Women’s Soccer Off to Championship Weekend at the CACC Tournament

Women's Soccer | 10/31/2018 12:00:00 AM

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Goldey-Beacom is used to this experience at championship weekend, but the squad is looking for even better results as it heads north to continue play at the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference Women's Soccer Tournament.

The second-seeded Lightning (15-4, 11-1 CACC) are in the semifinals for a second straight year, a first in school history, and will face No. 3 seed Holy Family on Friday at 1:30 pm. The game will take place at Municipal Stadium in Waterbury, CT and follows the first semifinal between top-seeded Georgian Court and No. 4 seed Caldwell.

The winners play in the final Sunday at 10:00 am (do not forget to set your clocks back an hour) with the champion earning the league's automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament. Please note the final will be played on the campus of Post University in Waterbury, CT.

This is Goldey-Beacom's fifth trip to the semifinal and only its second at a neutral site. Its only other such contest resulted in the program's lone semifinal win, a 1-0 victory over Caldwell in 2005 in Rutherford, NJ.

GBC enters the weekend with the school record for overall and conference wins along with scoring a team-best 62 goals and recording a program-high nine home wins. The Lightning won their first six games both overall and in the conference for the best starts in team annals and recorded their third straight season of double-digit wins for the first time in program history.

Among the first batch of honors, sophomore Kelly Mejia (State College, PA) was named the CACC Defensive Player of the Year. In addition to Mejia, sophomore forward Alanna Speaks (Dover, DE) and senior midfielder Cliona Crammond (Wicklow, Ireland) were named first team all-league.

Freshman midfielder Melayna Immediato (Hockessin, DE), junior forward Jenna Fannon (Newark, DE), senior goalkeeper Marta Lopez (Valencia, Spain) and senior defender Sophie Greenwood (Burnley, England) all were picked second team all-conference with Dan Frick named the league's Coach of the Year.

Mejia has had an exceptional two years in Pike Creek and more than adjusted well to her new role this year as one of the inside backs. Her play this season has the Lightning third in the conference with a 1.29 goals against average, third with 25 goals against, has helped the squad record six shutouts and 13 games in which they allowed one goal or fewer.

Speaks has been a dominant force with her toughness and quickness, which last season helped her to be picked CACC Rookie of the Year, first team all-league, CCA second team all-region and to the CACC All-Tournament Team. A presence every time she steps on the pitch, Speaks is 18th in the nation with 14 goals, 25th with 33 points, 36th with 0.78 goals per game, 36th with 1.83 points per match and 40th with four game-winning goals.

Speaks is tied for fifth in team history with 26 goals and sixth outright with 63 points. She also is tied for second in the GBC single-season book with 33 points and third outright with 14 goals.

Crammond finally got some long overdue recognition to highlight was has been a standout four-year career. A tremendous worker and teammate, Crammond has been a vital player for the team's resurgence and certainly will be missed upon graduation. She is 45th in the nation with 31 points, 52nd with 12 goals, 68th with 1.63 points per game, 75th with 0.63 goals per game and 88th with three game-winning goals.

Crammond is tied for second in team history with 30 goals, third outright with 19 assists and third with 79 points.

Immediato provided an instant impact upon first stepping foot on the pitch and it has carried throughout the entire season. A gifted athlete who has great field awareness, she is 49th in the nation with seven assists, 64th with 27 points, 81st with 1.5 points per game and 86th with 10 goals.

Her 27 points are the ninth-best single-season total in team history.

Fannon, who transferred from the U. of Delaware, also made the most of her debut campaign in Pike Creek. A strong competitor who is capable of scoring on any part of the field, she is 21st in the nation with five game-winning goals, 27th with 13 goals, 25th with 33 points, 36th with 1.83 points per game, 45th with 0.72 goals per contest, 49th with seven assists and 81st with 0.39 assists per game.

Fannon's 13 goals this year are tied for fourth-best in team history and her 33 points are tied with Speaks for second.

Lopez stepped into the goalkeeper role last season and it is a spot she has not relinquished thanks to her intuitiveness and solid leadership. Another strong competitor, Lopez is 32nd in the country with 1,665 minutes played, first in the league with 15 wins, second with a 1.19 goals-against average and sixth with just 22 goals allowed.

Lopez is sixth in team history with 132 saves.

Greenwood also has been a key part of the defense over 17 games with 14 starts, not to mention she has three goals on the campaign to go with five assists. She has played in 32 games over her career with 25 starts and her solid all-around play makes it very difficult for her to be taken off the pitch.

Frick, who earned his second Coach-of-the-Year honor in the last three seasons, has made a huge impact on the program with his great soccer skills and ability to make adjustments. He is 39-15-3 in his three-year career and has seen his team make the conference tournament each year.

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Players Mentioned

#9 Cliona Crammond: M; 5' 6"; Senior

#23 Sophie Greenwood: M; 5' 4"; Senior

#1 Marta Lopez: GK; 5' 7"; Senior

#4 Kelly Mejia: D; 5' 3"; Sophomore

#15 Alanna Speaks: F; 5' 9"; Sophomore

#2 Jenna Fannon: M; 5' 4"; Junior

#27 Melayna Immediato: F; 5' 0"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

#9 Cliona Crammond
: 5' 6"; Senior
: M

#23 Sophie Greenwood
: 5' 4"; Senior
: M

#1 Marta Lopez
: 5' 7"; Senior
: GK

#4 Kelly Mejia
: 5' 3"; Sophomore
: D

#15 Alanna Speaks
: 5' 9"; Sophomore
: F

#2 Jenna Fannon
: 5' 4"; Junior
: M

#27 Melayna Immediato
: 5' 0"; Freshman
: F