George Washington University Athletics
GW Women's Soccer Enters Final Week of Regular Season
10/28/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
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Oct. 28, 2015
GW at Rhode Island - Thursday, 7 p.m.: Follow Live Stats | Follow @GWWomensSoccer
GW vs. Saint Louis - Sunday, 1 p.m.: | Watch on RaiseHigh Live | Follow @GWWomensSoccer
The Colonials (13-4-0, 8-0-0 A-10) enter the week after winning a program-best 11 consecutive games - the longest active win streak in the nation - while having shut out their last five opponents. GW holds sole possession of first place in the Atlantic 10 and can lock up the top seed at the A-10 Championships with a win or a tie this week. Rhode Island (3-13-1, 0-8 A-10) looks for its first conference win of the season, while Saint Louis (4-11-1, 2-5-1) sits in 10th place.
"The team is excited to finish the regular season on a strong note," said Head Coach Sarah Barnes. "Our main focus now is to continue to improve on the things we do best, like controlling the ball, creating dynamic movements off the ball and defending well from front to back."
The Buff and Blue own the top defense in the A-10, posting a conference-leading 0.82 goals against average on the season and holding a minuscule 0.25 mark in A-10 play. The Colonials have shut-out their last five opponents and have posted a program-record 11 clean sheets on the season and rank 10th in the nation in shutout percentage (0.647).
Junior MacKenzie Cowley leads the squad offensively with a career-high eight goals on the season, while freshman Sofia Pavon's six scores rank second. Both Colonials have posted four game-winning goals, tying them for second in the conference.
Rhode Island looks to snap a 12-game skid on Thursday night as the Colonials kick-off the Rams' season-closing homestand.
Ari Stanton leads the team with 14 points (6g, 2a) on the year as 10 different Rams have scored in 2015. Goalkeeper Katie Nickles leads the conference with 115 saves on the season, averaging 6.76 saves per contest.
The Colonials will face one of the league's top offenses on Sunday when Saint Louis visits the District. The Billikens rank second in the conference in goals (31), goals per game (1.82), points (92) and shots per game (16.65). Livi Logan-Wood leads the team with seven goals and is followed closely by Danielle Tolmais' six scores. Eight Billikens have posted multi-goal seasons.
Between the posts, Hanna Benben has served as Saint Louis' primary keeper, starting all 17 games for the Billikens while posting a conference-leading .815 save percentage.
A year ago, the Colonials downed Saint Louis, 1-0, on Cowley's game-winner to clinch a bid the 2014 Atlantic 10 Championship before defeating Rhode Island, 1-0, on junior Kate Elson's header to advance to the A-10 semifinal round.
Thursday's match at the URI Soccer Complex will begin at 7 p.m., while Sunday's Senior Day game is slated for 1 p.m. Kristi Abbate, Nicole Belfonti, Emily Brown, Ellen Conway, Kyla Ridley, and Brooke Stoller will be honored at the GW Soccer Field on the Mount Vernon Campus prior to Sunday's contest.
