Wednesday, October 24, 2018

We are down to the final week of regular season play in women's soccer and the four teams headed to next week's GNAC Championships are already known. No. 15 Western Washington, 16th-ranked Concordia, Seattle Pacific and Simon Fraser will all meet in Portland to battle for the conference's automatic bid to next month's NCAA Division II Championships.

The race for the GNAC regular season crown is still in full swing, however, as all four of the above teams remain in the hunt with one matchweek remaining.

This week's slate is complete with eight matches that will either go towards deciding the regular season championship or determine seeding for next week's postseason event. The schedule is headlined by a Saturday afternoon showdown in Portland between the Falcons and No. 16 Cavaliers.

THIS WEEK'S GNAC PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

OFFENSE
Emma Pringle (Simon Fraser, F, 5-8, Jr., North Vancouver, B.C.)

Pringle netted all three of Simon Fraser’s goals on Tuesday as the hat trick elevated Simon Fraser to a 3-0 win over Saint Martin’s to help the Clan clinch a berth in the GNAC Championships.

Also Nominated: Sydney Lowe (Central Washington), Gabrielle Ewing (Concordia), Kasey Reeve (Seattle Pacific), Liv Larson (Western Washington).

DEFENSE
Emily Thomson (Central Washington, GK, 5-10, So., Edmonton, Alta.)

Thomson made a total of four saves and recorded her third and fourth shutouts of the season in a pair of 1-0 home victories. She made three saves in Thursday’s win over Montana State Billings and needed just one save on four total shots in Saturday’s win over Saint Martin’s.

Also Nominated: Megan Myers (Concordia), Jacky Beristain (Western Oregon), Taylor Hallquist (Western Washington).

AROUND THE GNAC

CENTRAL WASHINGTON
• Central Washington went 2-1 last week, recording a pair of 1-0 shutout victories before falling at Seattle Pacific.
• Goalkeeper Emily Thomson shined for the Wildcats, recording her third and fourth clean sheets of the season en route to GNAC Defensive Player of the Week honors. She ended the week with seven saves across three matches.
• Defender Emily Russell and midfielder Sydney Lowe were CWU’s two goalscorers, totaling two goals against Saint Martin’s and Montana State Billings.
 • The team is back in action for one more match this week, traveling to Monmouth on Thursday for the season finale against Western Oregon.

CONCORDIA
• Concordia finished last week with a 1-1 mark, recording their ninth shutout victory of the season against Northwest Nazarene after falling in a 2-1 decision at No. 15 Western Washington.
• Midfielder Gabrielle Ewing led the Cavaliers, tallying three of the team’s four goals on the week. Ewing leads the team in points with 18 on seven goals through 14 matches.
• In the latest edition of the United Soccer Coaches Division II Coaches Poll, Concordia comes in ranked at No. 16. The Cavaliers are slotted at No. 3 in both the United Soccer Coaches and NCAA West Region polls.
• Concordia will host Saint Martin’s and Seattle Pacific on Thursday and Saturday to close out regular season competition. With CU sitting in a tie for first heading into the week, both matches will be critical as the team aims to secure the regular season conference crown.

MONTANA STATE BILLINGS
• Montana State Billings went 0-2 last week in a pair of road matches in the penultimate week of the season.
• The team’s best performance came on Thursday afternoon against Central Washington, where the Yellowjackets played the Wildcats even for the first 53 minutes of the match. A one-goal deficit followed them the rest of the way, one they were ultimately unable to make up.
• Forward Julia Keller and midfielder Claire Tevaseu lead MSUB in points (7) entering the final week of the season. Keller is the team leader in goals with three.  
• Montana State Billings returns to the field for two matches this week, hosting Simon Fraser and No. 15 Western Washington on Thursday and Saturday afternoon.  

NORTHWEST NAZARENE
• Northwest Nazarene finished the eighth week of competition with a loss in its only match.
• The team fell in a 3-0 decision at No. 16 Concordia on Saturday. Goalkeeper Chloe Sholtz made nine saves in the defeat to become the GNAC leader in that category.
• The Nighthawks opened the season with a 5-0-1 record, marking their best start in program history.
• Midfielder Madi Taylor leads Northwest Nazarene with 14 points in 15 matches. Her six goals is setting a club pace, while forwards Rikki Myers and Maddy Parton follow closely behind with five.
• The team returns home for its final two matches of the year, hosting 15th-ranked Western Washington on Thursday afternoon before Simon Fraser comes calling two days later.

SAINT MARTIN'S
• Saint Martin’s went 0-2 in its two matches last week, both of which were suffered on the road.
• The Saints now sit at 5-11-0 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 16 matches. The sophomore has tallied 13 points with five goals. Defensively, goalkeepers Ali Koehler and Sara Christensen have combined to make a GNAC-leading 5.88 saves per match.
• Two matches are on tap for Saint Martin’s this week. The club will travel to No. 16 Concordia on Thursday at 7 p.m. before playing host to Western Oregon in Saturday’s season finale. 

SEATTLE PACIFIC
• Seattle Pacific prevailed in all three of its matches last week, the highlight coming in a 3-2 overtime victory at Simon Fraser.
• Freshman Makena Rietz and senior Kasey Reeve led an explosive offensive attack for SPU, tallying two goals each in a 10-goal performance through three matches.   
• Sophomore Sophia Chilczuk leads the team in goals (8) through 17 matches. Chilczuk (19) and senior Julia DeVere (13) lead the Falcons in points, while Reeve follows closely behind at 12.  
• In the latest edition of the United Soccer Coaches and NCAA Division II West Region Polls, SPU comes in ranked No. 7.
• Seattle Pacific returns to the pitch for one more match this week, traveling to Portland to face No. 16 Concordia on Saturday in a contest that could have regular season title implications.

SIMON FRASER
• Simon Fraser went 1-1 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 fourth in the GNAC in save percentage (0.803).
• In the latest edition of the United Soccer Coaches Division II Coaches West Region Poll, SFU comes in ranked No. 9.
• The team travels to Montana State Billings and Northwest Nazarene this week.

WESTERN OREGON
• Western Oregon dropped its only match of the week, competing well at No. 15 Western Washington before ultimately falling in a 2-0 decision.
• Goalkeeper Alex Qualls added four more saves to her impressive total on the year. Qualls’ 64 saves is second in the GNAC in that category, just one behind Northwest Nazarene’s Chloe Sholtz.  
• Sophomores Alyssa Tomasini (7) and Alexie Morris (6) lead the club in points through 15 matches.  
• Two matches are on tap for WOU this week. The club will return home on Thursday afternoon against Central Washington before putting a lit on its season two days later at Saint Martin’s.

WESTERN WASHINGTON
• Western Washington finished the eighth week of play with a perfect 2-0 record.
• The Vikings tallied two goals in each victory, topping a then top-10 Concordia team 2-1 before shutting out Western Oregon to end the week. The shutout was goalkeeper Natalie Dierickx’s eighth of the season.
• Senior Gabriela Pelogi and freshman Dayana Diaz lead the team with 15 points and seven goals to date. A trio of Vikings - Zoe Milburn, Grace Eversaul and Taylor Hallquist are the next highest at nine points each.
• In the latest edition of the United Soccer Coaches Division II Coaches Poll, Western Washington comes in ranked at No. 15. The team is ranked No. 2 in both the United Soccer Coaches and NCAA West Region polls.
• The Vikings are back in action with two matches this week, both on the road. The week will start on Thursday afternoon at Northwest Nazarene before a date with Montana State Billings on Saturday at 1 p.m.