Thursday, September 8, 2016

PORTLAND - After playing 12 of 14 matches in the opening week away from home, men’s soccer returns to the northwest with 11 of 13 matches this week being hosted by GNAC members.

The GNAC went 5-5-1 in away and neutral site games last week, while Northwest Nazarene won and tied its two matches at home.

Simon Fraser had the most notable road performance, beating Cal State San Bernardino 3-0 before pulling off a 2-0 upset of No. 4 Cal Poly Pomona. As a result, the Clan shot up to No. 6 in the NSCAA national rankings and is the No. 1 team in the West Region.

Seattle Pacific will be excited to return home after a rough start to the season. In Seattle, the Falcons are holding onto a 26-match unbeaten streak in regular season games. They will take on Colorado Christian and Metro State this week.

Northwest Nazarene had an offensive explosion in the first week of the season, scoring six goals in two games, and moved up to No. 9 in the West Region rankings. The Crusaders will play Cal State Dominguez Hills and Westminster in Nampa, Idaho.

Concordia won both games last week and is now ranked No. 6 in the NSCAA West Region rankings, while Western Washington is No. 7.

GNAC PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

OFFENSE
Logan Wood, Northwest Nazarene, F • 6-0 • 165 • Sophomore • Maple Valley, Wash.
Wood finished with two goals and two assists as the Crusaders went 1-0-1 on the opening weekend. He scored the game-tying goal in Thursday’s 2-2 tie with Hawaii Pacific and netted a goal and two assists in NNU’s 4-2 win on Saturday over Dominican. Also Nominated: Kyle Witzel (Saint Martin’s), Kiernan McMinn (Concordia), Ryan Dhillon (Simon Fraser).

DEFENSE
Tyler Visten, Western Washington, GK • 5-11 • 185 • Junior • Mount Vernon, Wash.
Visten registered a pair of clean sheets in two matches, recording nine saves in the process. He turned away nine shots in Thursday’s 1-0 shutout of Chico State and added two saves as the Vikings fought to a 0-0 tie on Saturday with Sonoma State. Also Nominated: Steven Garcia (Northwest Nazarene), Griffin Small (Saint Martin’s), Grant Alcorn (Concordia).

AROUND THE GNAC

CONCORDIA
• Concordia, ranked No. 6 in the West Region, opened the season with two wins against PacWest Conference opponents. It is the first time since joining the GNAC that the Cavaliers have taken on PacWest programs.
• Erick Urzua continued his hot start from last year. The midfielder finished his junior season, recording points in three of the last four games. In the second game of 2016, Urzua put a penalty kick in the back of the net to lift the Cavaliers to a 2-1 victory over Hawaii Pacific.
• Kieran McMinn scored the only goal in Concordia’s 1-0 season-opening victory over Dominican.
• After earning limited playing time as a freshman, Grant Alcorn played all 180 minutes at goalkeeper in the first week of the season. The sophomore recorded nine saves and a shutout, while allowing only one goal en route to a pair of victories.

MONTANA STATE BILLINGS
• Montana State Billings had won five consecutive September matches enterring the season, but that streak was snapped in a 1-0 loss to No. 4 Cal Poly Pomona.
• The Yellowjackets will play their home opener on Friday against Dixie State. They haven’t scored a goal yet this season, but the Yellowjackets have scored a goal in each of their last nine home games, which is the longest active goal streak in the conference.

NORTHWEST NAZARENE
• The Crusaders lead the conference as a team in every offensive category: shots (31), points (21), goals (6), and assists (9).
• GNAC Offensive Player of the Week Logan Wood paced that productive offense wtih two goals on eight shots and two assists.
• Three different NNU players recorded a pair of assists in the first week of the season, while only one other team in the conference has a total of more than two assists: Wood, Michael Molly and Alex Mitrovic.
• Ryan Foo tallied 15 saves in the first week of the season, which is pacing the conference. He ranks third in save percentage (.789) and fourth in goals against average (1.80)

SAINT MARTIN’S
• The Saints dropped their first two contests of the season in high-scoring affairs.
• On the road against both Cal State LA and California Baptist, the Saints led both games 2-1 in the first half before eventually letting both leads slip away.
• Kyle Witzel was one of seven players in the conference this week to record both a goal and an assist. He has now either scored a goal or dished an assist in five of the Saints’ last six games.
• Griffin Small recorded 11 saves, which ranks second in the conference. He allowed a total of four goals in three halves.

SEATTLE PACIFIC
• After earning a 1-1 tie against Sonoma State, SPU took a 3-2 loss to Chico State. It is the first time Seattle Pacific has lost despite scoring two goals since the NCAA West Region semifinals against Cal State LA. Since then, the Falcons have been on the other side of the coin three times, beating Notre Dame de Namur, Montana State Billings and Simon Fraser in that fashion.
• Stephen MacDonald took a conference-high nine shots in the first two games of the season. One of those shots found the back of the net against Chico State, which was one of two Falcon goals in the loss.
• Carlos Franco scored the Falcons’ lone goal in his collegiate debut, scoring in the 62nd minute to force a tie with Sonoma State.
• Gabe Kellum recorded points in seven games last year and all seven resulted in Falcons wins. However, his game-tying goal against Cal State LA, which tied the game at 1-1, ended that streak.

SIMON FRASER
• The Clan had an ideal start to the season in California, cruising past Cal State San Bernardino 3-0, while only allowing the Coyotes three shots in the match and none were on frame.  Then SFU upset No. 4 Cal Poly Pomona 2-0, which is the Clan’s record after the first week of the season.
• Simon Fraser has earned a conference-best 16 corner kicks this season and also ranks second in shots (26), points (14), goals (5) and assists (5).
• The Clan has not allowed a goal yet, facing very little pressure. Simon Fraser has only allowed one shot on goal all season, which was blocked. So far this season, the Clan is outshooting its opponents 26-7.
• Five different players scored the Clan’s five goals, including Mamadi Camara, who also assisted a goal. Pascal Schmidt and Erik Morden scored two two game-winning goals in the wins over Cal State San Bernardino and Cal Poly Pomona.
• Simon Fraser has the latest home opener of any GNAC team. The Clan will play Notre Dame de Namur in Bellingham, Wash., before a three-day trip to Hawaii next week. The Clan will finally be introduced to Terry Fox Field on Sept. 22 in the GNAC opener against Seattle Pacific.

WESTERN WASHINGTON
• Western Washington entered the NSCAA West Region rankings at No. 7 following a 1-0 win over Chico State and then a scoreless tie against Sonoma State.
• Last year, WWU ranked sixth as a team in goals against average, but after the first week, the Vikings are one of two GNAC squads that has yet to allow a goal this season.
• GNAC Defensive Player of the Week Tyler Visten saved all nine shots on goal that he faced for 200 shutout minutes, which leads the conference.
• Anthony Dean scored the Vikings only goal in the 1-0 victory over Chico State. It was the junior’s first goal in a Western Washington uniform.
• Western Washington will welcome Notre Dame de Namur and Colorado Christian to Bellingham, for a pair of matches against the Argonauts and the Cougars.

GNAC MILESTONE TRACKER

Brandon Watson (SFU) - Watson recorded his 23rd and 24th career shutouts this week, tying Zach Johnson of Seattle Pacific, who played from 2009-12, for third most shutouts in conference history. Watson is now just five shutouts away from the all-time conference record, but one of the players who holds a share of the record is also in his senior season.

Cody Lang (SPU) - Lang put his date with history on hold after allowing four goals in the first week. The senior goalkeeper holds a share of the conference record for shutouts. With his next shutout, he will become the first player in GNAC history to record 30. Thursday’s home opener against Colorado Christian would be the ideal time for Lang to make history. He currently has a 510:58 scoreless streak when defending his home field.

Adam Jones (SFU) - Jones finished his freshman season hot and picked up right where he left off, scoring a goal in the season opener. That goal gave the sophomore midfielder five consecutive games with a point. It was also his sixth consecutive road game with a point recorded. Those streaks both came to an end in the win against Cal Poly Pomona. In his career, he has scored a point in six of eight total away games.

Kyle Witzel (SMU) - The junior midfielder scored a goal and assist in the Saints two games in the first week of the season. He has now recorded a point in five of the last six games. He is now tied for second most career points among active players with 29.

Ryan Foo (NNU) - Foo recorded 15 saves this week to reach 155 career saves, which ranks 16th in conference history and second among active players. He also boosted his save percentage to .759, which now ranks 10th in conference history. However, the senior was under constant attack and allowed four goals in two games, raising his goals against average to 1.18, which also ranks 10th in GNAC history.

Simon Fraser - The Clan won both of its games in the opening week against CCAA games, scoring a total of five goals. The Clan has now won all of its last eight games, scored a goal in all of its last nine games and scored multiple goals in each of the last six games. The Clan’s streaks will be tested against Notre Dame de Namur at Western Washington before the team heads to Hawaii for a pair of games on the islands. After that, the Clan will finally return to Canada, where a 12-match home unbeaten streak is waiting for it.

Seattle Pacific - The Falcons have won or tied 26 consecutive home matches in the regular season. On Thursday, SPU will play its home opener at Interbay Stadium against Colorado Christian, looking to secure its first win of the season and extend its unbeaten streak to 27.