Conference

FIVE NEC WOMEN’S SOCCER TEAMS GET FIRST WINS OF THE SEASON; CCSU, MOUNT ST. MARY’S AND QUINNIPIAC OPEN PLAY
 
Central Connecticut, Mount St. Mary’s and Quinnipiac all opened play this week. The Mount, backed by Kelly Baker’s (Cinnaminson NJ, Cinnaminson) two goals, took down Towson, 4-1. Quinnipiac secured a 1-0 win against Big East foe Providence. Defender Aine McKeever (Derry City, Ireland/North West Regional) capitalized on a free kick four minutes into the contest to score the Bobcat’s lone goal. Senior goalkeeper Jill Kelley (Simsbury, CT/Simsbury) recorded her career 11th shutout to preserve the victory.
 
• Big Wins: Monmouth, Central Connecticut and Bryant earned the team’s first wins of the season, with all scoring four or more goals during the game. The Hawks came back to defeat St. Peter’s 4-3 with help from Dana Costello’s (Jackson, NJ/Jackson Memorial) hat trick. CCSU shut out New Hampshire 4-0 during the University of Vermont tournament. Finally, five different Bryant players scored a whopping five goals to The Citadel’s one in the Bulldogs’ win on Sunday morning.
 
• Extra Minutes: Fairleigh Dickinson has now been to second overtime in three of its first four games this season, all resulting in ties. This past weekend, the Knights tied 1-1 with Hartford and 0-0 with Air Force.
 
• Top-Ranked Teams: Saint Francis (PA) held its own against a pair of the nation’s toughest teams last week. After getting the nerves out against San Diego State (4-0), which received votes in the most recent NSCAA poll, Saint Francis played well on both sides of the field  in a 2-0 loss against No. 15 Long Beach State.
 
 • Weekend Tournaments: Central Connecticut won the University of Vermont tournament with its 4-0 shutout victory over New Hampshire. The Blue Devils overcame their first loss of the tournament, an 0-2 deficit to Vermont, to eventually win the title. Kerriann Welch (Glastonbury, CT/Glastonbury) scored the third goal of the game to earn Most Valuable Player honors.
LIU Brooklyn also traveled out west to Colorado for the Omni Hotels Soccer Classic tournament over the weekend. The Blackbirds held both of their Centennial State, Colorado and Denver, scoreless over the first 45 minutes of each contest in the eventual losses.
Sacred Heart played in the OHANA Hotels and Resorts No Ka Oi Tournament in Hawaii, dropping close matches to Utah Valley State (3-2) and Hawaii (2-1). Jen Mulvey (Manalapan, NJ/St. John Vianney), Alyssa Brandofino (East Northport, NY/Commack) and Jaclyn DeLucia (Bethel, CT/Bethel) all scored their first goals of the season.
 
• In-State Rivalry: While some of the league has struggled against St. Peter’s, Monmouth moves to 18-0 all time against its in-state rival with its win on Friday. St. Peter’s is a popular opponent for NEC teams, five of which have the Peahens on their schedule.
 
• Non-Conference Play: NEC teams have played six games this season against America East Conference opponents, five games against the MAAC and four against Big East opponents.
 
• Under the Lights: Robert Morris will play its first night home game in program history this week when the Colonials host Howard on Aug. 31 at 7:00 p.m at Joe Walton Stadium.
 
• NEC Front Row: Nine women’s soccer games will be broadcast live this week on NEC Front Row (www.NECFrontRow.com), the league’s new digital network. Games will also be available on-demand.
 
• Women’s Soccer HQ: For the latest on the goings on in the NEC and all things women’s soccer visit www.northeastconference.org. You can also follow the league on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube (@NECsports) as well as the NEC Overtime! blog (necsports.posterous.com).
 
Top Performers of Week
 
• Ari Goldberg (Bryant)
Goldberg netted her first score of the season on a penalty kick in the second half of a 3-2 loss to UMass. On Sunday against The Citadel, she assisted on a goal and tallied a score of her own for a total of 5 points for the week.
 
• Sage DoVale (FDU)
DoVale allowed just one goal in 220 minutes of play this weekend. After a first half goal at Hartford, the junior keeper allowed no one to score in the second half nor either overtime period. She recorded her first shutout of the season on Sunday with the 0-0 draw with Air Force.
 
• Kelly Baker (Mount St. Mary’s)
Baker scored a pair of goals to lead Mount St. Mary’s to a 4-1 win over Towson in the season opener last Friday. Baker got the scoring started with a header and then gave the Mount a 4-0 lead with her second goal of the game.
 
 
Milestone Watch
 
• Monmouth
Head Coach Krissy Turner earned her 150th career victory at Monmouth on Friday night.
 
Quotable
 
• Fairleigh Dickinson
“Today was not about playing a beautiful game, but about measuring ourselves against a very strong opponent. It was our baptism of sorts for our freshman group, going toe-to-toe with a very talented group of upperclassmen. I am very proud of this team today, but Sunday is a new day and we need to prove ourselves all over again.”
-Interim head coach Marco Masucci after the tie at Hartford.
 
• Monmouth
“Dana had a brilliant night in front of the goal. On two of her goals she was given great passes from her teammates. Dana has the ability to be a game-changer. We look forward to her demonstrating this quality throughout the season.”
-Head coach Krissy Turner about Costello’s night on Friday.
 
• Saint Francis (PA)
“We had a chance to play against one of the best teams in the country today. While we didn’t win, we improved since our last game and learned a lot about what our team needs to work on to get to the next level.” -Head coach Brenda van Stralen after Friday’s loss to #15 Long Beach State