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LEXINGTON, Va. – Women’s soccer seniors Audrey Falconi, Chrissy Beach, Alexi Staton and Kat Underwood have been named the VMI Athletes of the Week, for the time period ending Nov. 10.
The four seniors concluded their soccer careers this past Friday, losing a penalty kick shootout to Winthrop in the semifinals of the Big South Championship. The quartet went out having led the Keydets to back-to-back appearances in the Big South semifinals, the first such showings in program history.
Beach (Las Vegas, Nev./Rancho) had a goal and an assist in the Championships, scoring the Keydets’ lone marker in regulation during their first round victory over Coastal Carolina. She also assisted on VMI’s score in the contest against Winthrop, finding Simone Jimenez with a header in the box during that match. For the season, she had 15 points on five goals and five assists. Over her final three seasons, Beach missed just one match, and exits VMI women’s soccer ranked second in all-time assists, third in career goals and third in total career points for the VMI program.
Underwood (Spotsylvania, Va./Courtland) stepped into the starting lineup at midseason, and notched her second career goal against Radford, helping VMI earn its first win ever over the in-state rival. She saw extensive time at midfield during the conference tournament, and posted the second-most shots for the Keydets in their final game of the season versus Winthrop. Early in her career, she was a goalkeeper and set the record for longest shutout streak before switching to the midfield prior to her junior year. Since becoming a field player, she has missed just one match over the past two years after battling back from a devastating knee injury.
Staton (Roanoke, Va./Northside), who was named to the All-Tournament Team Sunday, generated the Keydets' lone goal against Winthrop. She sent a perfectly-placed service from 30 yards out into the six-yard box, where Beach nailed the header to Jimenez for the goal. In addition, Staton had an outstanding tournament at her outside back position, helping to stop several offensive opportunities and forcing both opponents to take shots from well outside the 18-yard box. She served as a tri-captain for this year’s team, and was named to the Big South Presidential Honor Roll each year of her career.
Falconi (Las Vegas, Nev./Centennial) was named All-Tournament as well, as she and Staton became just the third and fourth Keydets to be so recognized, joining last year’s honorees Megan Strand and Celine Ziobro. The honor capped a week that saw Falconi earn First Team All-Conference honors for the second time in her career, while she was also named the league's Scholar-Athlete of the Year. In the two Championship matches, Falconi showed why she is so highly regarded, thwarting numerous dangerous attacks from her sweeper position. Against Coastal Carolina, she played a large part in limiting the Big South's second-leading scorer, Dana Gentile to just three shots. She wraps up her senior season having played every minute on the field, the only Keydet to make that claim in 2009.
Previous Athlete of the Week Honorees:
Nov. 10 – Women’s Soccer Seniors (Audrey Falconi, Kat Underwood, Alexi Staton and Chrissy Beach)
Nov. 2 – Women’s Cross Country Team
Oct. 27 – James Goodwillie (Swimming and Diving) and Howard Abegesah (Football)
Oct. 20 – Angela Redmond (Women’s Soccer) and Back Line (Men’s Soccer)
Oct. 6 – Audrey Falconi (Women’s Soccer)
Sept. 29 – Kyle Hughes (Football) and Kip Zechman (Men’s Soccer)
Sept. 22 – Hannah Granger (Women’s Cross Country)
Sept. 8 – Eric Church (Football)
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Courtesy: VMIKeydets.com
