NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – Saint Louis junior goalkeeper Emily Puricelli and junior forward Caroline Kelly are the Atlantic 10 Conference women's soccer Defensive Player of the Week and co-Offensive Player of the Week, respectively, for Oct. 17-23, the league office announced Monday.
 
Puricelli earned a fourth career Defensive Player of the Week award, while Kelly collected a second Offensive Player of the Week nod, both coming this season.
 
Puricelli recorded her ninth and 10th shutouts of the season last week, 1-0 vs. VCU and 4-0 vs. Saint Joseph's. She made three saves against the Rams in a victory that clinched the A-10 regular-season title for the Billikens, and she followed with two saves vs. the Hawks.
 
Puricelli's victory over Saint Joseph's was her 17th of the year, tying SLU's single-season record, and her 45th career win, tying for second in program history. Her 10 shutouts this season are just two off the school mark. Puricelli ranks second in the conference and sixth nationally in shutouts, second in the league and 14th nationally in goals against average (0.51), and fourth in the A-10 and 21st nationally in goalkeeper minutes (1580:08).
 
Kelly tallied two goals and an assist in Saint Louis' two wins. She scored the game-winning goal in the 66th minute vs. VCU, and she netted another goal and added an assist in the Saint Joseph's game.
 
Kelly leads the A-10 and ranks 10th in the nation with 28 points, just two behind the Billiken record, and she is tied for first in the league and tied for 15th nationally with 11 goals, also two shy of the school record. Her five game-winning goals rank second in the conference and sixth in the NCAA.
 
Saint Louis concluded the regular season with a 17-1 overall record and captured a fourth A-10 regular-season title in five seasons with a 10-0 conference mark. The Billikens, whose school-record 15-game winning streak is the longest active streak in NCAA Division I women's soccer, are ranked fifth by College Soccer News – the highest ranking in any poll in program history – 10th by Top Drawer Soccer and 11th by United Soccer Coaches.
 
The Bills have home-field advantage throughout the eight-team A-10 Championship, which begins this weekend. SLU hosts Loyola Chicago in a quarterfinal match Saturday, Oct. 29, at 1 p.m.