Falcons Collect Two Player Of The Week Honors

McCormack named Runner of the Week; Van Ahnen earns Goalkeeper of the Week honor

PHIL MCCORMACK

FITCHBURG, Mass. (October 6, 2008) - Fitchburg State senior Phil McCormack (Fitchburg, Mass./Fitchburg) and sophomore Taylor Van Ahnen (Seekonk, Mass./Seekonk) earned Player of the Week honors in their respective sports as selected by conference officials.

McCormack earns his second conference nomination and his first Runner of the Week honor after leading the Fitchburg State men's cross country team to a second place finish at the Keene State Invitational. McCormack registered a fifth place finish with a time of 27:08. With his strong showing, McCormack finished the 5-mile race between nationally ranked Keene State College's top five runners.

McCormack has led the men's team this season, posting three top finishes for the Falcons at the Tuft's Invitational, the UMass Dartmouth Invitational and Keene State. McCormack posted his best time of the season at UMass Dartmouth, placing 58^th out of 278 runners with a total time of 26:23.  

TAYLOR VAN AHNEN

Van Ahnen collects her first collegiate Goalkeeper of the Week accolade after posting 26 saves and a pair of shutouts in Fitchburg State's 2-0 week. The sophomore net minder stopped all 17 shots she faced against Framingham State to make the second highest single-game save total in program history. Van Ahnen posted nine saves in a 1-0 victory over UMass Dartmouth earlier in the week.

This season, Van Ahnen has totaled 70 saves in net en route to a .864 save percentage and four shutouts. She has limited opponents to 1.47 goals per game and has shutout opponents over her last 160 minutes in net.

Fitchburg State cross country will be in action again next Saturday as it participates in the All New England Meet at Franklin Park. Fitchburg State field hockey (5-4, 3-2 LEC) will be in action tomorrow night as it hosts Eastern Connecticut State University at 4 p.m.