GNAC Women's Soccer Report: Week 1

(FOR THE OPENING WEEKEND OF AUG. 30-SEPT. 1)

PLAYER / ROOKIE OF THE WEEK Sydney Jimmo, Colby-Sawyer (Fr, C - Shelburne, Vt.) Jimmo led the Chargers with seven points on three goals and an assist on the opening weekend of the 2019 season. She helped Colby-Sawyer win a pair of matches and the Bulldog Bash hosted by Dean College. Jimmo was named tournament MVP. She began the weekend with two goals and an assist in a 5-3 win over Rhode Island College. The first-year player then scored a goal in the team's 3-2 win over Fitchburg State.

GOALKEEPER OF THE WEEK Lindsey Montminy, St. Joseph (Conn.) (So., GK - Vernon, Conn.) Montminy didn't allow a goal in 127:06 between the pipes to start the 2019 season. In her first two collegiate starts for USJ, she racked up 12 saves, good for the most by any GNAC keeper with an unblemished record over the opening weekend of play. In the season opener against Manhattanville on Friday, Montminy posted her first career clean sheet, blanking the Valiants over 90 minutes and making seven saves. She followed that up by stopping all five shots she faced in just 37:06 of action in a win at Nichols on Sunday.

WEEK 1 HONOR ROLL
Natalie Dash, Emmanuel (Mass.) (Sr, F - East Hampton, Conn.) - Dash netted the game-winning goal in Emmanuel's 2-1 win over Coast Guard, marking the first time since 2014 that the Saints picked up a "W" in their season-opener. The senior captain connected on her only shot attempt late in the first half to lift EC to the non-conference victory.

Kim Watt, Norwich (So., GK - Lindenhurst, N.Y.) - Watt recorded a career-high 15 saves to give Norwich every chance to try and upset intrastate foe Castleton on Sunday as the Spartans outshot Norwich 33-4. She made 14 saves in regulation to help NU force overtime. Watt also made nine saves in a loss to Rowan in the season opener. 

Olivia Belcourt, St. Joseph (Conn.) (Fr., F - Cromwell, Conn.) - Belcourt factored in both matches over the weekend as USJ opened up the 2019 campaign a perfect 2-0, tallying four points on a goal and two assists. Belcourt made an immediate impact in the season opener for the Blue Jays and in her first collegiate game on Friday she scored the game-winning goal in the 68th minute over Manhattanville in an eventual 2-0 victory for USJ. She would also play a role later in the match against the Valiants after her through ball in the 78th minute initiated the Blue Jays' second goal. Then on Sunday at Nichols, Belcourt picked up right where she left off assisting on the Blue Jays' first goal just 6:18 into the match in an eventual 4-1 triumph.

Ali O'Neill, St. Joseph (Conn.) (So., M/F - Litchfield, Conn.) - O'Neill factored in both games for USJ to help power the Blue Jays to a 2-0 start in 2019. Over a pair of matches, O'Neill tallied four points with a goal and two assists. In the season opener on Friday versus Manhattanville, the midfielder from Litchfield assisted on the game-winning goal in the 68th minute of the 2-0 win. On Sunday at Nichols, assisted on what would be the game-winning goal once again in the 15th minute and give USJ a 2-0 advantage over the Bison. She followed that up by helping put the game away after netting her first goal of the season just five minutes later to build 3-0 USJ lead en route to a 4-1 win. 

Kayley Mattos, Saint Joseph's (Maine) (Sophomore, F - Mahopac, N.Y.) - Mattos tallied a goal and an assist in a 3-0 victory over Husson University on Sunday afternoon.

Allison Rodrigues, Suffolk (So., GK - North Andover, Mass.) - Rodrigues stopped tall between the pipes as she stopped all seven shots she faced to backstop Suffolk to a 1-0, double overtime, season opening victory at Elms. The shutout is the fifth of the sophomore's career. 

Caitlin Ryan, Suffolk (Jr., F - Hull, Mass.) - Ryan lifted Suffolk to victory in her Rams' debut as the junior transfer netted the game winner in the 106th minute to help the blue-and-gold take down Elms, 1-0, in its season opener. It marked the program's first-ever overtime win in its first game of the season.