Sept. 14, 2009
The George Mason women's soccer team swept both of its matches to win the Tribe Invitational over the weekend and as a result a pair of players won Colonial Athletic Association weekly awards while the team found itself regionally ranked.
Senior forward Kelly Keelan scored two goals and had three assists to earn the CAA Women's Soccer Player of the Week award, the second time in her career she's captured the honor. She also won it last season but she did it as a goalkeeper after earning back-to-back shutouts to take home the Mason Tournament MVP trophy. Against UC Santa Barbara on Friday, Keelan scored the match's first goal and then assisted on a second-period goal to ice the contest for Mason in a 3-1 win. On Sunday, against Coastal Carolina, Keelan assisted on goals in the first half and scored in the second half as part of Mason's 8-1 win.
Freshman forward Tiana Kallenberger had two goals and two assists to earn the CAA Women's Soccer Co-Rookie of the Week award. She shared it with Caitlin Gottier of Drexel. Kallenberger, who is second on the team in goals and assists, had an assist against UC Santa Barbara on Theresa DeLucca's game-winning goal. Against Coastal Carolina, she assisted on the game's first goal and scored twice, including the game-winning goal in an 8-1 victory.
By improving to 5-1 on the season, the Patriots not only matched 2008's win total, they also moved to seventh in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America's Mid-Atlantic Region rankings. The Patriots are one of five CAA schools in the regional rankings. Northeastern and William & Mary stand first and second, respectively while James Madison is fourth and Hofstra is tenth.
The Patriots also are among the top teams in the nation offensively as the Patriots are currently fifth in the country in scoring offense. Keelan is 10th in the nation in assists per game, 29th in points per game and 72nd in goals per game. Kallenbeger is 54th in points per game, 70th in assists per game and 72nd in goals per game. Redshirt junior Omolyn Davis is eighth in the nation in goals per game and ninth in points per game.
Mason will take on Long Island on Friday in the opening round of the Mason Tournament. The Blackbirds are ranked ninth in the Northeast Region.
