Pelafas and Ford Earn Women's Soccer Player of the Week Award
Women's Soccer Defensive Player of the Week
Tess Ford, Buffalo
Defender, Freshman, Williamsville, NY (Williamsville East)
Freshman Tess Ford had her best weekend of her young UB career this weekend as she helped propel Buffalo to a 2-0 record with wins over Canisius and St. Francis (PA). The freshman defender was a monster on set pieces all weekend long as she was able to notch the first two goals of her UB career with five shots. She also helped the Bulls preserve their fourth shutout of the season on Sunday with her strong defensive effort. On Friday, Ford was able to convert on a corner kick as she gathered the ball and buried it into the right corner of the net for her first career marker. The freshman also finished with a career-best three shots in the 2-1 win. On Sunday, Ford had another strong match on the set pieces as she netted her first career game-winning goal in the 52nd minute on a Gurjeena Jandu corner. Ford also helped the Bulls earn their fourth clean sheet of the season and fourth in their last five matches during their current five-match winning streak. The freshman played all 180 minutes on the weekend.
Women's Soccer Offensive Player of the Week
Lexi Pelafas, Central Michigan
Forward, Senior, Wheaton, Ill. (Wheaton North)
Senior forward Lexi Pelafas had a standout weekend for Central Michigan, headlining the Chippewas attack. In a loss at Big Ten foe Michigan on Friday, Pelafas got CMU on the scoreboard, netting her fourth goal of the season in the 70th minute. In a 5-0 home rout of Oakland on Sunday, Pelafas had one of her best games in the Maroon and Gold, tallying two goals and two assists. She earned assists on CMU's first two goals of the game, helping the Chippewas jump out to a 2-0 halftime lead. Pelafas put the finishing touches on the victory, scoring goals in the 70th and 89th minutes. Her fifth goal of the year was a highlight reel effort, scored on a blast from just outside the 18 with a defender closely marking her. The shot hit the underside of the crossbar and bounded in. For her final goal, she beat two defenders, received a long entry pass and beat the goalkeeper to the far post. Pelafas leads the MAC in points (14) and is tied for tops in goals (6).
Other Women's Soccer Nominees
Mary Carlson, Central Michigan
Defender, Senior, Grand Rapids, Mich. (Forest Hills Central)
Senior defender Mary Carlson led the Central Michigan defense in a 5-0 blanking of Oakland on Sunday. The Chippewas allowed just four total shots for the game, including none in the second half, with just one making it on goal. Carlson also contributed on the offensive end, scoring the game winner versus the Golden Grizzlies. In the 12th minute, off a corner kick, Carlson tapped in a header that was played in from Lexi Pelafas. Carlson leads the Chippewas in minutes played, logging 623 total minutes.
Tristin Stuteville, Ball State
Goalkeeper, Senior, Kansas City (Platte County)
Tristin Stuteville continued her solid year in goal by helping Ball State draw with Western Illinois, 1-1. The fifth-year senior faced eight shots through the match that went into double overtime and saved seven of them. The Kansas City native has still not surrendered more than one goal in a match this year. Stuteville played all 110 minutes in goal on Sunday to anchor the Ball State defense. The match, which was BSU's sixth-consecutive road game to start the season, was moved indoors unexpectedly due to weather. Western Illinois took 11 shots total through the match but Stuteville stood strong after allowing an early goal.
Paige Dobbs, Western Michigan
Defender, Senior, Wixom, Mich. (Walled Lake Western)
Paige Dobbs started at center back and helped Western Michigan produce its fourth straight win and third straight shutout after blanking Illinois-Chicago, 3-0. Against the Flames she helped hold them to just five shots on goal. Dobbs also started in WMU's 2-0 loss at Purdue.
Allison Abbe, Ball State
Midfielder/Forward, Senior, Plainfield, Ind. (Plainfield)
Allison Abbe scored the equalizer in Ball State's match at Western Illinois to erase a 0-1 deficit and lead the Cardinals to a 1-1 draw. The match at WIU marked the sixth-straight game the Cardinals have played on the road to open the season. The fifth-year senior recorded three shots on the day including her shot on goal. The Plainfield, Ill. native moved into a tie for the top point scorer at BSU this season with the goal. Abbe helped to lead a steady attack that produces 16 shots on Sunday afternoon. The match was originally scheduled to be played at Western Illinois' home field, but weather conditions caused the match to be moved indoors at a sports complex in Betterndorf, Iowa.
Carissima Cutrona, Buffalo
Forward, Senior, Williamsville, NY (Williamsville South)
Senior forward Carissima Cutrona wasn't able to bury any goals on the weekend but she was still able to have a very effective couple of games for the Bulls as they went 2-0 with wins over Canisius and St. Francis (PA). Cutrona finished off her strong weekend with a team-high three assists, 10 shots and seven shots on goal. On Friday, Cutrona was able to set up the game-winner goal as she crossed a perfect pass into Adrianna VanCuyck who buried the game-winner. Cutrona was all over the field on Friday as she notched a game-high four shots, two on goal, across 90 minutes of work. The Williamsville native had another strong match on Sunday for the Bulls as she recorded a pair of assists while recording six shots, five on goal, in the dominant 3-0 win over St. Francis (PA). Cutrona picked up the assist on Marcy Barberic's first goal as she nearly had a goal herself before Barberic finished it off. She then made a beautiful feed to Barberic for the Bulls third goal of the match. The senior has now recorded at least one point in five straight matches, all UB wins, including multi-point efforts in four of those matches. Through six matches, Cutrona leads the team with three goals, a career-high six assists and 12 points while also notching a team-high 19 shots including 14 shots on goal with two game-winning markers. She currently ranks seventh in program history with 62 career points, tied for seventh in assists with 16 and tied for eighth in goals with 23 for her career.
Yasmine Hall, Kent State
Forward, Junior, Strathcona
Kent State junior forward Yasmine Hall scored two goals in Kent State's lone match of the week, a 3-2 victory over Morehead State. Hall scored her first goal of the match in the 29th minute from 20 yards out on the right side to give Kent State a 2-0 lead. With the match tied at two, Hall scored the game-winner in the 81st minute off a deflection from roughly 18 yards out. The Edmonton, Alberta native recorded the first points of her Golden Flashes career after transferring from USF last season.
Morgan Otteson, Western Michigan
Forward , Freshman , Grand Rapids, Mich. (Northview)
Freshman Morgan Otteson netter her first collegiate goal in WMU's 3-0 win over Illinois Chicago on Friday. Otteson put the game out of reach with her goal in the second half to push the score to 3-0. Otteson also appeared as a substitute in WMU's 2-0 loss at Purdue on Sunday.
