Sept. 4, 2012

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – George Washington’s Alex Neal and Butler’s Mackenzie Hopkins earned Atlantic 10 Conference Women’s Soccer Player of the Week and Rookie of the Week honors, respectively, the league announced Tuesday. The awards are given for games played August 29 – September 3.

Neal earned Player of the Week after leading the Colonials to their first two wins of the season against Columbia and Cornell. The Lake Villa, Ill., native tallied a goal in both contests to lift George Washington over the visiting Ivy League teams. Against Columbia, Neal scored the game-winning goal on a cross from Jane Wallis in a 1-0 win. The junior midfielder also scored against Cornell to extend the Colonials’ lead to 2-1, eventually helping the team to its 3-2 victory.

Hopkins garnered Rookie of the Week honors for her two shutouts against Purdue and Tennessee-Martin. Her five saves against Purdue led the Bulldogs to their first ever win against the Boilermakers and their first win over a Big Ten opponent since 2008. The goalkeeper from Lake Oswego, Ore., added five saves in 110 minutes of shutout play in a scoreless tie against UT-Martin. Hopkins improves to 3-1-1 in five career starts for Butler.