NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – La Salle sophomore Omari Cotterell and VCU senior Ryo Shimazaki were named the Atlantic 10 Conference Men’s Soccer Co-Offensive Players of the Week. Dayton senior Federico Barrios was named the A-10 Defensive Player of the Week. La Salle freshman Carlos Mora was selected as the league’s Rookie of the Week. The awards were for games played Sept. 23-29.
Cotterell, a forward from Pickering, Ontario, led La Salle to a 2-0 week with three points, including a game-winning goal in overtime. On Tuesday, he assisted on the only goal of a 1-0 shutout win over Howard on the road. Cotterell then tallied the golden goal in a 2-1 extra time victory over first-place Duquesne on Saturday.
Shimazaki was responsible for two come-from-behind performances this week. Against No. 25 Coastal Carolina, Shimazaki netted the late game-tying goal to send the game to overtime and secure a tie on the road. The defender from Kawasaki, Japan, also notched the game-tying goal at Saint Joseph's, calmly converting a late penalty kick needed to send the game to overtime. VCU eventually won that game, moving to 2-0 in conference play.
Barrios, recorded his third and fourth clean sheets of the season this past week as the Flyers earned shutout wins over Northern Kentucky and Massachusetts to open A-10 play. The Cali, Colombia, goalkeeper totaled six saves over the two-game stretch and has not allowed a goal since Sept. 13.
Mora logged a shutout in his first collegiate appearance and anchored La Salle to a 2-0 week by allowing only one goal over 187 minutes. He kept Howard scoreless in Tuesday’s 1-0 road win for a shutout in his La Salle debut and then allowed just one goal over 97 minutes in Saturday’s 2-1 overtime victory over six-win Duquesne.