Stephens Collects Second GNAC Rookie Of The Week Award
WINTHROP, Mass. - For the second time in the past three weeks, sophomore forward Dane Stephens (Jamaica) of the University of Saint Joseph (USJ) men's soccer team was named the Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Rookie of the Week, it was announced by the conference office on Monday afternoon in its seventh weekly report of the 2021 season. It marks the second career GNAC weekly honor for Stephens, who currently leads the league in assists with ten.
In a 2-0-0 week for USJ, Stephens was the man of the hour, scoring the game-winning goal with just seconds to spare, as the Blue Jays captured a, 2-1, come-from-behind victory over the Pride of Regis College, in a GNAC match on the USJ Soccer Field Wednesday evening. Just as overtime looked imminent, a yellow card was assessed to Regis which stopped the clock with 37 ticks remaining. The ball was played into the Pride's defensive end and eventually to senior midfielder Jared Galarza (Newington, Conn.) who tried to fire on net, but it was blocked. The carom bounced over to Stephens, who found just enough air space to launch a missile from 22 yards out, which sliced into the top-left corner of the goal with only 23 seconds on the clock to give the Blue Jays the lead. The last-minute marker stood for a critical GNAC win for the Blue Jays and earned Stephens his second GNAC Rookie of the Week nod in the past three weeks. USJ then went on to defeat Rivier University on Saturday, 2-0, to complete its perfect week and improve to 9-3-1 overall 6-3-0 in conference play on the season.
Stephens now has 20 total points on the season with five goals and ten assists, good for second-best on the team behind senior forward DeAnte Anderson (Bloomfield, Conn.), who is second in the league with 39 points (17 goals, 5 assists). Stephens currently leads the GNAC with ten assists which also ranks him third in the nation in that statistical category.
UP NEXT
Stephens and the Blue Jays are back home on Wednesday, October 20 on the USJ Soccer Field. The Blue Jays will go head-to-head with the Saints of Emmanuel College in a GNAC match beginning at 4:00 p.m.
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