University of Connecticut Athletics
Jalalian, Montacer earn BIG EAST honors
10/15/2001 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Storrs, CT (October 15) – University of Connecticut women’s soccer team members Zahra Jalalian (Auburn, WA) and Naima Montacer (Wallingford, CT) were named BIG EAST Rookie and Co-Defensive Player of the Week, respectively, by the conference on Monday afternoon.
Jalalian, a freshman forward who prior to this weekend had played in seven games and recorded one shot, notched both of UConn’s game-winning goals this weekend in 1-0 wins over No. 21 West Virginia and William & Mary. Her goal against the Mountaineers on Friday was the first of her collegiate career and came six minutes after entering the game as a substitute. Against William & Mary on Sunday, Jalalian netted the game winner 35 seconds into overtime to improve the Huskies to 10-4-0 overall on the season.
In only her fourth start of the season after battling back from a knee injury, Montacer led the UConn defense in back-to-back shutouts. Against West Virginia on Friday, the junior defender marked BIG EAST Preseason Player of the Year Katie Barnes and kept her from scoring. The shutout also marked the first time the Mountaineers had been held scoreless all year. Montacer also started against William & Mary on Sunday and helped hold the Tribe to only two shots in the contest. She shares the award with Syracuse's Tracy Stalker.
The Connecticut women’s soccer team will be back in action on Friday, October 19 at Morrone Stadium. The Huskies, who have already clinched the BIG EAST Northeast Division title with a 5-1-0 conference record, will host BIG EAST opponent Pittsburgh (5-6-1 overall). Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.
