Catch up on the CAA women’s soccer weekly news, notes and awards.

SCHEDULE AND RESULTS

Thursday, Sept. 7
 Northeastern 3, UNCW 0 *
William & Mary 2, Drexel 1 *
Campbell 0, Stony Brook 0 *
Charleston 11, Hampton 1 *
Delaware 0, Towson 0 *

Sunday, Sept. 10
Drexel 2, Northeastern 2 *
Elon at Monmouth * (ppd.)
Towson 2, Charleston 1 *
Hofstra 1, Campbell 0 *
William & Mary 1, Delaware 0 *
Stony Brook 6, Hampton 1 *

Thursday, Sept. 14
Delaware at Stony Brook * (FloFC), 6:31 p.m.
Northeastern at Campbell * (FloFC), 7 p.m.
Drexel at Hofstra * (FloFC), 7 p.m.
Monmouth at William & Mary * (FloFC), 7 p.m.
Hampton at UNCW * (FloFC), 7 p.m.
Towson at Elon * (FloFC), 7 p.m.
Bye: Charleston

Sunday, Sept. 17
Charleston at UNCW * (FloFC), 1 p.m.
Monmouth at Hampton * (None), 1 p.m.
Towson at Campbell * (FloFC), 1 p.m.
Northeastern at Elon * (FloFC), 1 p.m.
Hofstra at Stony Brook * (FloFC), 2 p.m.
Delaware at Drexel * (FloFC), 3 p.m.
Bye: William & Mary

WEEKLY AWARDS

OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Vivian Akyirem, Northeastern
Sophomore | Forward | Kumasi, Ghana / Berkshire School (Mass.)

Akyirem contributed two goals and an assist to a 1-0-1 opening weekend of CAA play. 

The sophomore from Ghana was part of two of Northeastern’s three goals in a win over UNCW on Thursday and struck for a goal on a penalty kick in Sunday’s draw with Drexel.

DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Kerry Pearson, Stony Brook
Senior | Defense | Merrick, New York / Sanford H. Calhoun

Pearson helped Stony Brook to a 1-0-1 start to its CAA slate by holding a pair of opponents to one total goal. 

The senior from Long Island, New York, played all 90 minutes in a clean sheet against Campbell on Thursday and limited Hampton to one goal Sunday. 

The Seawolves held both the Camels and Pirates to seven shots or fewer.

Kerry Pearson ➡️ @CAASports 𝗗𝗲𝗳𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝘆𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗪𝗲𝗲𝗸 😎

📰: https://t.co/NW1pGlBniW

🌊🐺 x #CAASoccer x @kerrypearsonn pic.twitter.com/Utn0DO4ZKi

— Stony Brook Women’s Soccer (@StonyBrookWSOC) September 11, 2023

ROOKIE OF THE WEEK

Bella Antonio, Charleston
Freshman | Forward | North Ridgeville, Ohio / North Ridgeville

Antonio erupted for two goals and two assists in Charleston’s record-setting 11-1 win over Hampton on Thursday. 

The freshman from Ohio contributed to four goals in 36 minutes of action, including the Cougars’ first tally 95 seconds into the match.

2023 CAA WOMEN’S SOCCER WEEKLY AWARD WINNERS

Offensive Player of the Week

Aug. 21: Olivia Pearse, Hofstra
Aug. 28: Annalena O’Reilly, Drexel
Sept. 4: Jasmine Hamid, Towson
Sept. 11: Vivian Akyirem, Northeastern

Defensive Player of the Week

Aug. 21: Nora Green-Orset, William & Mary
Aug. 28: Lily Dunbar, Drexel; Riley Melendez, Towson
Sept. 4: Joella Chase, Drexel
Sept. 11: Kerry Pearson, Stony Brook 

Rookie of the Week

Aug. 21: Gabby Hoschek, Elon
Aug. 28: Alyssa Tucker, Campbell
Sept. 4: Lindsay Wilson, William & Mary
Sept. 11: Bella Antonio, Charleston

NEWS AND NOTES

THE UNDEFEATED

Four of the nine teams to play two CAA games in the opening weekend of the league schedule escaped without a loss, with just one going 2-0-0: William & Mary. 

William & Mary is one of the final 30 programs nationally without a loss overall in 2023, as the Tribe enter the week at 5-0-3, with a Thursday home game against Monmouth and Sunday bye.

Northeastern, Stony Brook and Towson all went 1-0-1 in the first round of the conference slate, while Hofstra won its lone contest.

CATCHING UP

While nine teams have played two games in CAA play, and Hofstra and UNCW have taken part in one each, Elon and Monmouth met an unfortunate set of circumstances in the opening weekend.

Both teams had scheduled byes before opening their conference schedules against each other on Sunday, but that game was postponed due to travel issues from storms on the East Coast.

POWERING UP

CAA teams picked up a pair of wins over Power 5 opponents in the opening week. 

Delaware blanked Syracuse, 1-0, in Newark, with Raychel Speicher scoring the game-winner. 

Hofstra followed with a 1-0 win at Rutgers, thanks to a late goal by Olivia Pearse.

The win over an ACC opponent was the CAA’s first since Hofstra over Boston College during the 2020-2021 season, while the victory over the Big Ten was the league’s first since Drexel beat Maryland in 2018.

PROGNOSTICATIONS

Monmouth received six of 13 first-place votes to finish as the top team in the CAA preseason poll.

Six teams – Monmouth, Northeastern, Hofstra, Towson, Drexel and Campbell – received at least one first-place vote, with the regular-season champion Hawks and tournament winner Pride collecting multiple selections.

Nine teams were represented on the 12-player Preseason All-CAA list, with Drexel, Northeastern and Towson each earning two selections.

MS. WORLDWIDE

CAA programs were well-represented at this summer’s FIFA World Cup.

UNCW alum Katrina Guillou was part of the Philippines’ first team to play in the World Cup, fellow Seahawk Sydney Schneider suited up as a goalkeeper for Jamaica and Hofstra’s Diane Caldwell represented Ireland.

Alexander + Fisher = Tie Game 😤#TheCollege🌴⚽️ pic.twitter.com/p2R3Y2CXCm

— Charleston Women's Soccer (@CofCWSOC) September 10, 2023

TEAM NOTES

• JLo Varada made five saves in each of Campbell’s games on Long Island last week.
• Charleston’s 11 goals and 11 assists Thursday night were program records.
• Delaware saw 21 players take the field in Sunday’s game against William & Mary.
• Drexel’s 14 goals have come from eight scorers.
• Katie Lowe has played all 450 minutes for Elon this year.
• Sanaa Perry leads Hampton with two goals this fall, while appearing off the bench in all eight contests.
• Wiktoria Fronc has scored three of Hofstra’s four goals during the Pride’s current three-game winning streak and assisted on the other.
• Monmouth’s four games this fall are tied with Cornell, Mississippi Valley State and Prairie View A&M for the fewest in the nation.
• UNCW’s Hanna Wise tallied a season-high six saves at Northeastern.
• Vivian Akyirem’s game-tying PK on Sunday for Northeastern instantaneously was followed by a lightning delay of over an hour.
• Stony Brook’s six goals Sunday came from five players, with Reilly Rich scoring on a pair of PKs.
• Nia Christopher tied Emily Banes’ Towson program record with her 30th career goal on Sunday.
• William & Mary is one of 30 remaining teams nationally without a loss in 2023.