PROVIDENCE, R.I. – Connecticut’s Carlos Alvarez and Kwame Watson-Siriboe helped the Huskies earn their ninth and 10th straight shutouts of the year with a 4-0 win over then-No. 6/8 Harvard on Oct. 14, followed by a 2-0 win over Pittsburgh on Oct. 17. Alvarez was named BIG EAST Rookie of the Week, while Watson-Siriboe earned BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week. West Virginia’s Zach Johnson led the Mountaineers to a 1-0-1 week and grabbed BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Week accolades. Villanova’s Will Ogden was named BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Week after leading the Wildcats in their lone game of the week.
Alvarez recorded seven points and played all 180 minutes in the Huskies’ two shutout wins. Alvarez scored two goals and added an assist for five points and his second multi-point game of the season in UConn’s win over the nationally ranked Crimson. In the team’s 2-0 win over Pitt, the freshman forward recorded an assist on both Husky goals. This is Alvarez’s second straight rookie of the week honor.
Watson-Siriboe and the Huskies allowed just four combined shots on goal in their two shutouts last week. UConn, which has not let in a goal since the Huskies’ 2-1 loss at Rutgers on Sept. 20, is on a streak of 650 minutes without allowing a goal and is on a seven-game unbeaten streak (6-0-1). The senior defender scored the Huskies’ second goal of the game against Pitt. This is Watson-Siriboe’s second defensive honor of the season and of his career.
Johnson was instrumental in the Mountaineers’ 1-0-1 week. The redshirt-junior made 16 saves in two games – eight in each contest. In a 1-1 double-overtime draw against Elon on Oct. 14, the only goal that went in the net was on a scramble in the box, which was knocked in by a WVU defender. The Mountaineers traveled to then-No. RV/22 Notre Dame, earning a 1-0 victory. He had five of his eight saves in the second half, holding the Irish scoreless. This is Johnson’s third BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Week honor, as he grabbed co-honors last week. He also earned two rookie of the week honors in 2007.
Ogden led Villanova to a critical BIG EAST Red Division win over DePaul on Oct. 17 in the team’s only game of the week. The sophomore scored a pair of goals in the 4-2 victory, including one in each half. He started the team’s offensive output just 5:35 into the game, and then capped off the day’s scoring just over 10 minutes into the second half. The game, which was moved to Eastern University due to unplayable field conditions at Villanova, moved the Wildcats into fourth place in the division standings, one point ahead of the Blue Demons. This is Ogden’s first career offensive player of the week honor.
The BIG EAST Weekly Honor includes: Calum Mallace, Marquette, So, MF; Matt Pyzdrowski, Marquette, Sr., GK; Yannick Salmon, Rutgers, Jr., MF; Alex Silva, West Virginia, So., MF; Sebastian Thuriere, USF, So., MF
Courtesy: BIG EAST Conference
