WSOC Report - Aug. 20

CAA Women's Soccer Weekly Report - Aug. 20

Hunter allowed just one goal and made 16 saves over 211:37 against a pair of nationally ranked opponents last week. The senior goalkeeper stopped 10 shots as UNCW battled to a 0-0 tie with #3 Wake Forest and had six saves in a 1-0 double-overtime setback at #22 Virginia Tech.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK:
Taylor Mertz • Old Dominion
Sr., Midfielder, Midlothian, Va./James River

Mertz contributed a goal and an assist in Old Dominion's 2-0 victory over N.C. State last Friday. The senior assisted on the game-winning goal by Ashlee Coutu in the 28th minute before scoring the first goal of her collegiate career in the 47th minute.

ROOKIE OF THE WEEK:
Leah Galton • Hofstra
Fr., Midfielder, Harrogate, England/St. John Fishers Catholic

Galton played all 90 minutes and turned in a solid defensive effort in Hofstra's 2-0 win over Ohio State last Friday. The freshman midfielder helped mark OSU's top returning scorer and limited the Buckeyes to seven total shots and just one shot on goal.

CONFERENCE NOTES:

W&M PICKED TO WIN CAA TITLE: Defending conference champion William & Mary was a unanimous choice to capture the CAA title again in 2012 according to a vote of the league's head coaches. The Tribe, who return nine starters from last year's 17-3-2 squad, received all 10 possible first-place votes and 100 total points in the poll. James Madison was picked second with 81 points, Hofstra was third with 79 points and Northeastern, which got one first-place vote, was fourth with 76 points. Delaware was chosen fifth, followed by George Mason, Drexel, Old Dominion, UNCW, Georgia State and Towson.

TRIBE'S SCHAFFER HEADLINES PRESEASON ALL-CAA TEAM: William & Mary senior midfielder Mallory Schaffer, who earned first-team All-America honors after leading the CAA with 17 goals and 40 points a year ago, was voted as the 2012 CAA Preseason Player of the Year by the league's coaches. Schaffer was joined in the midfield on the preseason All-CAA squad by W&M's Cortlyn Bristol and UNCW's Stephanie Rose. Five forwards were chosen to the squad - Georgia State's Jewel Evans, Mason's Tiana Kallenberger, Delaware's Ali Miller, Northeastern's Greta Samuelsdottir and James Madison's Lauren Wilson. Named as defenders were Hofstra's Brooke Bendernagel, W&M's Emily Fredrikson, Drexel's Biz Matta and JMU's Becky Sparks, while Drexel's Eve Badana was chosen as goalkeeper.

Around The League:

W&M, JMU RANKED NATIONALLY: William & Mary was ranked #20 nationally by Soccer America in its preseason Top 25 poll and was among others receiving votes in the NSCAA/Continental Tire preseason Top 25 poll. Both of those organizations will release new polls on Tuesday. In this week's TopDrawerSoccer Top 64 rankings, W&M is #37 and James Madison is #44.

VARIETY OF CHAMPIONS: Six different schools have captured the CAA women's soccer championship over the past six years, showing the depth and quality of the conference. Old Dominion won the league title in 2006, followed by Hofstra in 2007, Northeastern in 2008, UNCW in 2009, James Madison in 2010 and William & Mary in 2011.

PRESEASON HONORS FOR SCHAFFER: William & Mary senior midfielder Mallory Schaffer was chosen to the Soccer America preseason All-America team and was named to the preseason Watch List for the MAC Hermann Trophy, which is awarded to the nation's top collegiate player. Schaffer was a first-team All-America pick and a semifinalist for the Hermann Trophy in 2011 after tallying 17 goals and 40 points for the Tribe.

HOFSTRA DOWNS OHIO STATE: Hofstra opened its 2012 campaign with an impressive 2-0 victory over Ohio State last Friday. Sophomore Lulu Echeverry's first collegiate goal was the game-winner in the 60th minute as she scored from 10 yards out off a volley from Erin Havard. Freshman Leah Galton helped lead a Pride defense that limited the Buckeyes to one shot on goal and goalkeeper Emily Morphitis earned her fifth career shutout. Sophomore Sam Scolarici tacked on an insurance goal midway through the second half and has 14 points in 19 career games.

ODU KNOCKS OFF N.C. STATE: Old Dominion earned its first season-opening victory since 2008 as it knocked off ACC foe N.C. State 2-0 last Friday. Senior forward Ashlee Coutu scored the game-winning goal in the 28th minute and senior Taylor Mertz added a goal just over a minute into the second half. Goalkeeper Brianna Alvarado made five saves to record her 11th career shutout.

GRAND OPENING: James Madison edged Marshall 2-1 in overtime on Sunday in the first regular-season game played at University Park, JMU's new athletic and recreation complex. Senior Kelly Germain scored the game-winning goal 3:20 into overtime off an assist from junior Lauren Wilson. The duo also combined on the Dukes' first goal as Wilson scored for the 17th time in her career. JMU coach Dave Lombardo recorded the 350th victory of his career. He ranks sixth among active Division I coaches in wins with a 350-205-40 mark over 30 seasons.

UNCW BATTLES TOP TEAMS: UNCW went 0-1-1 against a pair of Top 25 opponents on the road last weekend, tying 3rd-ranked Wake Forest 0-0 on Sunday and taking 22nd-ranked Virginia Tech to double overtime before losing 1-0 on Friday. Senior goalkeeper Caitlin Hunter stopped 10 shots while recording her eighth career shutout at Wake Forest and made six saves at Virginia Tech. UNCW had been 0-11 against ACC schools and had never earned a win or tie against a team ranked in the top 10. Next up for UNCW is a test against #7 Virginia on Sunday.

DREXEL SPLITS TO START SEASON: Drexel went 1-1 on the first weekend of the season, rebounding from a 2-0 setback at Longwood to defeat Liberty, 1-0. Sophomore Melissa Chapman scored the game-winning goal at Liberty in the 29th minute off an assist from freshman Gabby Dixon. Goalkeeper Eve Badana made five saves versus the Flames to post the shutout.

W&M DOWNED BY #1 DUKE: William & Mary was beaten 4-1 by top-ranked Duke in its home opener last Friday. CAA Preseason Player of the Year Mallory Schaffer scored the Tribe's lone goal in the 66th minute off an Audrey Barry assist. W&M played five freshmen in the match, with Leci Irvin and goalkeeper Caroline Casey in the starting lineup.

INGRAM STRONG IN GOAL FOR GSU: Junior goalkeeper Rebecca Ingram made 12 saves in Georgia State's narrow 1-0 loss at Auburn last Friday and stopped one shot in a 2-1 setback to Jacksonville State in the Panthers' home opener on Sunday. Whitney Ravan scored a game-tying goal for GSU in the first half against JSU.

SKIDMORE SCORES FOR TOWSON: Senior forward Cheyenne Skidmore, who led Towson with eight goals and 25 points in 2011, scored her first goal of the year in the Tigers' 2-1 setback at DePaul last Friday. Towson also lost 1-0 at Valparaiso on a penalty kick. Sophomore goalkeeper Erin Quinn made 11 saves in the two matches.

DELAWARE FALLS TO GEORGETOWN: Delaware was beaten 2-0 by Georgetown in its home opener on Sunday. Senior Tania Domingos took a team-high four shots for the Hens, while junior goalkeeper Jessica Levy made three saves in her first career start.

MASON BEATEN AT ST. JOHN'S: George Mason out-shot St. John's 13-6 in its opening game last Friday, but dropped a 2-0 decision. Junior Jazmin Cardoso took a team-high three shots and freshman Emma Starr fired a shot in each half.

NORTHEASTERN LOSES TO CITY RIVAL: Northeastern fell 3-0 to 23rd-ranked Boston University in its home opener as the Terriers scored three times in a 17-minute stretch of the second half. Sophomore goalkeeper Paige Burnett made six saves in the contest for NU and senior Sandra Magnusdottir put a pair of shots on net.