Trojans' Alessandrini is NJCAA keeper of the week

MASON CITY - Another day, another honor for NIACC sophomore Edoardo Alessandrini.

On Tuesday, Alessandrini was selected as the ICCAC Division II goalkeeper of the week for the week of Aug. 22-25.

On Wednesday, the Rome, Italy native was selected as the NJCAA Division II goalkeeper of the week. It is the first time a NIACC men's soccer player has earned the national player of the week honor since keeper Nathan Spores was honored for the week of Sept. 8-14, 2014.

"Last week, we did an amazing job of winning two matches in a row," Alessandrini said, "and I'm very happy about it. The first match was against a conference team (Iowa Central). It was a huge victory. Against South Suburban, maybe we were still tired from the match the day before, but we showed a lot of great qualities on the field.

"We showed a lot of passion as we all wanted to win that match."

Alessandrini, who is from Rome, Italy, picked up a pair of wins in goal last week as the Trojans started the season 2-0. The Trojans topped Iowa Central 4-0 and edged South Suburban College 2-1.

Against the Tritons, Alessandrini stopped three shots in picking up the shutout in goal.

"I have to thank my defense and all of my teammates," Alessandrini said. "This award that I gain, of course, I played well, but at the same time it's an award for all of the team - not just my teammates but my coaches and the staff."

Against South Suburban, Allesandrini made 10 saves and allowed one goal in the 1-goal victory.

Alessandrini said he's pleased with the way the Trojans have started the season.

"We worked very hard in the preseason, waking up very early in the morning," he said. "Honestly, I couldn't have asked for a better start."

NIACC returns to action Saturday at home against Central CC-Columbus. The match is slated to start at 1 p.m.

"We want to win," Alessandrini said. "We don't want to stop. We want to still be unbeaten."