Tuesday, October 10, 2017

THIS WEEK'S GNAC PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
OFFENSE
Mamadi Camara, Simon Fraser
M • 6-3 • Junior • Montreal, Que.
Camara led Simon Fraser to a 2-0 week with a pair of goals on five shots on goal. Both goals came in a 3-1 win over Northwest Nazarene on Thursday where he netted the opening goal of the match in the 19th minute and the insurance goal in the 90th minute.

Also Nominated: Brandon Madsen (Saint Martin’s), Christian Rotter (Western Washington).

DEFENSE
Tyler Visten, Western Washington
GK • 5-11 • Senior • Mount Vernon, Wash.
Visten did not allow a goal against 10 shots on goal in a pair of shutouts. He made five saves in the 2-0 shutout of Seattle Pacific on Thursday and then made four stops in a 0-0 tie with Northwest Nazarene on Saturday. Visten is now 5-2-3 on the season and now has 12 career shutouts.

Also Nominated: Sebastian Navarro (Saint Martin’s), Michael North (Simon Fraser).

AROUND THE GNAC
CONCORDIA
LAST WEEK: Tied 2-2 at Saint Martin's. Lost 2-1 vs. Seattle Pacific.
THIS WEEK: Oct. 12 at No.16 Simon Fraser, 7:30 p.m. Oct. 14 vs. Saint Martin's, 4 p.m.
• Concordia is coming off a 0-1-1 week. The Cavs’ drew 2-2 in double overtime on Thursday at Saint Martin’s and fell at home 2-1 to Seattle Pacific during Saturday’s contest.
• Noah Swigart and Kieran McMinn tallied the two goals during their Saint Martin’s clash earlier in the week. Benoit Bouillant produced five saves in goal. In their 2-1 loss to SPU, Christian Thyron scored the Cavs’ lone goal while Bouillant managed two saves.
• Swigart leads the team with three goals and is tied with teammate Michael Hatch with six points. Nick Evans leads the team with three assists. Bouillant has turned away 34 shots in eight appearances.
• Concordia returns to the pitch this Thursday in Burnaby, B.C., to take on Simon Fraser. They return home this Saturday to take on Saint Martin’s at 4 p.m.
• In their latest matchup against the Clan on Sept. 28, the Cavaliers captured its sole GNAC win this year and handed Simon Fraser its first defeat of the season, 3-2.

MONTANA STATE BILLINGS
LAST WEEK: Lost 1-0 at Simon Fraser.
THIS WEEK: Oct. 12 at Western Washington, 7 p.m. Oct. 14 vs. Northwest Nazarene, 3 p.m.
• In the Yellowjackets’ only match of the week, Simon Fraser’s Adam Jones drilled a 25-yard free kick to lift then No. 22 Simon Fraser to a 1-0 win over Montana State Billings.
• MSUB dropped to fourth place in the GNAC standings while the Clan jumped ahead of the ‘Jackets into a second-place tie with SPU.
•  MSUB is 0-18-3 all-time against SFU and is 0-9-1 in games played in Burnaby. Saturday marked MSUB’s third game this season against a nationally-ranked opponent. Montana State Billings lost 4-0 against No. 10 Cal Poly Pomona on Sept. 8 and defeated No. 12 Upper Iowa 2-1 on Sept. 16. The Yellowjackets’ 1-0 was just the second time they have gone scoreless in a match this season.
• MSUB ranks third in the GNAC and 44th in Division II with 1.73 assists per match.
• Midfielder Guillaume Kremer leads the team with four assists this season. JD Hauenstein stands atop the Yellowjacket scorers with five goals.
• Montana State Billings heads up to Western Washington on Thursday and finishes the week at Northwest Nazarene at 3 p.m.

NORTHWEST NAZARENE
LAST WEEK: Lost 3-1 at Simon Fraser. Tied 0-0 at Western Washington.
THIS WEEK: Oct. 14 vs. Montana State Billings, 3 p.m.
• Northwest Nazarene fell 3-1 to then-No. 22 Simon Fraser at Terry Fox Field in Burnaby on Thursday.
• Raphael Junquiera leveled the match 1-1 after scoring from 10-yards out in the 25th minute. Despite this, the Clan scored the game-winner with a little under two minutes before the halftime break.
• On Saturday, the Crusaders battled to a 0-0 draw at Western Washington, ending the Vikings four-game win streak.
• The Crusaders nearly ended the match in regulation as a goal-line clearance by Vikings’ defender Ibra Drame denied Northwest Nazarene the go-ahead goal with 12 seconds remaining. The Crusaders totaled 14 shots and put five on target.
• Northwest Nazarene goalkeeper Jacob Hillyer made a career-high eight saves as the Crusaders became the first team to hold the Vikings scoreless since Nov. 13, 2016, when WWU lost 2-0 to UC San Diego in the second round of the NCAA II Tournament.
• Michael Bryant leads Northwest Nazarene with three goals and seven points.
• The Crusaders are in action this Saturday hosting Montana State Billings at 3 p.m.

SAINT MARTIN'S
LAST WEEK: Tied 2-2 vs. Concordia.
THIS WEEK: Oct. 12 vs. Seattle Pacific, 3 p.m. Oct. 14 at Concordia, 4 p.m.
• Scoring just two minutes apart for his sixth and seventh goals of the season, Brandon Madsen led the Saints’ to a 2-2 draw against Concordia on Thursday.
• In the 15th minute, Stephen Todd Murray, Jr’s pass found Madsen in the middle of the box to give the Saints a 1-0 lead. Sebastian Navarro and Murray Jr. were each credited with an assist on the goal.
Just 1:11 minutes later, Madsen struck again as Joey Mack’s pass found Madsen open in the middle of the box for his team-leading seventh goal of the season.
• Madsen led the way with five shots. Kyle Witzel recorded four shots and two on goal. Navarro, Cayman John and Edgar Iniguez each managed two shots in the match.
• Griffin Small made six saves against 18 shots. Small leads the GNAC with 46 saves this season and ranks 32nd in Division II with 5.20 saves per match.
• After taking Saturday off, Saint Martin’s returns to action this Thursday against Seattle Pacific at home. The Saints visit Concordia two days later to play at 4 p.m.

SEATTLE PACIFIC
LAST WEEK: Lost 2-0 at Western Washington. Won 2-1 at Concordia.
THIS WEEK: Oct. 12 at Saint Martin's, 3 p.m.
• The Falcons’ two-game winning streak was snapped after a 2-0 loss at Western Washington on Thursday. Their last loss also came against WWU, a 3-2 overtime setback on Sept. 23 at home.
• SPU had two great opportunities to equalize in the 63rd minute. Titus Grant struck the post after his long-range effort while Alex Mejia’s sailed high shortly after.
• On Saturday, Julian White scored the game-winning goal to lift Seattle Pacific 2-1 at Concordia.
• Gabe Kellum provided the visitors with a 35th-minute lead after netting a free kick from 23-yards out.
• The senior forward leads SPU with 13 points, including a team-high five assists. Kellum is tied with Gabriel Weber for top scoring honors with four goals apiece.
• Seattle Pacific leads the GNAC and ranks 10th in Division II with 2.27 assists per match.
• The Falcons finish its five-game road trip this Thursday at Saint Martin’s. Kickoff is scheduled for 3 p.m.

No. 16 SIMON FRASER
LAST WEEK: Won 3-1 vs. Northwest Nazarene. Won 1-0 vs. Montana State Billings.
THIS WEEK: Oct. 12 vs. Concordia, 7:30 p.m. Oct. 14 at Western Washington, 7 p.m.
• Mamadi Camara scored twice to lead No. 16 Simon Fraser to a 3-1 win over Northwest Nazarene Thursday night at Terry Fox Field.
 • Simon Fraser later defeated Montana State Billings 1-0 to end the week 2-0 in GNAC action.
• In his second game back from a three-game injury absence, Clan captain Adam Jones scored the only goal of the contest off a dazzling 25-yard free kick.
• Camara’s performance this weekend garnered him the GNAC Men’s Soccer Offensive Player of the Week award.
• Conceding just one goal this week, Simon Fraser ranks first in the GNAC and 23rd in Division II with a 0.77 goals against average. The Clan also maintains its league-leading scoring offense average, tallying 2.50 goals per game.
• Simon Fraser improves six spots to No.16 in the latest United Soccer Coaches Division II Men’s Soccer polls after falling to No. 22 last week.
• The Clan host Concordia this Thursday. SFU then visits Harrington Field to take on first-place Western Washington under the Saturday night lights in what has the potential to be the game of the season.

WESTERN WASHINGTON
LAST WEEK: Won 2-0 vs. Western Washington. Tied 0-0 vs. Northwest Nazarene.
THIS WEEK: Oct. 12 vs. Montana State Billings, 7 p.m. Oct. 14 vs. No.16 Simon Fraser, 7 p.m.
• Western Washington’s Christian Rotter and Stephen Jinneman each netted second-half goals to emerge 2-0 victors against Seattle Pacific on Thursday.
• Vikings recorded its first shutout of the season while blanking the Falcons for their first time this season. The win also marked the first time WWU has defeated SPU twice in the same year.
• Western Washington had its four-game win streak snapped after a 0-0 tie against Northwest Nazarene Saturday night. The double-overtime draw did, however, extend the Vikings unbeaten streak to eight games.
• Vikings’ goalkeeper Tyler Visten recorded his 12th shutout of his career, earning him this week’s GNAC Men’s Soccer Defensive Player of the Week honor. WWU has not allowed a goal in last 206:21 of play.
• In their match against NNU, the Vikings went to overtime for the sixth time this season.
• Forward Anthony Dean leads the GNAC and ranks 31st in Division II with 19 points this season.
• Western Washington ends its four-game homestand this weekend hosting a pair of top-four teams. The Vikings take on Montana State Billings on Thursday and face off against No.16 Simon Fraser this Saturday.