Oct. 26, 2009
Center Valley, Pa.--Though the field has been set for the Patriot League women's soccer tournament, there is still much to be decided this weekend. Bucknell and Colgate will square off for the top seed and the right to host the Patriot League Tournament. With a win or a tie, Bucknell would clinch the top spot, while a Colgate win would give the Raiders top billing.
Patriot League Women's Soccer Release 10.26.09 
BRINE Offensive Player of the Week (10.19.09-10.25.09)
Liz Carlos, Lehigh Sr., F, Southbury, Conn.
Carlos tallied six points in Lehigh’s two League games last week. She scored the Mountain Hawks’ lone goal in Lehigh’s 2-1 loss to Navy. She scored both of the Mountain Hawks’ goals, including her third game-winning goal of the season, in Lehigh’s 2-0 win over previous League-leader American.
BRINE Defensive Player of the Week (10.19.09-10.25.09)
Amanda Citron, Bucknell Jr., D, Marshfield, Mass.
Citron led a stellar defensive effort in two Patriot League road wins for the Bison. She anchored a back line that limited Bucknell’s foes to just 14 shots and six shots on goal. She helped Bucknell record its fifth shutout of the season, a 1-0 win over Army.
BRINE Goalkeeper of the Week (10.19.09-10.25.09)
Beth Reed, Navy Sr., GK, Indianapolis, Ind.
Reed stopped 15 of the 16 shots she faced last week, helping Navy post two key road victories in Patriot League play. She posted her 10th solo shutout of the season in the Mids’ win at Lafayette, making eight saves against the Leopards. She made seven saves and did not allow a goal until the 84th minute in Navy’s 2-1 win at Lehigh. Reed has been named Patriot League Goalkeeper of the Week three times this season.
BRINE Rookie of the Week (10.19.09-10.25.09)
Jillian Kinter, Colgate Fr., F, Newburyport, Mass.
Kinter scored the game-winning goal against Holy Cross on Thursday, doing so in the final six minutes of the second overtime. She also had an assist on the game-winning goal against Army. She now leads Colgate with 10 points.
Honorable Mention Performances Last Week
Christa Matlack, Bucknell
Jr., F, South Williamsport, Pa.
Notched two goals in Bucknell’s 3-1 win over Holy Cross. She has four multi-goal games this season, all of them coming in the Bison’s last seven games.
Kathryn Sutton, Bucknell
Sr., GK, Coatesville, Pa.
Allowed just one goal in 180 minutes. Went 2-0 with a shutout in Bucknell’s two road wins.
Christine Calderon, Navy
Jr., F, Yorktown, Va.
Scored the game-winner against Lehigh. Added another goal in Navy’s 4-0 win at Lafayette.
Shelly Moeller, Navy
Sr., D, Milford, Ohio
Had a goal and an assist while helping Navy post its League-best 11th shutout of the season in the Mids’ 4-0 win at Lafayette.
Patriot League Notebook
The Week In Review
All four spots in the Patriot League Tournament were clinched during weekend play. Bucknell leads the League with 15 points after producing road wins over Army and Holy Cross. Colgate and Navy have 13 points apiece after each recorded two road wins. After topping Army and Holy Cross, Colgate has now won four straight games. Navy swept Lehigh and Lafayette to remain in a tie for second with Colgate. American, which entered the weekend leading the Patriot League, clinched a tournament berth but dropped to fourth place in the standings. The Eagles edged Lafayette, 1-0, before dropping a road contest at Lehigh. Only one non-League game was played last week, with Holy Cross playing Brown to a 2-2 tie.
On Deck
Patriot League play will wrap up on Halloween, but with all four Patriot League Tournament spots secured, there will be less suspense on the final weekend of the regular season. Colgate will host League-leading Bucknell, with each team having a chance to clinch the top seed and home field advantage in the tournament with a win. Should the teams tie, Bucknell would be the top seed. Neither Bucknell nor Colgate can finish lower than third in the standings. Navy and American will also play on Saturday. Both teams could finish as high as second and as low as fourth in the final standings. Also on the slate of Patriot League games, rivals Lafayette and Lehigh will meet in Bethlehem, and 2008 Patriot League champion Army will host Holy Cross.
Bucknell Breaking Barriers
Earlier this season, Bucknell scored a 3-1 win over Navy, making Bucknell just the 11th different team to score more than one goal against the Mids since the start of the 2006 season, a stretch of 87 games. Over that span, Navy has shut out 53 of its opponents. The Mids have held their opponents scoreless in 61 percent of their games since the start of 2006. Navy has shut out a League-best 11 of its opponents this season.
Shutout or Bust
Through 24 Patriot League contests, shutouts have been a prevailing theme. Fifteen of the 24 Patriot League games that have been played have ended with at least one team notching a shutout, including three scoreless ties. Seven of the League’s eight teams have recorded a shutout during League play. Navy has a League-best four shutouts through six Patriot League games. Prior to the most recent weekend, only five League contests had ended with both teams scoring. Four contests ended without a shutout during the latest round of League games.
Defend Your Turf
Prior to Thursday, only two Patriot League games had been lost by the home team in 16 contests. It was a far different trend during the most recent slate of Patriot League games. Seven of eight games were won by the road team during the weekend’s League contests. Lehigh was the lone home team to win a game during the weekend, topping American, 2-0. Heading into the final weekend of Patriot League play, the home squad is currently 12-9-3 in League contests.
Betterbed a Finalist for Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award
Army senior midfielder Elizabeth Betterbed is one of 10 finalists for the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award in the women's soccer division. A nationwide voting process begins immediately and fans can vote online beginning today and ending Nov. 13 at www.seniorclassaward.com.To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence - classroom, character, community and competition.
Keep Track Of The Patriot League Through Social Media
In addition to visiting www.patriotleague.org, League fans and followers have plenty of new ways to stay updated and involved during the 2009 season and beyond. The Patriot League has accounts on Facebook and Twitter, and has now started a blog to give more information on the action on the field. All three accounts are accessible through the multimedia link at the right-hand sidebar on the front page of www.patriotleague.org.
Patriot League Tournament
The 2009 Patriot League Tournament will be held Friday and Sunday, November 6 and 8 at the site of the highest seed, which will be either Bucknell or Colgate. The Bison and the Raiders will be joined by Navy and American in the four-team field.
Team Notebooks
American suffered its second Patriot League loss in as many weekends, but the Eagles clinched a spot in the Patriot League Tournament with a 1-0 win over Lafayette on Friday. Freshman Michelle Montilio notched her first career game-winner in the Eagles’ win in Easton. Sophomore goalkeper Arianna Efstathiou made four saves to record the shutout. On Sunday, the Eagles were beaten by Lehigh, 2-0. American will close the regular season at home against Navy.
Army will not get a chance to defend its 2008 Patriot League Championship. The Black Knights were eliminated from tournament contention with two losses over the weekend. Army surrendered a goal to Colgate for the first time since 2006, the last time the Black Knights had lost to the Raiders. Army also gave up its first goal to Bucknell since 2007. Liz Betterbed, who notched her fourth assist of the season, leads the team with 10 points.
Bucknell leads the Patriot League after scoring road wins over Army and Holy Cross during weekend play. Kathryn Sutton made three saves while Keillian Doherty scored the game-winner in a 1-0 victory over Army. Christa Matlack scored twice in a 3-1 triumph over Holy Cross. The Bison reached the 10-win plateau for the fifth season in a row. The Bison will battle second-place Colgate on Saturday in Hamilton, N.Y.
Colgate secured victories over Holy Cross and Army, clinching a berth in the Patriot League Tournament for the Raiders. Colgate has won four straight games and will battle Bucknell for the top seed in the tournament when the sqauds meet on Saturday. Freshman Jillian Kinter has paced the Raiders’ attack, leading the team with 10 points.
Holy Cross was eliminated from Patriot League Tournament contention with back-to-back losses to Colgate and Bucknell. The Crusaders have won just one of their last seven games and are winless in their last four. Senior Shelby Stand scored her ninth goal of the season in the Crusaders’ 3-1 loss to Bucknell on Sunday, tying her for the League lead. Holy Cross will conclude the regular season on Saturday at Army.
Lafayette is now 0-6 in Patriot League play after falling to American and Navy by a combined margin of 5-0. The Leopards have not scored since a 1-0 win against NJIT on Sept. 25. Lafayette will make the short trip to Bethlehem to take on rival Lehigh. The Leopards will attempt to snap a 20-game Patriot League losing streak. Lafayette’s last Patriot League win was Oct. 27, 2006 against Army.
Lehigh scored a 2-0 win over previous League-leader American, but the Mountain Hawks were eliminated from Patriot League Tournament consideration. Earlier in the weekend, Lehigh dropped a 2-1 decision to Navy. Senior Liz Carlos scored all three of Lehigh’s goals during the weekend. Lehigh will close the regular season against rival Lafayette on Saturday.
Navy clinched a Patriot League Tournament berth with road wins over Lehigh and Lafayette. Senior defender Shelly Moeller set a new school record for career starts, making her 87th consecutive appearance in the starting 11 for the Mids. Senior goalkeeper Beth Reed established a new senior class record for single-season shutouts, notching her 10th. Navy will battle American on Saturday.
