Abelli, Furman, Tobler and Wallace cited for play last week
Below: Taylor Abelli
NORTH DARTMOUTH, Mass. - Four thletes in three fall sports have been recognized by the Little East Conference as part of its weekly awards program for the week ending Nov. 1 Three of the four honored athletes are first-year players at Eastern.
In volleyball, sophomore libero Taylor Abelli (Cheshire) was named the conference's Defensive Player-of-the-Week for sparking the Warriors to two conference victories which boosted the team into the LEC playoffs for the 15th straight season. The weekly honor was the third for an Eastern volleyball this season and the first this year and third in the career of Abelli, a second-team all-conference selection as a freshman last year at the defensive specialist position.
Below: Matt Furman
In Saturday's wins over Massachusetts Dartmouth and the University of Southern Maine, Abelli averaged 4.83 digs and had a .941 reception percentage on a team-high 34 receptions. In the key four-game victory over UMass Dartmouth, Abelli contributed a team-high 22 digs and handled 25 receptions with only one error.
Abelli ranks second in the conference in digs per game (4.51), having recorded the 1,000th dig of her two-year career Oct. 22 against Emerson College. She has has 1,053 digs in her 209-game career for an average of 5.04 per game.
The No. 6 and last seed in the LEC playoffs, the Eastern women's volleyball team (12-17) visits third-seeded Western Connecticut State University in a first-round playoff match Tuesday at 7 p.m.
Below: Kelly Wallace (Liz Cutler photo)
In men's soccer first-year sophomore forward Matt Furman (Montville) and freshman forward/midfielder Cory Tobler (Portland) were cited as the LEC's Offensive and Rookie-of-the-Week, respectively. The duo contributed to five of the team's six goals in a 2-0 week when the Warriors gained a share of the regular-season conference title. Each player had a goal in wins over Fitchburg State (3-0) and Plymouth State (3-2 in overtime). Tobler added two assists in the sudden-death victory at Plymouth, setting up Furman's game-ending goal 13 minutes into overtime. Tobler's goal with 14 minutes left in regulation forced the overtime session and set the stage for Furman's second game-ending overtime goal this year.
The honor is the second this year for Furman, who was named LEC Rookie-of-the-Week Sept. 20 after scoring game-winning goals against Tufts University and Western Connecticut State University. Tober was recognized for the first time. Furman is second on the team in scoring (7-5-19) and Tobler shares fourth place with four goals and 12 points.
Below: Cory Tobler
Eastern has now had seven different individuals receive weekly honorees a total of eight times in men's soccer, including three different Rookie-of-the-Week selections.
The second-seeded Eastern men's soccer team (14-4-1) hosts third-seeded and defending playoff champion Rhode Island College Wednesday at 6 p.m. in the LEC semifinals.
In women's soccer, freshman midfielder Kelly Wallace (South Windsor) was honored as the conference's Rookie-of-the-Week for the second time this year. Wallace had two assists in a 5-1 win over Plymouth State University Saturday which sewed up the No. 2 seed and a first-round bye in the upcoming LEC playoffs. Wallace is the conference leader with nine assists, a total which sets an Eastern freshman record. Wallace has five assists in the last three matches, having tied the program record with three in a 4-0 win over UMass Dartmouth Oct. 24. Wallace shares fourth place on the team in points (13).
Eastern women's soccer has now been honored five times this season by the conference. Four different individuals have earned the distinction.
The second-seeded Eastern women's soccer team (10-5-3) hosts a semifinal-round playoff game Thursday at 6 p.m. The Warriors face the winner of a Tuesday first-round match between third-seeded Massachusetts Boston and sixth-seeded Massachusetts Dartmouth.
