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Monday, Oct. 24, 2005
THREE HONORED WITH LEC WEEKLY AWARDS
Keepers Barney and Sumecki top defensive players; Buzzell No. 1 on offense
WILLIMANTIC, Conn. – Soccer goalkeepers Jay Barney (MANSFIELD) and Allison Sumecki (NORTHFORD) and women’s soccer forward Caitlin Buzzell (MANCHESTER) have been honored by the Little East Conference with weekly awards for their play for the week ending Oct. 23.
At left: Jay Barney
Below, right: Caitlin Buzzell
Below, left: Allison Sumecki
Barney was named men’s and Sumecki women’s Defensive Player-of-the-Week, respectively, while Buzzell was tapped as women’s Offensive Player-of-the-Week in helping the soccer programs to a combined record of 5-1 for the week of Oct. 17-23.
A senior, Buzzell was recognized with the award for the second time this year while Barney and Sumecki were honored for the first time this year. Barney was named Defensive Player-of-the-Week once and Rookie-of-the-Week twice en route to Rookie-of-the-Year honors as a freshman in 2004. It is second time Buzzell has been recognized in her two-year Eastern career and first time in the four-year career of Sumecki., a senior.
In 282 minutes over three starts last week, Barney allowed only two goals (0.64 GAA) while making 16 saves (.889 save percentage) and posting two shutouts. Both goals allowed came in a 2-1 
overtime loss to 2004 conference champion Keene State College, ranked 19th nationally in Division III. Barney made two saves in a 3-0 shutout of Massachusetts Boston and five saves in a 1-0 win over Southern Maine, the latter game dropping his goals-against average under 1.00 to 0.99. Barney has allowed only four goals in his last six appearances covering 462 minutes (0.78 GAA) with 27 saves (.871 save pct.).
With two regular-season matches remaining, the men are 7-7-1 overall and 3-3-0 in the conference. The team is currently in fifth place in the conference, one point behind Plymouth State and Western Connecticut State University. The top four teams in the eight-team conference qualify for the conference tournament. The Warriors close out the conference regular season Saturday, hosting Rhode Island College.
Buzzell contributed to six of the team’s nine goals with four goals and two assists – recording two game-winning goals – in a 3-0 week which included a 1-0 win at defending conference champion Keene State and a 3-1 win over previous conference unbeaten University of Southern Maine. She scored two goals against Southern Maine – the first in the third minute of play and also and insurance goal in the 87th minute, and also had two goals and two assists against UMass Boston. In each of her two seasons at Eastern, Buzzell has identical totals of 11 goals, five assists and 45 shots.
Last week, Sumecki played 261 of a possible 270 minutes and allowed only one goal (0.34 GAA) while making 12 saves (.923 save percentage). She made five saves in a 1-0 shutout of host Keene State and five in a 3-1 win over Southern Maine. In 13 of 15 appearances this year, Sumecki has allowed one or no goals. This year, she is unbeaten in six starts in conference play with a 0.68 GAA (four goals in 528 minutes) with a .871 save percentage. In conference matches this year, she has two full-match shutouts and played the first 81 minutes of a third. In her 47-game career, Sumecki has 18 wins and three ties in 28 decisions with a 1.07 GAA and an .808 save percentage.
The women are in first place in the conference with a 5-0-1 conference record and are 8-5-2 overall. A win Saturday at Rhode Island College would give the Warriors their first-ever outright regular-season title. It would also make them the top seed and host institution for the conference tournament semifinals and final, scheduled for Nov. 4-5. Eastern is 8-1-2 since opening the season with four losses.
