Conference

NEC WOMEN’S SOCCER WRAPS UP NON-CONFERENCE PLAY; TWO TEAMS RECORD SHUTOUTS 

The NEC women’s soccer teams wrapped up their non-conference schedules and dive into conference play this week. Quinnipiac takes on Fairleigh Dickinson for the first league game of the season.

•Sharp Shutouts: Mount St. Mary’s recorded a 4-0 big shutout against Virginia Military Institute, while Monmouth allowed no goals from Lafayette in the Hawks’ 2-0 win and first shutout of the season.


•National Statistics: Quinnipiac was a big name in the NCAA’s top-10 statistics for games through Sept. 9. The Bobcats were third in goals against average (.191), fourth in save percentage (.933) and shutout percentage (.800) and ninth in win-loss-tied percentage (.900). Their goalkeeeper, Jill Kelley (Simsbury, CT/Simsbury), also made the top-10, ranked sixth in both save percentage (.923) and goals against average (.250). The rankings are reported every Tuesday.
-In addition, Quinnipiac was also ranked No. 9 on the NSCAA Northeast Regional Poll last week.

•Winning Ways: After losing three straight away games the previous week, Bryant turned things around and have now won two straight at home, against Delaware State (2-1) and Vermont (3-1). The Bulldogs now have the most wins in the conference, with five.

•Popular Opponents: Two New Jersey schools have been popular opponents for NEC teams this year. NJIT had scheduled four games, its latest contest coming against Fairleigh Dickinson. The Knights emerged victorious, taking down the Highlanders 3-1 last week. 

-Saint Peter’s has faced five NEC squads, and most recently fell at LIU Brooklyn 2-1. The Blackbirds were backed by Toni Smith’s (Rainham, England/Navarro College) two goals.
-The Ivy League appeared on the NEC schedule quite a few times this week. Sacred Heart (who has played four straight games against Ivy teams) defeated Cornell 3-1 before falling to Brown 1-0 on Sept 16. Quinnipiac suffered its first loss of the season at the hands of Harvard early in the week on Sept. 12. Finally, Yale edged out Central Connecticut 1-0 on Sunday.

•Good Starts: Mount St. Mary’s opened the season with a 4-3 record, the best since the 1996 squad also went 4-3. The Mount has also already scored 14 goals, surpassing last year’s total of 13.
-Fairleigh Dickinson ends non-conference play with a 3-3-3 record, tying the most non-conference wins for the program since the 2005 season.

•Switching Roles: Wagner’s Maureen Vetter (Brookfield, CT/ Brookfield), a sophomore, made her debut in goal for the Seahawks in the second half of Sunday’s game against Lafayette. Vetter played the first 10 games of her career in the field.

•Home Field Advantage: LIU Brooklyn has enjoyed mostly success at home, suffering 
just their second loss at LIU Field since the start of the 2010 season on Sunday, a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Delaware. LIU’s other loss against was a 1-0 defeat by Hartford last season. 

•Tournament Time: Saint Francis (PA) and Robert Morris both competed at the Niagara Fall Classic tournament this weekend. The Red Flash were victorious in a 2-1 match vs. Buffalo, but fell to the host school. Robert Morris also fell to Niagara, and to Buffalo in a close 0-1 game.

•Up Next: NEC play begins with five league matchups scheduled on Friday and four games on Sunday. Mount St. Mary’s will also play a non-conference game against Delaware St. on Sunday.

•NEC Front Row: Two women’s soccer games, Saint Francis vs. Mount St. Mary’s and Wagner vs. Bryant will be broadcast live on Friday 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 (necovertime.com)


Top Performers of the Week
 
• Dana Costello (Monmouth)Costello registered three points Monmouth’s 2-0 victory over Lafayette on Friday night, assisting on Nicole Close’s game-winner in the 25th minute, and tallying her team-leading fifth goal of the year in the 76th minute.

• Kelly Baker (Mount St. Mary’s)
Baker scored a pair of goals to lead the Mount to a 4-0 win over VMI on Friday night. It was Baker’s second two-goal game of the year and she is tied for the team lead with four goals and eight points.

• Toni Smith (LIU Brooklyn)
Smith scored both goals in the Blackbirds’ 2-1 in over Saint Peter’s, in the 17th and 25th minutes of play.
 
Milestone Watch
 
• Kelly Baker (Mount St. Mary’s)
Kelly Baker’s two goals against VMI give her 12 for her career. She has moved into the top 10 all-time in scoring at the Mount in career points (T10th, 28) and career goals (T9th, 12).

•  Marco Masucci (FDU)
Head Coach Marco Masucci has three wins with the Knights this season, just one away from the program record for a first-year Head Coach.


Quotable

•  Fairleigh Dickinson
“There were quite a few big individual performances and goals from three players that have been getting better and better every single game. The win guarantees us at least a .500 record through non-conference play.”
-Head coach Marco Masucci after the win over NJIT.

•  Bryant
“It’s finally here. We’ve waited four years to be eligible for DI postseason competition, and here we are, with NEC play beginning on Friday.”
-Head coach Chris Flint on beginning NEC play

•  Monmouth
“To get our first shutout is terrific. Dana [Costello] scored a world class goal to put the game away for us. The effort and skill to finish that ball was terrific. We are striving to get better each game and tonight we did just that.”
-Head coach Krissy Turner on the Lafayette  win.