W-League Feature
Wednesday, September 25, 2013
TAMPA, Fla. – Siena’s Brittany Pfaff continues to dominate the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference this season, earning her third MAAC Offensive Player of the Week nod in the season’s first five weeks. Pfaff, who led New York Magic – F.A. Euro with eight goals and an assist in 11 games in 2013, notched her first career hat trick, including the game-winning goal in double overtime, in the Saints’ 3-2 win against Vermont on Sept. 18. Pfaff twice brought the Saints back from deficits late in the second half, before ending the match in double overtime.
A pair of Atlanta Silverbacks were honored by the SEC this week, with Georgia’s Laura Eddy named Offensive Player of the Week and Florida’s Savannah Jordan named Freshman of the Week. Eddy, a 2010 Silverback, scored the second goal in a 2-1 win against 17th-ranked South Carolina. It was her first goal since Oct. 17, 2010 – a total of 1,069 days – after missing the last two seasons with ACL injuries.
Jordan, a 2013 All-League forward who was recently featured by the W-League, turned in her fourth multi-goal match of the season, scoring both goals in the opening half of Florida’s 3-0 win against Alabama. She is the first Gator to have four multi-goal matches through a season’s first nine matches.
Former Colorado Rush goalkeeper Kelsey Wys continues to be one of the dominant college keepers in the country, leading FSU to 1-0 shutout wins against North Carolina State and then-No. 1-ranked North Carolina to earn ACC Player of the Week honors. It was the third player of the week honor of her career for Wys, who pushed her league leading total to seven this season. She faced 20 shots and totaled 11 saves, including a season-high nine in FSU’s win against North Carolina.
Wys and 2013 Pali Blue Mackenzie Doniak of the University of Virginia were the only two W-League players included in the TopDrawerSoccer.com Team of the Week, with Doniak tabbed after she scored the tying goal and then assisted on the game winner in a 2-1 defeat of Boston College. She then tallied twice at Pittsburgh, including the game winner, raising her goal total to eight.
A pair of W-League regulars earned American Athletic Conference honors this week, led by Laval’s Valerie Sanderson, who was named Offensive Player of the Week for the second time this season after a three-goal weekend and a 2-0-0 stretch by Memphis. She totaled seven points on the road, scoring once in the Tigers’ 2-1 win against Florida Gulf Coast on Friday and adding two goals and an assist in a 4-0 shutout of FAU on Sunday.
UCF junior Carleigh Williams, a 2012 member of VSI Tampa Bay FC, earned Defensive Player of the Week honors after anchoring a UCF defense that broke No. 10 Georgetown’s 16-game home winning streak on Thursday, earning a 1-1 draw in Washington, D.C. The Knights then returned home on Sunday to rout FGCU 4-0, holding the Eagles to only two shots on goal.
Long Island Rough Riders goalkeeper Diana Poulin, who 6-4 in 10 games this season, was selected as Big East Goalkeeper of the Week after she made 14 saves to help St. John’s play to a scoreless draw against Dartmouth. The freshman owns a 0.26 goals-against average this season.
Toronto Lady Lynx goalkeeper Hope Sabadash was named Southland Conference Goalkeeper of the Week after she recorded five saves each 1-0 road wins for Southeastern Louisiana against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and McNeese State. The freshman has not allowed a goal in her past 425 minutes in the net and currently leads the conference and ranks 11th in the nation with a 0.35 goals-against average.