Baden Offensive Player of the Week
Samba Traore, Dowling (So, D, Abidjan, Ivory Coast) - Notched the eventual game winning tally in the ECC Finals for the Golden Lions. He connected in the 20th minute of play with a blast from 25 yards out.
Baden Defensive Player of the Week
Nemanja Veljovic, Dowling (Jr., GK, Belgrade, Serbia) - Named Most Valuable Player of the ECC Championship, backstopping the Golden Lions to two wins. Made two saves in the semifinal against Mercy, and allowed one goal with 10 saves against Bridgeport in the finals. Was also named to the ECC All Conference Third Team.
Baden Rookie of the Week
Marcus Come, Dowling (Fr., F, Gothenburg, Sweden) - Netted the third goal on a penalty kick against Mercy College in the semifinals of the ECC Touranment to seal a 3-0 victory.
ECC Notebook:
ECC: Three ECC teams will play in the NCAA tournament as the pairings were announced late Monday afternoon. Dowling will face Bridgeport and NYIT will face East Stroudsburg in games to be played at ESU Friday with a regional champion to be crowned Sunday ... In the most recent NSCAA Division II national poll (10/30), Dowling moved up one spot to No. 6 while Bridgeport dropped one spot to No. 24 ... New rankings will be released November 6th ... In the most recent regional poll (same dates), Dowling was No. 1, Bridgeport was No. 3, NYIT was No. 4, Molloy was No. 5, and Mercy was No. 9 .
Dowling: The Golden Lions clinched their second consecutive post season title, defeating the Purple Knights of the University of Bridgeport by a score of 2-1 on a rainy November 3rd. Co- ECC Defender of the Year, Thomas Vaaland (Stavanger, Norway) made things happen first with a corner kick into the box and then seconds later he fired a shot at goalkeeper, Ryan Brook-Newton, who punched the ball into the feet of defender, Chris Green (Bristol, England) for a one-timer into the back of the net. The Golden Lions continued to fire off shots, and in the 20th minute of play, ECC Offensive Player of the Year, Ahmadoul Gaye (Dakar, Senegal) dished off an assist to Samba Traore (Ivory, Coast) for a 25 yard blast past the goalkeeper for the eventual game winning tally. Goalkeeper Nemanja Veljovic made a season high 10 saves to preserve the victory and earn MVP honors. The Golden Lions advanced to the Finals with a 3-0 victory over Mercy College earlier in the week. Junior Laurencin connected for two while Marcus Come rounded out the scoring on a Penalty Kick in the 82nd minute of play.
Mercy: Mercy (7-7-3, 4-4-1 ECC) is ranked No. 9 in the latest NSCAA/adidas Northeast Region poll. Senior forward Nizar Chahbani (Menzel Bourguiba, Tunisia) was named to the 2007 ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District 1 First Team, while senior midfielder Norton Carnegie (Kingston, Jamaica) earned a spot on the Third Team.
