Monday, October 29, 2012

PORTLAND, Ore. - Thirteen Great Northwest Athletic Conference athletes, including Simon Fraser golfers Michael Belle and Nicky Jordan, have earned Red Lion Player of the Week honors for their performances during the period of Oct. 22-28, 2012.  They include:

Men's Golf

Michael Belle, Simon Fraser (Jr., Burnaby, BC – St. Thomas More) finished second in the University of Victoria Vikes Shootout with a 54-hole total of 217 to earn GNAC Red Lion Men's Golfer of the Week honors.  After firing a pair of 74s last Monday, Belle carded a two-under par 69 in the final round.  Jed Dalton of Concordia ran away with medalist honors shooting a seven-under par 206.  Simon Fraser finished fourth in the team race.

Women's Golf 

Nicky Jordan, Simon Fraser (Jr., Sidney, BC) finished seventh in the Victoria Shootout with a 36-hole score of 159.  After opening with an 83, the GNAC Red Lion Women's Golfer of the Week carded a four-over par 76 at the Cordova Bay Golf Club to lead the Clan to a fourth-place team finish.

Men’s Soccer

Offense – Austin Curtis, Western Washington (M, 5-11, Fr., Bonney Lake, WA) is the Red Lion Men's Soccer Offensive Player of the Week.  Curtis scored three goals, including two in Thursday’s 3-1 win over nationally 11th-ranked Seattle Pacific as the Vikings ran their win streak to three games, all on the road.  Prior to the three wins (including Sunday’s 5-1 win at Saint Martin’s), WWU had been winless in five road games this season.  The goals were the first of Curtis’ career.    Defense -  Helge Neumann, Simon Fraser (D, 6-4, Sr., Oslo, Norway) was a vital part in the Clan’s 1-0 overtime shutout of Seattle Pacific and helped limit Saint Martin’s to very few scoring opportunities as SFU wrapped up its third straight GNAC title.  Neumann, the Red Lion Men's Soccer Defensive Player of the Week, has been a member of all three SFU championship teams.  “Helge has had a fantastic senior year.  He is a major reason for us recording the clean sheets that we have so far this season,” SFU coach Alan Koch said. Honorable Mention -   Thomas Chameraud, MSU Billings; Cameron Lee, MSU Billings; Ryan Dhillon, Simon Fraser; Dylan Gaydosh, Saint Martin's.

Women’s Soccer

Offense -  Riley Dopps, Seattle Pacific (M, 5-5, So., Port Orchard, WA – South Kitsap) scored a pair of goals and also had an assist as the Falcons extended their unbeaten streak to 13 games and their win streak to nine.  She scored SPU’s first two goals in its 4-0 shutout of Simon Fraser then earned an assist on Heather Young’s game-winning goal in a 1-0 defeat of Western Washington, snapping the Vikings’ 10-game win streak.  On the season, Dopps, the GNAC Red Lion Women's Soccer Offensive Player of the Week, ranks fourth on her team in scoring with 11 points (4 goals, 3 assist).  “Riley is really starting to turn her play up a notch,” SPU coach Chuck Sekyra said. “She is really fun to watch right now as she is making a difference in every game.”  Defense – Josie Graybeal, Seattle Pacific (D, 5-7, Jr., Gig Harbor, WA) is the leader of the Falcon back line and was the catalyst for a pair of shutouts, SPU’s sixth and seventh of the season including six in their last eight games. That performance earned Graybeal GNAC Red Lion Defensive Player of the  Week accolades.  “Josie had a great week, organizing  our back line,  winning balls in the air and on the ground, starting our attack and just being a great defender,” Sekyra said. Honorable Mention – Sarah Staropoli, Northwest Nazarene; Hadli Farrand, Central Washington; Ashley Engel, Saint Martin’s.

Volleyball

Offense -  Danielle Reese, Western Oregon (OH, 5-9, Sr., Gig Harbor, WA) had 30 kills and 30 digs and hit for a .419 percentage as the Wolves swept nationally 12th-ranked Western Washington and Simon Fraser to extend their win streak to five matches.  Reese, the Red Lion Offensive Player of the Week,  had 17 kills as the Wolves outhit the Vikings .261 to .150, then added 13 more against the Clan,  In the process, Reese became the 30th player in GNAC history to record 1,000 kills, increasing her career total 1,019.  Defense – Erin Compton, Montana State Billings (L, 5-10, Jr., Billings, MT) and Becky Flores, Northwest Nazarene (MB, 5-9, Sr., Kennewick, WA - Riverview) have been selected the Red Lion Defensive Players of the Week ... Compton had 60 digs including 36 in MSUB’s 3-2 upset of Central Washington.  Her dig total against the Wildcats is the second highest in the GNAC this fall. She currently ranks second in the conference and eighth nationally averaging 5.92 per set ... Flores led the Crusaders both offensively and defensively in home wins against Seattle Pacific and MSU Billings.   Defensively she had 11 blocks as the Crusaders dominated at the net outblocking their two opponents by a 3-1 margin (27-9) and holding them to a combined .173 hitting percentage. Offensively, she accounted for nearly a quarter of NNU’s kills (29 of 119) converting on 42.9 percent of her opportunities.  She also had a pair of service aces and five digs.  Honorable Mention – Katlyn Mataya, Alaska Fairbanks; Allison Oddy, Alaska Fairbanks; Siobhan Johansen, Alaska Anchorage; Marcy Hjellum, Central Washington; Michelle Terpstra, Northwest Nazarene; Cailin Fellows, Seattle Pacific; Teilissa Tua, Saint Martin's.

Football

Offense – Lemar Durant, Simon Fraser (WR, 6-2, 226, So., Coquitlam, BC) caught 12 passes for 228 yards and four  touchdowns to lead the Clan to a 58-47 win over Dixie State and earn Red Lion Offensive Player of the Week honors. Durant tied a GNAC single-game record for most touchdown receptions and his yardage total was just eight yards shy of the GNAC single-game record.  He had TD catches of 10, 73, 27 and six yards, four of a GNAC single-game record six thrown by Clan quarterback Trey Wheeler.    Defense - Ryan Moreno, Humboldt State (LB, 6-0, 207, Poway, CA) and Sean Barber, Azusa Pacific (LB, 6-1, 225, Jr., Edgewood, WA – Puyallup) are the Red Lion Defensive Players of the Week ... Moreno scored the Lumberjacks’ first touchdown on a 20-yard interception return.  The true freshman then forced Central Washington, which was trailing 14-7, to settle for a fourth-quarter field goal after breaking up a pass attempt on third down. He also made five tackles as the defending champion ‘Jacks took command of the GNAC race with a 14-10 victory ... Barber had 11 tackles, including one for a loss, and also had an interception, leading Azusa Pacific to a 19-3 win over Western Oregon, which came into the game with a five-game win streak. The win was the second straight for the Cougars after opening the season with seven losses.  Special Teams – Jamie Cacciatore, Azusa Pacific (K, 5-8, 175, Fr., Orange, CA – El Modena) tied a GNAC single-game record kicking four field goals (from 25, 18, 33 and 25 yards) to provide all his team’s scoring prior to a touchdown in the final 11 seconds of the game.  Caccciatore, the Red Lion Special Teams Player of the Week, leads the GNAC in field goals this season, making 12 of 17.  Honorable Mention – Griff Robles, Dixie State; Cache Morgan, Dixie State; Victor Spencer, Humboldt State; Tavoy Moore, Central Washington.