News Release
NJCU�s ANDRE VIOLA SELECTED NJAC ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
PITMAN, NJ...For the second time this season, New Jersey City University freshman goalkeeper ANDRE VIOLA (Clifton, NJ/St. Joseph�s Regional (Montvale)) has received a weekly New Jersey Athletic Conference honor. A previous NJAC Defensive Player of the Week winner on October 15, now Viola has been selected as the NJAC Rookie of the Week for week 11 of the 2007 season. He is the first NJCU player to receive Rookie of the Week accolades this season.
Viola, who also was named ECAC Defensive Player of the Week earlier this year (October 16), was in net for the #7 ranked Gothic Knights (18-4-1), as they advanced to the NCAA Division III Tournament Sweet 16 for the second time in three seasons and established a single-season record for victories.
Combined in his first two career NCAA games, the rookie posted a 0.50 goals against average, went 2-0, made 10 saves, and had a solid .909 save percentage in 180 minutes of action.
On November 10 in a 2-0 win over Castleton State College in the NCAA Tournament First Round, Viola made four saves for his 11th shutout of the season, including two sensational back-to-back leaping stops within five seconds of each other in the 71st minute, to thwart Castleton junior forward Ryan Hahn (Benson, VT), the NAC Player of the Year, and junior forward Gerrit Marino (Waitsfield, VT).
In NJCU�s 4-1 win over Hamilton College in the NCAA Second Round, he stopped six shots, and had a shutout going for 89:18, until it was broken up with NJCU�s starting defense out of the game and 42 seconds remaining.
Overall in the NJAC statistical rankings, he currently is listed tied for first in saves (97), second in shutouts (11), third in goals against average (0.82) and save percentage (.836), fifth in saves per game (4.22) and seventh in shutouts per game (0.48).
Viola, whose life story will be told in the November 19 issue of The NCAA News after surviving a brain aneurysm in June 2005, nearly did not play in the NCAA Tournament over the weekend after suffering a seizure on Thursday, November 8 on the team bus on the way to practice. But his perseverance allowed him to get back on the field, and he was sensational in the two NCAA victories as his teammates rallied around him.
�There is no question, Andre is an inspiration for every one of us after all he�s been through, how he takes every day and lives it to the fullest,� said first-year head coach Cristian da Silva, the 2007 NJAC Coach of the Year. �I know he�s been an inspiration for the team, because when things aren�t going well and we use Andre as an example, it makes us work harder and reminds everyone the importance of always giving 100 percent.�
Da Silva, noting the medical emergency on the bus, added: �First of all, it was a scary moment what we went through on the bus. On the way to the hospital, in the ambulance, when he had recovered from the seizure, the first words that came out of his mouth when he looked at me were �Coach, do you think I�ll be able to play.� You could see it in his eyes that soccer is a big part of his life and it�s what motivates him.�
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Submitted 2007-11-14 16:45:05 by New Jersey City University Sports Information Department
