Oct. 8, 2012

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – VCU’s Jason Johnson and Devon Fisher received weekly awards Monday after helping lead VCU to a pair of wins over the weekend. Johnson garnered both NCAA and Atlantic 10 Conference Men's Soccer Player of the Week accolades, while Fisher, along with Xavier’s Will Walker, was named to the College Soccer News National Team of the Week.

Johnson and Fisher made a splash in their A-10 debuts, leading VCU to a perfect 2-0 week, including a 4-1 win over No. 13 Charlotte on Friday night, the Rams' first victory against a ranked opponent in six years. VCU followed with a 3-0 victory over reigning A-10 regular season champion George Washington on Sunday.

Johnson finished the week with a team-leading two goals and two assists. He scored in the 63rd minute to extend VCU's lead to 3-1 against Charlotte before assisting on the Rams' final score in the 71st minute. On Sunday, Johnson provided the game-winning assist in the 27th minute before adding a goal in the 37th against George Washington.

Fisher, meanwhile, scored both of VCU's game-winning goals over the weekend. He put the Rams on top 2-1 in the 42nd minute against Charlotte before giving VCU a 1-0 advantage in the 27th minute against the Colonials.

Johnson currently ranks second in the A-10 with eight goals and 19 points, while Fisher's four goals are the second-most among freshmen.

VCU, off to a 6-1-3 start, has outscored its opponents 22-7 through the first 10 matches of the season, including a 7-1 advantage last weekend alone. The Rams rank second in the A-10 in goals against average at 0.65.

Fisher who hails from Chesapeake, Va., had back to back game winning goals. He scored what proved to be the game-winning goal in VCU’s impressive 4-1 win over No. 13 Charlotte and in its 3-0 victory over George Washington. VCU is 6-1-3 overall.

Walker earned a spot on the squad after posting two goals in a 3-2 victory over nationally-ranked Saint Louis The award is the first national honor for the sophomore from Batavia, Ohio and the third national team honor bestowed on a Xavier play this year.

Walker’s first goal came on an arching shot just 23 seconds after Saint Louis took the lead in the opening minute. He followed it with a goal seven minutes later to put the Musketeers ahead. It was Walker’s first multi-goal game of his career and the sixth recorded by a Musketeer this year. In two years he has seven-career goals and eight-career assists.

Xavier, who was ranked 17th in the nation last week by NSCAA and 14th by Soccer America last Monday, swept the opening weekend of Atlantic 10 play and are one of six unbeaten teams in the nation.

College Soccer News National Team of the Week - 10/7/2012
Zach Batteer - Stanford
Chris Thomas - Elon
Andy Huftalin - Marquette
Ryan Finley - Notre Dame
Eriq Zavaleta - Indiana
Kyle Bethel - Oakland
Dylan Mares - Louisville
Wil Walker - Xavier
Devon Fisher - VCU
Caleb Downey - Air Force
Shaun Foster – Hofstra
Brian Billings - Bradley