NJCU’s DEVON WILLIAMS NAMED FINAL NJAC ROOKIE OF THE WEEK OF 2011 SEASON

                  Monday, November 14, 2011 (Women's Soccer)

NJCU's DEVON WILLIAMS NAMED FINAL NJAC ROOKIE OF THE WEEK OF 2011 SEASON

PITMAN, NJ (NJCUGothicKnights.com) | Freshman defender DEVON WILLIAMS (Neptune City, NJ/Neptune) has been named the final New Jersey Athletic Conference Rookie of the Week of the 2011 season after notching a pair of assists and contributing to one shutout in New Jersey City University's post-season appearance in the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Division III Metro Tournament.

Williams, a 5-foot-5 freshman majoring in Secondary Education, becomes the third different Gothic Knight newcomer to earn NJAC Rookie of the Week accolades during a successful 14-8 season during which NJCU reached the ECAC semifinals, the NJAC quarterfinals, and equaled single-season school records for wins and shutouts (7). The award for week 11 of the season adds to previous Rookie of the Week honors by freshman goalkeeper BRITTANY HOFFMAN (McMurray, PA/Peters Township) in week one and freshman midfielder AMANDA FILIPPONE (Kenilworth, NJ/David Brearley) in week six.

In all, Williams is the sixth different NJCU player to receive either the Offensive Player of the Week, Defensive Player of the Week or Rookie of the Week distinction this year.

NJCU, the fourth seed in the ECAC Tournament, posted a 6-0 victory over City University of New York Athletic Conference (CUNYAC) champion, and fifth-seeded College of Staten Island on November 9 in Jersey City before losing a 3-2 decision at top-seeded and eventual ECAC champion New York University on November 12. Williams played all 180 minutes in the two games.

In the win over Staten Island, Williams assisted on the second goal of the game in the 17^th minute, playing a ball into the middle of the box from 30 yards out where teammate JENNIFER ALBUJA (Union City, NJ/Hoboken) ran onto the pass and scored. Defensively, Williams helped limit the Dolphins to four shots on goal while NJCU finished the year 9-2 at home.

Williams assisted on NJCU's first goal in the 3-2 loss to NYU. Trailing 2-0 at halftime, NJCU quickly tied it in the first six minutes of the second period. After a foul by NYU, Williams played a free kick from the right side into the box where teammate BRIANNA TAYLOR (Linden, NJ/Linden) headed a shot into the left side of the net to make it a one-goal deficit at the 47:53 mark.

Williams finished her rookie campaign with one goal and four assists for six points on 18 shots (seven shots on goal) in 1,805 minutes of action. After missing the first game of the season with an injury, she played and started in the final 21 contests. She was tied for fifth on the team in assists and listed sixth in minutes played. Her goal was the game-winner against Rutgers-Newark on October 12. Williams was tied for 16^th in the league in assists, tied for 22^nd in game-winners, and 30^th in assists per game (0.19).

—www.njcugothicknights.com—