September 21, 2009

RILEY LANDS CAA PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONORS

RICHMOND, Va. – With four straight shutouts on the board, the Virginia Commonwealth University women’s soccer team’s defense is obviously the star of the show right now.

Senior Jasmine Riley (Arlington, Va.) is making sure the offensive power of the Black & Gold is not forgotten as her two-goal, two assist week landed her Colonial Athletic Association Player of the Week honors.

“Jasmine’s speed really creates a lot of opportunities, not only for herself but also for her teammates,” Co-Head Coach Tim Sahaydak said.

With the Rams (4-3-1) up 1-0 late in the second half against Lehigh, Riley sped down the left sideline and created an opportunity for sophomore Heather Hovanesian (Centreville, Va.), who found the back of the net to put the nail in the Mountain Hawks’ coffin.

Riley’s big day came in the second half on Sunday as she found Hovanesian again and then tallied two goals of her own to lead the Black & Gold a decisive 3-0 victory at Bucknell.

On the year, the redshirt senior leads the team with five goals and five assists. She currently ranks in the top-10 in the CAA in both categories.

Riley and the Rams are unbeaten in their last four and are back in action Thursday as they travel north to open up their conference slate with a 4 p.m. match-up against the Tigers of Towson University.