Quinnipiac Cleans Up Weekly Awards

Three From Women's Team, One Man Recognized by NEC

Oct. 20, 2009

Three members of the Quinnipiac University women’s soccer team swept the adidas/Northeast Conference weekly awards after two victories at home this past weekend.

Sophomore forward Furtuna Velaj (Stamford, Conn.) was named Player of the Week, freshman midfielder Jillian Strassner (Avon, Conn.) was named Rookie of the Week and freshman goalkeeper Biz Cook was named Defensive Player of the Week. This is the second time that Velaj has earned the Player of the Week honors this season, while Cook and Strassner were honored for the first time.

Furtuna Velaj

Furtuna Velaj (11) leads the Bobcats with 7 goals and 7 assists so far this season. (File photo/Quinnipiac Athletics)

“We had a frustrating start to the season, but our results in the past 10 days and specifically this past weekend have jump started our season,” said head coach Dave Clarke. “It is nice for Biz, Jill and Furtuna to be honored individually, but credit should go to the team as a whole for the level of their performance against LIU and Wagner. Hopefully we can continue to get results in our remaining games leading to further recognition for the team.”

Velaj continues to be the top offensive contributor for the Bobcats this season, leading the team with 19 points (7 goals, 7 assists). The forward compiled six points this past weekend against Long Island and Wagner, recording one goal and four assists. In the 3-0 win against Long Island on Friday, Velaj assisted the first two goals to fellow sophomore Kristina Del Mistro and Strassner in the third and 10th minute of play. She boosted the Bobcat lead to 3-0 in the 69th minute of play when she took a hard shot across the goalmouth that ricocheted off an LIU defender into the net for the goal.

In the 4-2 victory against Wagner on Sunday, Velaj dished out two more assists including a pass to senior Lindsay Oliveri (Waltham, Mass.) for her first career goal.

Strassner has proven herself to be a threat on the forward line for Quinnipiac. The rookie also tallied six points on the weekend, scoring two goals and adding two assists. Against the Blackbirds, Strassner opened up the scoring in the third minute of play when she collected a loose ball inside the scorer’s box and tapped it into the left corner for the goal.

Strassner ignited the Bobcat offense in the game against the Seahawks, picking up her first two assists of the season and scoring the game’s first goal, her fourth of the year. She again scored the first goal of the game for Quinnipiac when she connected with a header off a corner kick into the upper right corner of the net. Strassner ranks second on the team in points (10), goals (4) and assists (2).

Cook remains undefeated in goal for the Bobcats in her five appearances this season, earning her third shutout against Long Island on Friday. The rookie holds a 4-0-1 record this season and posts a .870 save percentage. Cook turned aside eight shots over the weekend, earning both wins in all 180 minutes of play.

On the men’s side, Philip Suprise was named the conference’s Rookie of the Week for the second consecutive week. Suprise was honored by the NEC after scoring the game-winning goal at Fairleigh Dickinson Friday night with 28 seconds remaining in the game. The goal lifted the Bobcats to a 1-0 win over the Knights and the team’s third NEC win of 2009.

Quinnipiac also defeated Sacred Heart, 1-0, on Sunday to improve to 4-0-1 in conference play and a tie for first place with No. 8 Monmouth.

“When we recruited Philip we knew he had the talent to be the league’s top rookie,” said head coach Eric Da Costa. “He works very hard on his game and I am proud of his success thus far. I have no doubt he will continue to grow and succeed throughout his career.”

Suprise netted his team-leading sixth goal of the season against Fairleigh Dickinson. The freshman forward stole the ball from a Knight defender at midfield and made a one-touch move to create space. After two strides towards the goal along the left sideline, Hall fired a shot from nearly 40 yards out. The ball found its way into the far top corner of the net over the Fairleigh Dickinson goalkeeper with 28 seconds showing on the clock.

This is the second week in a row that Suprise has been honored as the conference’s top first-year player. Last week, he scored all three of Quinnipiac’s goals in a 3-0 victory against Bryant. This season, Suprise is tied for second in the NEC with six goals, while tied for fifth in the league with 13 points.