Wednesday, October 17, 2018

Five weeks of GNAC play in women's soccer are in the books with half of the field for November's GNAC Championships already filled. No. 6 Concordia and Simon Fraser have successfully clinched berths for the tournament and are currently tied at the top of the GNAC table.

No. 18 Western Washington is the conference's other representative in the United Soccer Coaches Top-25, while the Clan and Seattle Pacific have been slotted in both sets of this week's West Region rankings.

The No. 6 Cavaliers (10-0-2, 7-0-1 GNAC) currently boast both the best overall record and the top record in GNAC play. Next up for Grant Landy's team is a showdown with the 18th-ranked Vikings, set for a 7 p.m. kickoff in Bellingham on Thursday night.

Elsewhere in the conference this week, a pivotal positioning matchup between the Falcons and Simon Fraser will be contested on Thursday evening at Terry Fox Field. In total, there are seven all-GNAC affairs on the schedule this week.

THIS WEEK'S GNAC PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

OFFENSE
Jenna-lee Baxter (Simon Fraser, M, 5-3, Sr., Surrey, B.C.)

Baxter led Simon Fraser with three goals in two assists in a pair of shutouts. She scored two goals and had both of her assists in Thursday’s 5-0 rout of Northwest Nazarene, which included both of the Clan’s second-half strikes. Baxter then contributed an insurance goal in Saturday’s 3-0 shutout of Montana State Billings.

Also Nominated: Makinzie Packwood (Central Washington), Brenda Uribe (Concordia), Shea McKnight (Saint Martin's), Kalli Brundage (Western Oregon), Gabriela Pelogi (Western Washington).

DEFENSE
Rose Hauser (Concordia, GK, 5-9, Sr., San Diego, Calif.)

Making her first two starts in goal this season, Hauser was the winning goalkeeper in both matches as the Cavaliers clinched a GNAC Championships berth. She made four saves and recorded the shutout in Thursday’s 1-0 victory at Seattle Pacific on Thursday. Hauser then recorded three saves in the Cavaliers’ 2-1 win at Central Washington on Saturday.

Also Nominated: Rose Robbins (Saint Martin's), Carli Grosso (Simon Fraser), Peyton Chick (Western Washington).

AROUND THE GNAC

CENTRAL WASHINGTON
• Central Washington went 1-1 last week, winning 3-2 at Saint Martin’s before dropping a 2-1 decision against No. 6 Concordia.
• Forward Makinzie Packwood led the Wildcats with two goals in the lone victory, scoring back-to-back tallies in the 32nd and 80th minutes. It was substitute Lexsi Manning who then scored the game-winning goal, giving her team the victory with a strike from five yards out in double overtime.
• The Wildcats are back in action with a pair of matches this week, playing host to Montana State Billings on Thursday before another meeting with Saint Martin’s to close the week two days later.

CONCORDIA
• Concordia finished last week with a perfect 2-0 mark, recording their eighth shutout victory of the season at Seattle Pacific before topping Central Washington.
• The Cavaliers’ offensive attack was spread around evenly as Gabrielle Ewing, Brenda Uribe and Karlie Hurley combined for the team’s three goals. Ewing now leads the team in points with 12 through 12 matches.
• Teammate Rose Hauser was named the Defensive Player of the Week after recording seven saves and allowing just one goal in her first two starts of the season. She is the second straight Cavalier to win the award (Kasey Ames).
• In the latest edition of the United Soccer Coaches Division II Coaches Poll, Concordia comes in ranked at No. 6. The Cavaliers are slotted first in the West Region Poll and were the first to qualify for November’s GNAC Championships.
• Concordia finishes its three-match road trip Thursday in a showdown at No. 18 Western Washington before returning home for a date with Northwest Nazarene.

MONTANA STATE BILLINGS
• Montana State Billings went 0-2 last week in a pair of road matches against some of the conference’s top teams.
• The team’s best performance came on Thursday night at No. 18 Western Washington, where the Yellowjackets remained within one goal until the match’s 88th minute. Goalkeeper Erinn Harder shined, making eight saves while the Vikings offense peppered her defense with 33 shots.
• Forward Julia Keller and midfielder Claire Tevaseu lead MSUB in points (7) as we enter the final weeks of the season. Keller is the team leader in goals with three.  
• Montana State Billings returns to the field for two matches this week, staying on the road to take on Central Washington on Thursday and Seattle Pacific on Saturday. Both matches will kickoff at 3 p.m. (PDT). 

NORTHWEST NAZARENE
• Northwest Nazarene finished the seventh week of competition with an 0-2 record.
• The Nighthawks opened the season with a 5-0-1 record, marking their best start in program history.
• The team’s best shot at a win came on Saturday night at Western Washington, where NNU entered the locker rooms at halftime still even with the nation’s 18th-ranked team. Ultimately, however, a pair of second half goals would be too much to overcome.
• Midfielder Madi Taylor leads Northwest Nazarene with 14 points in 14 matches. Her six goals is setting a club pace, while forwards Rikki Myers and Maddy Parton follow closely behind with five.
• The team stays on the road for a single match this week, traveling to Portland for a meeting with No. 6 Concordia.

SAINT MARTIN'S
• Saint Martin’s went 0-3 in its three matches last week, two of which came by just one goal.
• The Saints now sit at 5-10-0 overall. Their non-conference record of 4-1-0 was a program best for a mark heading into conference play.  
• Midfielder Kiersten Madsen leads SMU through 10 matches. The sophomore has tallied 13 points with five goals. Defensively, goalkeepers Ali Koehler and Sara Christensen have combined to make a GNAC-leading 5.87 saves per match.
• One more match is on tap for Saint Martin’s this week as it will travel to Ellensburg and face off with Central Washington on Saturday at Noon.

SEATTLE PACIFIC
• Seattle Pacific split its two matches last week, falling in a 1-0 decision against No. 6 Concordia before blowing out Western Oregon for a 6-1 victory.
• The Falcons’ attack in the lone win was a balanced one as six different players tallied goals.   
• Sophomore Sophia Chilczuk leads the team in goals (7) through 14 matches. Chilczuk (16) and midfielder Megan Moore (10) lead the Falcons in points, with seniors Julia DeVere and Kasey Reeve following closely behind at eight.
• In the latest edition of the United Soccer Coaches Division II Coaches West Region Poll, SPU comes in ranked No. 9.
• Seattle Pacific returns to the pitch for a pair of matches this week, taking on Simon Fraser in Burnaby on Thursday evening before hosting Montana State Billings two days later at 3 p.m.
• The Falcons can clinch a berth in the GNAC Championships if they come away from those two matches with six points. The program has qualified for the championships in each year since the tournament was established in 2012.

SIMON FRASER
• Simon Fraser went 3-0 last week and clinched a berth in the GNAC Championships with Tuesday’s 3-0 shutout of Saint Martin’s.
• Forward Emma Pringle recorded a hat trick in the victory against the Saints, while goalkeeper Nicole Anderson kept her third consecutive clean sheet. Pringle (11) leads the team in goals, while Anderson is ranked 48th nationally in save percentage (0.839).
• In the latest edition of the United Soccer Coaches Division II Coaches West Region Poll, SFU comes in ranked No. 8.
• The team will host Seattle Pacific on Thursday in its final match of the week.

WESTERN OREGON
• Western Oregon posted a 1-1 mark last week, the victory coming on Tuesday afternoon in a 1-0 shutout of Saint Martin’s.
• Goalkeeper Alex Qualls shined for the Wolves in that one, recording four saves without allowing a goal. Qualls’ 60 saves leads the GNAC in that category.  
• Sophomores Alyssa Tomasini (7) and Alexie Morris (6) lead the club in points through 14 matches.  
• Just one match is on tap for WOU this week. The club will return to the field Saturday evening at No. 18 Western Washington.

WESTERN WASHINGTON
• Western Washington finished the seventh week of play with a perfect 2-0 record.
• Both contests featured matching 2-0 scorelines. The results gave goalkeeper Natalie Dierickx her sixth and seventh clean sheets of the season.
• Senior Gabriela Pelogi leads the team with 15 points and seven goals to date. Freshman Dayana Diaz is second with 12 points and six goals while coming off the bench in all 14 matches.
• In the latest edition of the United Soccer Coaches Division II Coaches Poll, Western Washington comes in ranked at No. 18 (and No. 3 in the West Region).
• The Vikings are back in action with two matches this week, closing their four-match homestand with a pair of big contests. The week will start on Thursday night with a showdown against No. 6 Concordia before Western Oregon comes calling on Saturday at 5 p.m.
• Western Washington can clinch a berth in the GNAC Championships if they come away from either match with a victory. The Vikings have won the past three conference championship events.