Eclipse Select Alumni: DePaul's Ben rakes in Big East honor

DePaul's Alexa Ben

By CHARLIE CORR
slidetackles@mail.com

CHICAGO - Eclipse Select Soccer Club alumna and DePaul senior midfielder Alexa Ben (Schaumburg, Ill.) has been named the Big East Conference Offensive Player of the Week.

Ben's second-career hat trick - and first of the 2017 season - catapulted the Blue Demons to a 6-3 victory against Villanova on Sunday. All three tallies came in the second half, within a 31-minute span.

For more, visit EclipseSelect.org.

UPDATE: The club's former website/URL no longer exist. Below is the full text of the online release:

ECLIPSE SELECT ALUMNI:

ALEXA BEN RAKES IN BIG EAST HONOR

 

Schaumburg native named conference Offensive Player of the Week for hat trick

 

CHICAGO (Oct. 25, 2017) - Eclipse Select Soccer Club alumna and DePaul senior midfielder Alexa Ben (Schaumburg, Ill.) has been named the Big East Conference Offensive Player of the Week.

 

Ben's second-career hat trick - and first of the 2017 season - catapulted the Blue Demons to a 6-3 victory against Villanova on Sunday. All three tallies came in the second half, within a 31-minute span.

 

Ben, who earlier this month was named a Top 10 finalist for the 2017 Senior CLASS Award, ranks fourth in DePaul history with 27 career goals.

 

Madden nets brace for Golden Eagles: Also on the Big East Weekly Honor Roll on Monday was Marquette redshirt junior forward Carrie Madden (Deer Park, Ill.), who was honored for her brace this past Sunday against Creighton.

 

Madden notched the first two goals during a 3-0 victory against Creighton to up her season total to six, which leads the Golden Eagles.

 

Howard's Gray caps off regular season in style: Howard senior striker Kela Gray (Chicago, Ill.) wrapped up the regular season with three goals over two matches this past weekend. She recorded a brace on Friday for a 2-0 victory against Texas Southern, followed by her team's lone goal in a 1-1 draw against Prairie View A&M on Sunday.

 

She has scored eight goals this season, all coming over the past 11 matches.

 

Elsewhere, Northwestern junior defender Kayla Sharples (Naperville, Ill.) set up a Kayleigh Stahlschmidt goal to lead the Wildcats to a 1-0 victory against Nebraska on Saturday for their third straight win in Big Ten play. Sharples now has three assists this season, a personal high.

Schedule unveiled for Audi 2017 MLS Cup Playoffs Knockout Round

By CHARLIE CORR

charlie.corr@mlssoccer.com

NEW YORK – Following an action-packed Decision Day 2017 presented by AT&T that included an MLS single-day league record 46 goals across the 11 simultaneously-played matches, the Audi 2017 MLS Cup Playoffs berths and seeding have been set.

The postseason begins on Wednesday, October 26 and Thursday, October 27 with four single-elimination, intraconference Knockout Round matches. UniMás will air all four matches nationally in Spanish language, while ESPN2 and FS1 will each air a Knockout Round match in English. TSN and TVA Sports will provide coverage of all four Knockout Round matches nationally in Canada.

For more, visit mlssoccer.com.

Eclipse Select product Staton finishes 182nd at Chicago Marathon

Eclipse Select alumna Pam Staton

By CHARLIE CORR
slidetackles@mail.com

CHICAGO - Former Eclipse Select Soccer Club players raced during the 2017 Bank of America Chicago Marathon on Sunday, and over the years it has been common to spot former club and collegiate standouts running this famed event. This year was no different.

Among the top finishers was former Loyola Chicago soccer player and cross country/track athlete Pam Staton (Ingleside, Ill.). She finished with a time of 3:08:54, which was good for 182nd place among all women and 50th in the 30-34 age group.

For more, visit EclipseSelect.org.

Atlanta United's Almirón voted No. 1 in MLSsoccer.com's 24 Under 24

By CHARLIE CORR
charlie.corr@mlssoccer.com

NEW YORK – MLSsoccer.com announced that Atlanta United midfielder Miguel Almirón has been voted the No. 1 player in the 2017 MLSsoccer.com 24 Under 24. The top 10 players were unveiled on a special edition of ExtraTime Live driven by Continental on Facebook Live.

Almirón headlines a star-studded group that features seven Young Designated Players, including fellow Atlanta player and eighth-ranked Héctor Villalba, Real Salt Lake teammates Albert Rusnák and Jefferson Savarino, D.C. United newcomer Paul Arriola, Houston Dynamo striker Alberth Elis and FC Dallas midfielder Carlos Gruezo. The average age of this Designated Player group is 22.5 years old.

For more, visit MLSsoccer.com.

Eclipse alumna Moulton named MVC Defensive Player of the Week

By CHARLIE CORR
slidetackles@mail.com

CHICAGO - Eclipse Select Soccer Club alumna and Valparaiso goalkeeper Drew Moulton (Sycamore, Ill.) was named the Missouri Valley Conference Defensive Player of the Week, an honor she has achieved for the second time this season. Moulton came up with seven saves and posted her third clean sheet during Valpo's 1-0 victory against Missouri State to open conference play on Saturday in Springfield, Mo.

In other news, DePaul senior midfielder Alexa Ben (Schaumburg, Ill.) has been selected as a finalist for the 2017 Senior CLASS Award.

For more, visit EclipseSelect.org.

Eclipse Select alumna Foster pacing Ole Miss with nine tallies

By CHARLIE CORR
slidetackles@mail.com

CHICAGO - Eclipse Select Soccer Club alumna and Ole Miss freshman Channing Foster (Murray, Ky.) is off to an impressive start for the Rebels, already putting her name on notice before Southeastern Conference play has even started.

Foster is scoring at a clip of more than a goal per game with nine tallies in eight matches thus far this season. This past weekend, she netted a first-half score to lead Ole Miss to a 1-0 victory at Memphis on Sunday.

For more, visit EclipseSelect.org.

Sitch preps for IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship

By CHARLIE CORR
slidetackles@mail.com

CHICAGO - Eclipse Select Soccer Club alumna Julianne Sitch (Oswego, Ill.), one of the top local talents on the pitch in the Chicagoland area, is now excelling in a different competitive outlet following her professional career.

This Saturday, the former DePaul and Chicago Red Stars midfielder will be competing in Chattanooga, Tenn. in the IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship.

"I didn't know what I was going to do competitively after playing soccer, but I knew I wanted to stay in the competitive world and compete," Sitch told Zoie Clift at IRONMAN.com. "This gave me that avenue after I retired from playing."

For the full interview, visit IRONMAN.com.

Sprecher wins Marquette Invite; Albert rejoins U.S. U-15s

By CHARLIE CORR
slidetackles@mail.com

CHICAGO - Eclipse Select Soccer Club alumna and Marquette freshman forward Kylie Sprecher (Menomonee Falls, Wis.) was named the Marquette Invitational's top offensive player after helping the Golden Eagles capture the tournament crown this past weekend. She also was named the Big East Freshman of the Week.

Sprecher tallied her first collegiate goal to lift the Golden Eagles to a 1-0 victory against Central Michigan on Friday. The lone tally came in the 18th minute, with fellow Eclipse alum Carrie Madden (Deer Park, Ill.) crossing toward Darian Powell, who deflected back to Sprecher. She struck from 10 yards out to garner the 1-0 lead. Then on Sunday, Sprecher added an assist to Eli Beard's game-winner during a 2-0 victory against Mercer.

Among current Eclipse Select membership, midfielder Korbin Albert (Gurnee, Ill.) has been called into the U.S. U-15 Girls' National Team. This is Albert's third U-15 camp of the year.

For more, visit EclipseSelect.org.