Monday, September 16, 2013

PORTLAND, Ore. - A total of 14 Great Northwest Athletic Conference athletes including Azusa Pacific running back Terrell Watson who surpassed the 2,000 yard rushing plateau Saturday, have been selected Red Lion Players of the Week for the Week of Sept. 9-15.

The honorees include:

Football

Offense –  Terrell Watson, Azusa Pacific (RB, 6-2, 230, Jr., Oxnard, CA) rushed for 165 yards and two touchdowns as the Cougars extended their conference game win streak to five games with a 36-20 road win at Dixie State.  Watson also surpassed the 2,000-yard career rushing mark increasing his total to 2,130.  He also extended his streak of games with a rushing touchdown to eight and his streak of games rushing for 165 or more yards to four.

Defense –  Deionte Gordon, Central Washington (DB, 6-1, 203, Sr., Seaside, CA – Sacramento State) had three takeaways, setting up two of the Wildcats’ three touchdowns in a 20-7 home win against Western Oregon.  Gordon set up CWU’s second first-quarter touchdown with a 22-yard interception return to the WOU 20-yard line. He also had an interception late in the first half and then forced and recovered a fumble in the third period, leading to a 5-play, 43-yard touchdown drive.  He also had five tackles and broke up a pass.

Special Teams –  Jamie Cacciatore, Azusa Pacific (K, 5-8, 175, So., Orange, CA – El Modena)  booted a 52-yard field goal – equaling the third longest in GNAC history – in the Cougars 36-20 road win at Dixie State.   The field goal was the 11th 50-yarder in conference history and was just two yards shy of the GNAC record held by Western Washington’s  Michael Koenen.  The NFL veteran booted a 54-yarder against Central Oklahoma in 2001

Honorable Mention: Offense – Tyrell Williams, Western Oregon; Chase Krivashei, Humboldt State. Defense – Matt Moody, Azusa Pacific; Jake Duncan, Dixie State.

Volleyball

Offense – Andrea Terpstra, Northwest Nazarene (MB, 6-4, Jr., Ripon, CA) tallied 50 kills and 20 blocks as the Crusaders won three of four matches in the CSU East Bay/Notre Dame de Namur Route 92 Showdown.  Terpstra, a transfer from San Diego State, hit for a .417 percentage (50-10-96).  

Defense –  Samantha Hutchinson, Western Washington (L, 5-7, Jr., University Place, WA - Curtis) averaged 8.50 digs – two more than her season average of 6.50 - as the Vikings won three of four matches at the Sonoma State Seawolf Invitational.  Hutchinson had a total of 102 digs in 12 sets.

Honorable Mention-  Kayla Erickson, Western Washington; Kaely Kight, Central Washington; Taylor Roberts, Northwest Nazarene; Sam Harthun, Alaska Fairbanks; Nikki Lowell, Seattle Pacific.

Cross Country

Male – Matt Lutz, Western Washington (Fr., Bremerton, WA – Olympic) and  Mitch Burgess, Alaska Fairbanks (Fr., Temecula, CA) ... Lutz and Burgess had Top 15 finishes in events hosted by Division I teams.  Lutz finished 13th in the University of Washington Sundodger, covering the 8,000-meter course in a time of 25:18.00 and leading the Vikings to a third-place team finish in back of Chico State and British Columbia.  Burgess placed ninth in the University of Hawaii Invitational in a 5K time of 16:42.47 to lead the Nanooks to a third-place team finish.

Female – Lindsey Butterworth, Simon Fraser (Sr., North Vancouver, BC – Handworth) finished third in the women’s open division at the University of Washington Sundodger Invitational Saturday with a 6,000-meter time of 21:29.63.  Butterworth led the Clan to a second-place finish one ahead of regionally pre-season top ranked Chico State.

Honorable Mention – Rudy Spencer, Central Washington; Chase Cunningham, Northwest Nazarene; Connie Morgan, Central Washington; Natalie Evans, Northwest Nazarene; Dorothy O’Donnell, Alaska Fairbanks.

Men’s Soccer

Offense – Glenn Paden, Simon Fraser (F, 6-0, Jr., Lake Forest Park, WA – Shorecrest) notched the Clan’s first hat trick of the season in a decisive 9-0 victory over Trinity Lutheran that helped SFU remain undefeated at 4-0 on the season. The junior forward who transferred to SFU from Oregon State scored all three of his goals in a span of 18 minutes, as four of his five shots were on target.

Defense – Troy McCarty, Western Washington (D, 6-0, Fr., Snohomish, WA – Snohomish) played 161 minutes of solid defense and scored a goal on the only shot he took in two games last week. The freshman has stepped into an important role on the back line and has handled the responsibility of extensive playing time exceptionally well.

Honorable Mention – Andrew Weishaar, Western Washington; Fredy Razo, Northwest Nazarene; Magnus Kristensen, Simon Fraser; Cody Lang, Seattle Pacific.

Women’s Soccer

Offense – Kelli Bannerman, Saint Martin’s (F, 5-5, Fr., Ferndale, WA – Ferndale) scored a hat trick off the bench on Thursday to help the Saints to their first win of 2013, a 4-0 road win over Holy Names. Bannerman entered the game as a substitute in the first half, and was extremely efficient, needing just four shots – all of which were on target – to tally three goals. The freshman’s six points were the most in the GNAC last week.

Defense – Kelsey Lindsey, Western Oregon (GK, 5-5, Jr., Kula, Maui – Kamehameha Maui) made seven saves en route to her first career shutout in the Wolves 2-0 victory over Holy Names on Saturday. Lindsey’s performance helped WOU remain undefeated on the season, as the Wolves are 2-0-2 and have allowed just one goal thus far in 2013.

Honorable Mention – Lexi Fesenbeck, Northwest Nazarene; Taija Bjorgo, Western Oregon; Monique Ray, Northwest Nazarene; Brianna Jones, Western Washington; Shayla Page, Seattle Pacific.

Golf

Male - Nick Hardy, Northwest Nazarene  (Sr.,  Edmonds, WA – Kings) shot a 69 to match a career low and also set a new personal best with a 3-under en route to medalist honors in a dual match with the College of Idaho last Wednesday. Hardy helped the Crusaders to a 291 team score, nine strokes better than COI in the first round of the season.

Female – Katie Fish, Montana State Billings (Jr., Great Falls, MT – Charles M. Russell) grabbed a second place finish at the Yellowjackets’ annual fall invitational, thanks to a stellar second round of 73 after shooting a 79 in round one. Not only was her 152 total the third best mark in program history and her 73 round fifth best, but she helped the team to a school-record low round of 298 and a first place finish in the tournament.

Honorable Mention – Haley Gochnour, Northwest Nazarene.