CAA WOMEN'S SOCCER WEEKLY REPORT - SEPT. 6
CAA WOMEN’S SOCCER PLAYER OF THE WEEK:
Courtney Breen, Hofstra
Jr., MF, Hicksville, N.Y./Hicksville
Breen was named the MVP of the Hofstra Invitational after leading the Pride to the tournament title. The junior midfielder scored a pair of second-half goals in a 4-1 victory over
Fordham and assisted on the game-winning goal as Hofstra topped Rhode Island, 3-1.
CAA WOMEN’S SOCCER CO-ROOKIE OF THE WEEK:
Audrey Barry, William & Mary
Fr., F, Fairfax Station, Va./Robinson
Barry scored the game-winning goal in the 30th minute to lead William & Mary to a 1-0 victory over Richmond and also contributed two assists in the Tribe’s 5-0 triumph over Loyola (Md.). For the season, Barry has a team-high seven points.
CAA WOMEN’S SOCCER CO-ROOKIE OF THE WEEK:
Shannon Kearney, Delaware
Fr., F, New Hyde Park, N.Y./New Hyde Park
Kearney scored a pair of goals to lead Delaware to road victories over Cornell and Binghamton. The freshman scored the game-winning goal in the 98th minute as the Hens edged BU 1-0 in overtime and also had a goal in a 2-1 triumph at Cornell. Kearney leads the CAA with four goals in four games.
CONFERENCE NOTES:
Non-Conference Success: The CAA’s non-conference success continued last week as the league’s 12 teams combined for a 13-7-1 mark. CAA teams are a combined 28-18-8 (.593) thus far and nine of the 12 conference squads have winning percentages of .500 or better.
W&M Ranked #14 In the Nation: Unbeaten William & Mary is ranked14th in the nation by Soccer America this week. The Tribe moved into the poll after upsetting #12 Penn State, 2-1 on Aug. 29. W&M continued its success over the weekend, beating Loyola (5-0) and Richmond (1-0) to improve to 4-0-1 on the year.
Four CAA Teams Ranked Regionally: Four CAA women’s soccer teams were among the top 10 in the NSCAA Mid-Atlantic regional rankings released on Aug. 30. William & Mary was ranked #1 in the poll, while James Madison was ranked #3, followed by Northeastern at #5 and Hofstra at #9.
CAA Race Expected To Be Wide Open: The CAA race should be extremely tight in 2010 based on a preseason poll of the league’s coaches. James Madison earned five first-place votes and was picked first with 108 total points, but second-place Hofstra got one first-place vote and was just one point behind with 107 and third-place UNC Wilmington received four first-place votes and 103 points. William & Mary and Northeastern also picked up a first-place vote, adding to the uncertainty of the race for the top spot. A complete listing of the poll is included in this release.
Three CAA Players On Hermann Trophy Watch List: Three CAA women’s soccer players were among a select group of 45 named to the Watch List for the Hermann Trophy, which is awarded to the nation’s top player at the end of the season. Chosen to the list were George Mason senior midfielder Omolyn Davis, Northeastern sophomore forward Devin Petta and James Madison senior midfielder Teresa Rynier.
DELAWARE (3-1) - The Blue Hens picked up road victories over Cornell (2-1) and Binghamton (1-0 in ot) last week. Freshman forward Shannon Kearney scored the game-winning goal in the 98th minute at Binghamton and gave UD a 1-0 lead at Cornell with a goal in the 53rd minute. Kearney has four goals in the Hens’ first four contests. Sophomore Ali Miller had the game-winner at Cornell, which came just 1:32 after the Big Red had rallied to tie the match. Keeper Breanna Stemler made five saves in the shutout of BU.
DREXEL (2-3) - The Dragons rebounded from a 4-1 setback at Saint Joseph’s to edge Lafayette 1-0 on Sunday. Drexel is 2-0 at home this season, but 0-3 on the road. Freshman Sam Greenfield came off the bench to net the game-winner versus Lafayette in the 42nd minute. Freshman Victoria Troccoli and senior Nicole Sinclair each made two saves in goal for the Dragons and combined on the shutout. Alex Vazquez had Drexel’s goal in the loss at SJU.
GEORGE MASON (1-2-1) - The Patriots battled to a 1-1 draw with Mount St. Mary’s before falling 4-0 to #22 Georgetown in the first round of the D.C. Invitational on Saturday. Senior midfielder Omolyn Davis scored her first goal of the season against Mount, tying the contest in the 47th minute off assists from Abby Zielinski and Tiana Kallenberger. Mason keeper Alex Bodenschatz came up with seven saves in the tie. The Patriots were out-shot 21-1 by the Hoyas.
GEORGIA STATE (2-0) - The Panthers extended their winning streak to three with a 3-0 shutout of Georgia Southern, but were beaten 5-1 by 25th-ranked Georgia on Sunday. Georgia State got goals from Erinique Owens, Jewel Evans and Stephanie Cuccia in the victory over Georgia Southern. Sarah Bennett’s team-leading third goal of the season in the 27th minute tied the Panthers’ contest versus Georgia at 1-1, but the Bulldogs were able to pull away in the second half. Senior Heidi Blankenship made seven saves versus UGA.
HOFSTRA (2-1) - The Pride rolled past Rhode Island (3-1) and Fordham (4-1) at the Hofstra Invitational. Hofstra out-shot its two foes by a combined total of 40-8. Junior midfielder Courtney Breen earned tournament MVP honors after scoring twice against Fordham and assisting on the game-winning goal versus URI. Senior Salma Tarik had a pair of goals in the URI win and senior Dana Bergstrom tallied three assists on the weekend. Senior Grace Hawkins contributed a goal off the bench in both contests.
JAMES MADISON (3-1) - The Dukes earned a 1-0 road victory at Liberty last Friday. Senior Cate Tisinger netted the game-winner from 25 yards out in the 74th minute off an assist from senior Teresa Rynier. Tisinger’s goal was the 20th of her career and lifted her into a tie for 11th on JMU’s career points list with 61. Rynier’s assist was the 41st of her career, which is the most in school history. Senior keeper Diana Wszalek made a pair of saves while recording her 18th career solo shutout, which is three shy of the JMU all-time record.
UNC WILMINGTON (2-3) - The Seahawks split their matches at the UNCW Hilton Garden Inn Invitational, losing 3-2 to Coastal Carolina before rebounding with a 4-0 victory over Gardner-Webb. Stephanie Rose contributed a goal and two assists in the victory over Gardner-Webb and also scored on a PK versus Coastal. Sara Kneeland and Megan Novak each added a goal and an assist in the GWU win and Amanda Holmes scored a goal in each match. UNCW led Coastal 2-0, but the Chanticleers scored three times in the final 17 minutes. Rose, Holmes, Novak and Meagan Simeone earned all-tournament honors.
NORTHEASTERN (3-2) - The Huskies went 1-1 at the Dartmouth Nike Invitational, edging Brown 1-0 before losing 1-0 to host Dartmouth. Junior Veronica Napoli’s goal in the 28th minute was the game-winner against Brown. Greta Samuelsdottir and Marcela Bedoya assisted on the score. Goalkeeper Michelle Sopko made six saves and recorded the shutout for NU. The Huskies put only two shots on goal versus Dartmouth. Napoli, Samuelsdottir and junior Kelly Matthews received all-tournament honors.
OLD DOMINION (1-1-1) - The Lady Monarchs fell 3-2 to East Carolina on Friday in their only action of the week. ODU jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the 27th minute on Kirstin Walker’s second goal in as many games. After the Pirates rallied to take a 2-1 advantage, the Lady Monarchs pulled even when Victoria Johnson headed in a corner kick with less than four minutes to go in regulation. Junior defender Rachael Carroll assisted on both ODU goals.
TOWSON (2-1-1) - The Tigers extended their unbeaten streak to three with a 1-0 triumph at Penn last Friday. Junior Annie Hillin scored the first goal of her collegiate career in the 10th minute and it proved to be the game-winner. Junior goalkeeper Jocelyn Papciak made a season-high six saves and recorded her second shutout of the season. She has given up only one goal in the last 290 minutes and lowered her GAA to 0.95 for the season.
VCU (2-2-1) - The Rams split two games on a Florida road swing, blanking Stetson 3-0, before losing 4-1 to a nationally ranked UCF squad. Junior Jessica McNamara’s first collegiate goal proved to be the game-winner against the Hatters. Sophomore Bre White, who has moved from defense to forward this season, also scored at Stetson and had VCU’s lone goal at UCF. Freshman keeper Megan Lynch made a pair of saves at Stetson and recorded her first collegiate shutout.
WILLIAM & MARY (4-0-1) - The nationally-ranked Tribe is undefeated after its first five matches for the first time since 2001 after posting victories over Loyola (5-0) and Richmond (1-0). Sophomore Mallory Schaffer had a career day against Loyola with two goals and two assists. Freshman Audrey Barry tallied a pair of assists against Loyola and then scored the game-winning goal versus UR in the 30th minute. Cortlyn Bristol also contributed a pair of goals in the Loyola victory. W&M’s defense has only allowed one goal in 470 minutes of action this season.