CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- Just one week remains in the women's soccer regular season and two teams, Boston University and University of Hartford, remain unbeaten in the conference standings. Players from those two teams are this week's award winners with the Hawks' Caitlin Alves (Ludlow, Mass./The Williston Northampton School) earning Player of the Week honors and the Terriers' Jamie Turchi (Santa Margarita, Calif./Tesoro) picking up Rookie of the Week accolades. The awards for the week ending Oct. 16 were announced Monday afternoon.
Alves earned her second straight Player of the Week honor after tallying seven points in a pair of Hartford wins last week, which kept the Hawks unbeaten at 13-0-2. The junior forward registered her second straight five point game by scoring twice and adding an assist in a 3-0 win over Maine on Thursday. She followed that performance by adding another score, her fifth in her last three games, in Sunday’s 2-0 win over Vermont. Alves leads the conference in points (24), goals (10) and is tied for fifth in assists (4).
Turchi (Santa Margarita, Calif./Tesoro) scored the game-winning goal, her first career tally, in Boston U.’s 2-0 win at Stony Brook Thursday. A freshman midfielder, Turchi played 29 minutes off the bench and fired home a loose ball in front of the net in the 43rd minute to give her team a 1-0 lead. Turchi, who also had two shots in 15 minutes of action against UMBC Sunday, has played in all 17 games, including nine starts, for the Terriers, who have won nine straight games.
Conference championship positioning is beginning to take place with just eight games left on the league schedule. Boston U., the 20th ranked team in the nation, sits in first place at 7-0-0 with 21 points while Hartford is just a half game behind at 6-0-0 and 18 points. The two teams, which have both clinched tournament bids, will meet at Boston U. Sunday to determine the league's regular-season champion and No. 1 seed for the upcoming tournament.
Albany, which is in the midst of its first-ever four-game win streak as a Division I program and sits in third place at 4-2-0 and 12 points, has clinched its third straight conference tournament appearance. The Great Danes host Hartford on Thursday and can earn the tournament's No. 2 seed with two wins to close out the season and two Hartford losses. Vermont, which is 3-3-1, can lock up its first championship bid since 2006 with a win or a tie at Binghamton Thursday.
The other five teams all remain alive for a tournament spot. Stony Brook (2-3-1, 7 points) is in fifth place, followed by New Hampshire (2-4-0, 6), Binghamton (1-4-1, 4), Maine (1-5-0, 3) and UMBC (0-5-1, 1).
Team Notes
Albany (6-9-0, 4-2-0) have now won four straight after posting league victories over UMBC on the road and Maine at home last week ... The wins clinched the Great Danes’ third straight America East Championship appearance ... The Great Danes have been undefeated since freshman goalkeeper Jackie Ubert (Amityville, N.Y./St. John the Baptist) took over between the pipes full-time ... Ubert made seven saves in the two matches last week, posting a .875 save percentage and 0.50 goals against average ... She recorded the second complete shutout of her career against UMBC ... Senior Rebecca Lee (Selkirk, N.Y/Bethlehem Central) recorded the game-winner against the Retrievers ... Lee, along with fellow seniors Katie Grant (Dartmouth, Nova Scotia/Auburn Drive), Nicole Berard (Wakefield, R.I./The Prout School), Katie Norwood (Rockville Centre, N.Y./South Side), Kendra Harrell-Vigil (Avondale, Ariz./Westview) and Chrissy Klepper (River Edge, N.J./River Dell) were honored prior to the game against Maine... Grant scored the first goal of the game, assisted by Klepper and Harrell-Vigil... Junior Casey Marks (Cortland, N.Y./Cortland) netted the game-winner on a penalty kick... UAlbany will return to action on Thursday, hosting Hartford in the final home game of the season, and will close out the regular season on the road at Stony Brook on Sunday.
Binghamton (4-9-1, 1-4-1 AE) dropped its lone game of the week, 2-1 at New Hampshire. The loss stretched the team’s winless streak to five and put its postseason chances in jeopardy. The Bearcats have advanced to the America East tournament in six of the last seven seasons but likely need to win both remaining games to earn one of the six playoff spots ... At New Hampshire, sophomore midfielder Kaitlyn Cook (Endwell, N.Y./Maine-Endwell) converted a first-half penalty kick to give Binghamton a 1-0 lead. But the Wildcats tied it six minutes later and then netted the game-winner in the 54th minute on a penalty kick. It was Cook’s first goal of the season and the team’s first PK attempt since the 2009 season. Cook, the team’s America East Player of the Game, became the 10th Bearcat to score a goal this season, though each of the 10 has just one goal ... Binghamton recorded 15 shots and produced five corner kicks but suffered its eighth one-goal defeat.
Boston University (14-2-1, 7-0-0 AE) won twice last week to secure a first-round bye in the upcoming America East Championship ... The 20th-ranked Terriers, who have won nine straight games, beat Stony Brook, 2-0, on Thursday and UMBC, 8-0, on Sunday ... The eight goals against UMBC tied for the second-most goals ever by the Terriers. It was the most goals since Boston U. turned the trick at Providence on Sept. 16, 1998, in an 8-3 victory. The win over UMBC was also the second largest margin of victory ever in program history. The Terriers defeated Howard, 11-0, on Sept. 30, 1995, in the program’s first season. However, the win against UMBC set team-bests in America East play in both categories ... The Terriers have won 37 of 38 against America East opponents ... Boston U. has allowed one goal in its last four games, outscoring its opponents, 15-1.
Hartford (13-0-2, 6-0-0 AE) closed out the home portion of the regular season schedule with a pair of shutouts, the 11th and 12th of the season for the undefeated Hawks, 3-0 over Maine and 2-0 over Vermont ... the Hawks remain one of just five unbeaten teams remaining in the nation ... junior Caitlin Alves (Ludlow, Mass./The Williston Northampton School) finished the week with seven points, including five in the win over Maine, her second straight game with five points ... she finished the week with three goals and an assist, two of her goals were game winners ... Mary Beth Hamilton (Columbia, Conn./Mercy) and Amanda Lo Bello (Garden Grove, Calif./Garden Grove/Cypress College) also got in on the scoring action with one goal each … junior Amelia Pereira (Madeira Island, Portugal/Escola da APEL) also finished the week with two points, with one assist in each of the Hawks wins ... sophomore keeper Erin Quinlan’s 12 shutouts on the season set a school record for solo shutouts in a single season, previously held by Karen Romero, who set the mark in the 1991 and 1992 season ... Quinlan, who entered the week second in goals-against-average, moves up to the top spot in the nation, holding opponents to 0.13 goals-against, while her 74 saves and .974 save percentage may also vault her into the top spot in the country ... the Hawks will play a pair of games in the coming week, the first at Albany on Thursday at 3 p.m. before closing out the regular season with a trip to Boston University on Sunday at 1 p.m.
Maine (4-8-1, 1-5-0 AE) dropped a pair of road games last week... The Black Bears fell at Hartford on Thursday, before they dropped a 3-1 decision at Albany on Sunday afternoon ... Sophomore Maggie Malone (Halifax, Nova Scotia/Halifax West) scored Maine’s lone goal at Albany on Sunday ... It was her first goal of the season and second of her career ... Rookie Jordan Pellerin (Waterville, Maine/Waterville) assisted on the goal for her team-leading fourth assist of the season ... Maine will play its final regular season home game on Thursday, Oct. 20 when it hosts Stony Brook at 3 p.m. at Alumni Field.
UMBC (0-13-2, 0-5-1 AE) suffered back-to-back shutouts last week… The Retrievers fell to Albany, 1-0, at home on Thursday, with the Great Danes’ lone goal coming on a penalty kick… UMBC sophomore goalie Lauren Kadet (Oakville, Ontario/St. Thomas Aquinas) guessed correctly, but the shot went just beyond her outstretched arms… She recorded nine saves in the game… The Retrievers dropped an 8-0 decision at No. 20 Boston University on Sunday… Kadet made eight saves in the first half, while senior Mo Van Vlerah (Germantown, Md./Northwest) stopped one shot in the final 45 minutes… Kadet took sole possession of fifth place all-time at UMBC with 190 career saves, while Van Vlerah moved into a tie with Catie Bukowski for seventh place with 160… Junior forward Rachel McKee (Ellicott City, Md./Mt. Hebron) leads UMBC with six goals and 12 points this season, the most by a Retriever since 2005… She has also taken a team-best 43 shots this season… UMBC hosts America East rival New Hampshire on Thursday, its final home game of the season, then visits Binghamton on Sunday in the season finale.
Last time out, New Hampshire (4-11-1, 2-4-0 AE) took down Binghamton University, 2-1, at Bremner Field on Oct. 16 ... Alyssa Michel (Bellingham, Wash./Mesa State College) notched her second goal of the season in the contest ... Monique LaMotte (Tampa, Fla./Freedom) was credited with an assist on the tally ... Alli Rozelle (Stratham, N.H./Exeter) scored UNH’s second goal of the contest, drilling in a penalty kick into the right side of the net from 10 yards away at 53:29 ... Binghamton finished with an edge in both shots (15-11) and corner kicks (5-2) in the contest ... In UNH’s previous outing it fell to the University of Vermont, 3-2, at Centennial Field on Oct. 13 … After falling behind early, Brooke Duchaney (Hampton Falls, N.H./Bryant University) scored a goal in the 73rd minute of play to make it a one-goal game, but the comeback fell short … Stephanie Gilkenson (Cranston, R.I./LaSalle Academy) was credited with an assist on the tally … It was the first time the Wildcats have lost this season scoring more than one goal … The Wildcats drew first blood in the contest when Drea Nogueira (New Bedford, Mass../New Bedford) scored with 53 seconds remaining in the opening frame … Vermont claimed the lead in both shots (25-13) and corner kicks (8-0) in the contest … Nogueria led UNH with four shots, putting three attempts on goal … Erica Correa (Cheshire, Conn./Cheshire) compiled a game-high eight saves in net for the Wildcats … Freshman Meghan Ledwith (Yardley, Pa./Villa Joseph Marie) leads the offensive attack with eight points on three goals and two assists.
Stony Brook (4-10-1, 2-3-1 AE) lost its only match last week against No. 20 Boston University by a 2-0 score at LaValle Stadium ... BU scored its first goal within three minutes of halftime and then potted a second five minutes after the restart ... sophomore Chelsea Morales (Temecula, Calif./Temecula Valley) stopped seven shots in the defeat ... BU outshot Stony Brook by an 18-9 margin and attempted five corners to Stony Brook’s three ... the match was Stony Brook’s first against a ranked opponent since facing No. 10 Maryland last year on Sept. 5 ... the Seawolves wrap up the regular season this week with a match at Maine on Thursday at 3 p.m. and a home finale on Sunday against Albany at 2 p.m. ... the game with Maine will be a rematch of last season’s America East Semifinal which the Black Bears won by a 3-1 score.
Vermont (5-8-4, 3-3-1 AE) earned a key win over New Hampshire with a come-from-behind effort ... The Catamounts trailed 1-0 at the half, but exploded for three goals in a five-minute span to take a 3-2 victory over the Wildacats ... Sophomore Haley Marks (Penfield, N.Y./Penfield) scored two of UVM’s three goals in the outburst ... UVM dropped a 2-0 decision at Hartford on Sunday to close out the week ... Vermont finished the regular season with a 5-1-1 mark at Centennial Field ... It’s the best home record for the Catamounts since 2004 ... UVM wraps up the regular season traveling to Binghamton for a 7 p.m. match on Thursday (Oct. 20) and would secure its first America East tournament bid since 2006 with a win or a tie.