Goalkeepers Kristen Carden (Virginia Tech/Virginia Beach, Va.) and Sean Kelley (George Mason/Lexington, Ky.) have been named the NSCAA National Players of the Week for Oct. 7.

Carden came up strong between the pipes to spark the Hokies to their first-ever victory over perennial power and current No. 1 North Carolina, while Kelley posted a pair of clean sheets last week, including a blanking of No. 2 Maryland.

Each week, a male and female player will be selected from a nomination pool comprised of players of the week from each NCAA Division I soccer conference. The players will be announced each Wednesday afternoon from now until Nov. 11 through NSCAA.com, the official website of the National Soccer Coaches Association of America. They also will be recognized at halftime of the NSCAA College Game of the Week on Fox Soccer Channel, a schedule of 20 men’s and women’s intercollegiate matches. This week’s men’s telecast finds Connecticut (5-2-2) traveling to Morgantown, W.Va., to face a West Virginia (5-2-2) team that has tallied 1-0 victories against the Huskies on FSC telecasts the past two years. This year’s edition will kick off at 8 p.m. ET on Friday, Oct. 9. Two days later, on Sunday, Oct. 11, No. 17 Texas A&M (7-4-1) will host Loyola-Chicago (3-9-2) in a women’s telecast that will begin at 5 p.m. ET.

Kristin Carden
GK, So., Virginia Tech, Virginia Beach, Va.
Carden played a key role in the Hokies’ 1-0 upset of top-ranked North Carolina on Sunday, making a season-best 10 saves in the Hokies’ victory, their first ever over the Tar Heels or a No. 1-ranked team. Her most important save of the game came in the 67th minute, when she denied a shot from North Carolina’s Casey Nogueira after a scramble right on the goal line. Carden also denied three Tar Heel shots in the final 10 minutes of the match as the Hokies (10-2) posted their seventh straight win. Virginia Tech’s victory snapped a 33-match unbeaten streak for the Tar Heels that dated to last season and was UNC’s first loss in ACC play since a 1-0 loss at Miami on September 30, 2007. Earlier in the week on Thursday, Carden made five saves in a 2-1 road win at No. 18 Virginia. Carden’s biggest play may have come in the 12th minute of the match, when she thwarted a penalty kick by the Cavaliers. Carden played the full 180 minutes in Virginia Tech’s wins over Virginia and North Carolina and faced a total of 25 shots. The Virginia Beach, Va., native has tallied two shutouts on the season, both in ACC play, and collected 25 saves while sporting a 5-0 in goal record thus far.

Sean Kelley
GK, Sr., George Mason, Lexington, Ky.
Kelley recorded a pair of shutouts to lead George Mason to victories over No. 2 Maryland (2-0) and CAA foe William & Mary (1-0). The senior made six saves as the Patriots downed the defending national champion Terps and stopped four shots in a road triumph over the Tribe. Kelley has recorded five straight shutouts and hasn’t allowed a goal in the last 435:39.

This Year’s Recipients
Sept. 2: Women – Corky Julien, James Madison; Men – no selection
Sept. 9: Women – Jessica Price, Florida State; Men – Andrew Bulls, UMBC
Sept. 16: Women – Aline Reis, Central Florida; Men – Steffen Vroom, DePaul
Sept. 23: Women – Whitney Hooper, Texas A&M; Men – Yannick Salmon, Rutgers
Sept. 30: Women – Tiffany McCarty, Florida State; Men – Kevin Tangney, Maryland

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