Muscatello, Schaffner Collect GNAC Weekly Awards
WINTHROP, Mass. - Junior forward Maxine Muscatello (Berlin, Conn.) and sophomore goalkeeper Victoria Schaffner (Waterbury, Conn.) of the University of Saint Joseph women's soccer team collected Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) weekly awards, it was announced Monday afternoon by the conference in its ninth and final weekly report of the 2021 season. Muscatello was named GNAC Player of the Week and Schaffner was tabbed GNAC Goalkeeper of the Week as they helped lead the Blue Jays to a 3-0-0 week, including a victory over Albertus Magnus in the GNAC Quarterfinals on Saturday night.
Muscatello had a monster 12-point week for USJ in route to earning her first career GNAC Player of the Week honor. Muscatello factored in all three games on the week, netting five goals to go along with a pair of assists for 12 points over the seven-day span. She opened the final week of the regular season with a pair of goals on Monday in a 4-2 victory at home over Simmons before adding a goal and two assists on Thursday at Dean in another 4-2 triumph, which secured the fourth seed and a GNAC Tournament home game for USJ for the first time since 2012. In the GNAC Quarterfinals on Saturday versus fifth-seeded Albertus Magnus, Muscatello netted the first goal of the game, which would serve as the game-winner, and then added an insurance goal in the 82nd minute as the fourth-seeded Blue Jays prevailed 3-0 to advance to the GNAC Semifinals for the first time since 2015.
Schaffner recorded five saves in the 3-0-0 week for the Blue Jays, including a four-save shutout on Saturday in the GNAC Quarterfinal victory over the fifth-seeded Albertus Magnus Falcons to pickup GNAC Goalkeeper of the Week accolades. It marks the second career GNAC Goalkeeper of the Week nod for Schaffner who earned the honor earlier this season on September 20. Schaffner currently leads the league in shutouts with eight on the season and is second in the league in goals-against average (0.71).
UP NEXT
It's off to Providence for Muscatello, Schaffner, and the Blue Jays, who will prepare for their tallest task yet; a battle against top-seeded and defending champion JWU in the GNAC Semifinals. That match is scheduled for Wednesday, November 3 at 7:00 p.m. The Blue Jays and Wildcats played to a scoreless draw earlier this season on September 18 on the USJ Soccer Field. USJ is seeking its first GNAC Championship appearance in program history, while the Wildcats continue their quest to win back-to-back titles.
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