Stiles, Copley Earn AAC Weekly Honors

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – After a 2-0 weekend helped clinch the best AAC finish in program history, the ECU women's soccer team had three players earn weekly honors from the conference, including both the Offensive Player of the Week and the Goalkeeper of the Week, as announced by the conference office on Monday.

Melanie Stiles took her performances to the next level down the stretch of the season and was named Goalkeeper of the Week by the conference. The sophomore goalkeeper from Bowie, Md., finished the year with three straight shutouts, including clean sheets in a 1-0 win over Cincinnati and a 2-0 win over UConn this past weekend. Stiles made a season-high nine stops against Cincinnati to preserve the win that clinched ECU a spot in the AAC postseason tournament. This season, Stiles has made 72 saves and is second in the conference in shutouts with six total. Stiles has made the AAC Weekly Honor twice already this season and is the first Pirate to be named Goalkeeper of the Week since current volunteer assistant coach Michelle Knotts earned the honor on Sept. 18, 2017.

"We talked about getting two clean sheets this weekend and Mel was good when she needed to be to give us the opportunity to win both games," said head coach Jason Hamilton.

After scoring a pair of game-winning goals last weekend, Cashlin Copley was named the AAC Offensive Player of the Week. Copley scored against Cincinnati in the 31st minute and that goal stood as the game-winner. In the season-finale against UConn, Copley once again came off the bench to score the opening goal of the game, this time in the 66th minute. It is the first time Copley has scored in consecutive games in her collegiate career. Copley is the first Pirate to be named AAC Offensive Player of the Week since Courtney Cash was honored on Sept. 18, 2017.

"Cashlin has battled a couple injuries this season, but is finally starting to feel better," Hamilton said. "We used her more lately to build her game fitness. To have someone come off the bench in both games to score game-winning goals shows the improvement in our depth."

Joining Copley and Stiles in being honored by the conference is Kim Sanford, who earned a spot on the Weekly Honor Roll. Sanford picked up an assist on Copley's game-winning goal against Cincinnati. She followed it up by playing all 90 minutes in the center of the Pirates defense as ECU shutout UConn on Sunday. It is the second time Sanford has been honored by the conference this season, following her being named AAC Defensive Player of the Week on Aug. 27.

"Kim has turned in to a utility player for us, bouncing around positions," Hamilton added. "She has also made us look great as coaches because every time we throw her forward, she helps us get a goal. That's what good players do, they make plays."

ECU opens postseason play with a first-round matchup against SMU on Wednesday evening. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m., in Corbett Stadium in Tampa, Fla.

Players Mentioned

Courtney Cash

Cashlin Copley

Kim Sanford

Melanie Stiles

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