORTON: JMU junior goalkeeper Kyle Morton made a season-high eight saves as the Dukes lost 2-1 at Lehigh in their final non-conference match last Tuesday. JMU fell behind 1-0 late in the first half, but got the equalizer in the 71st minute when junior defender Rhys Howard scored his first career goal off an assist from sophomore Toby Appleton.