Juniata GKs Cassel and Ricciardi earn Landmark Defensive Player of the Week honors for men's and women's soccer

HUNTINGDON, Pa. -- The starting goalkeepers for both Juniata College's men's and women's soccer teams were named Landmark Conference Defensive Player of the Week honors, for the week ending September 18, 2011.

Junior Gabriella Ricciardi (Massapequa, N.Y./Massapequa) was named the Landmark's Women's Soccer Defensive Player of the Week, while junior Ezra Cassel (Denver, Pa./Cocalico) earned the Landmark Defensive Player of the Week award in men's soccer.

Ricciardi led Juniata to a 2-0 week with her strong play in the Eagle net. She logged six saves while conceding just one goal in Juniata's 2-1 road win over Lycoming College last Tuesday, and then recorded one save with one goal allowed as the Eagles topped King's College, 2-1, on Saturday.

Over 180 minutes of play last week, Ricciardi logged a .778 save percentage. She has a 1.94 goals against average through 556 minutes played in six games this season, with a .692 save percentage.

Cassel allowed just one goal last week as Juniata men's soccer took a split out of its two matches. He posted his second shutout of the season with seven saves in the Eagles' 3-0 win over Pitt-Bradford, then made four saves in 99 minutes of play as Juniata fell to King's, 1-0, in overtime. Cassel surrendered the winning goal on a penalty kick in the final minute of the first overtime period.

For the week, Cassel had a goals against average of 0.45 while making 11 saves. He has a 0.32 GAA through three games this season, with a .923 save percentage.

Juniata women's soccer returns to action on Tuesday, Sept. 20, as the Eagles face Penn State Altoona in a road contest. The men's team heads to Williamsport, Pa., on Wednesday, Sept. 21, to face Lycoming College.

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