Monday, November 3, 2014

PORTLAND, Ore. -  Chelsea Shuman of Montana State Billings and Hannah Huesers  of Seattle Pacific  led their respective teams to two wins last week as the two women’s soccer squads ended the regular-season tied for second place in the GNAC.  The two athletes have been selected as GNAC Women’s Soccer Offensive Players of the Week for Oct. 27 – Nov. 2.

They are among 13 GNAC athletes to earn GNAC Player of the Week honors in women’s soccer, men’s soccer, volleyball, football, men’s golf and women’s golf.

Here is a recap of the winners and a list of athletes earning honorable mention honors:

Women’s Soccer

Offense -  Chelsea Shuman, Montana State Billings (M, 5-2, Sr., Kalispell, MT - Flathead)  and Hannah Huesers, Seattle Pacific (F, 5-10, So., Lake Stevens, WA – Lake Stevens) each led their teams to two wins.  Shuman  scored three goals and added an assist to help earn the Yellowjackets the second seed heading into the conference tournament. “(Shuman) has really stepped up the last few weeks as a captain with her on and off the field performance," head coach Wojtek Krakowiak said ... Huesers, who leads the conference in goals with 13,  had both game-winning goals in the Falcons’ two shutout victories  over Western Oregon and Central Washington. 

Defense - Kim Cooper, Western Washington (M, 5-1, Sr., Bellingham, WA - Bellingham) contributed to the Vikings’ two shutout wins.  She held Northwest Nazarene to one shot on goal while helping solidify the Vikings 14th shutout of the season against Simon Fraser. “She was fantastic defending the space between our midfield and defense in two shutout wins on the road,” head coach Travis Connell said.

Honorable Mention - Jennifer Johnson, Montana State Billings (D, 5-6, Sr., Wenatchee, WA - Wenatchee); Lexi Fesenbek, Northwest Nazarene (F, 5-4, Jr., Olympia, WA - Olympia); Molly Stinson, Seattle Pacific (GK, 6-0, Fr., Woodinville, WA - Woodinville); Stephanie Hamilton, Western Washington (F/M, 5-2, Jr., Orting, WA – Bellarmine Prep).

Men’s Soccer

Offense - Chad Radulovich, Western Washington (F, 6-4, So., San Ramon, CA – California) scored two goals and contributed three assists in a pair of victories. Radulovich scored the first goal in each half in the Vikings’ 4-0 win over South Dakota Mines and then recorded nearly half of the team’s assists in a 6-1 win over U-Mary on Senior Nght.

Defense -  Matt Brink, Montana State Billings (D, 5-10, Sr., Billings, MT - Billings) led the Yellowjackets to a 2-0 shutout against Saint Martin’s on Thursday while helping hold No. 2 Seattle Pacific to only two shots on goal in a 1-0 loss Saturday.   

Honorable Mention - Rhys Lambert, Montana State Billings (M/D, 5-11, So., Gold Coast, Australia - Griffith); Alfredo E. Ontiveros, Northwest Nazarene (GK, 6-2, Sr., La Puente, CA - Arroyo); Fredy Razo, Northwest Nazarene (F, 5-10, Sr., Irvine, CA – El Toro): Jovan Blagojevich, Simon Fraser (M, 6-0, Sr., Coquitlam, BC - Centennial); Lenny Kusina, Western Washington (F, 5-10, Jr., Fairbault, MN – Shattuck St. Mary’s Prep).

Volleyball

Offense – Kaitlin Quirk, Central Washington (MB, 6-1, Jr., Ellensburg, WA) had 18 kills and 15 blocks to lead the Wildcats to wins over Simon Fraser and nationally ninth-ranked Western Washington.  Quirk hit for a .378 percentage (18-4-37) as CWU improved to 7-1 in its last eight matches and 17-6 on the season.

Defense – Taylor VanValey, Northwest Nazarene (RS, 6-2, Jr., Brush Prairie, WA – Hockinson) had 17 kills and 11 blocks in wins over #9 Western Washington and Simon Fraser.  VanValey led a defense which had 15 team  blocks against Western Washington, holding the Vikings to a .007 hitting percentage.  She participated in eight of the 15, earning one solo and seven assists.

Honorable Mention – Kayla McGlathery, Alaska Anchorage (MB, 6-0, So., Coeur d’Alene, ID – Texas A&M Kingsville); Quinn Barker, Alaska Anchorage (L, 5-4, Sr., Mission Viejo, CA – Trabuco Hills /Central Arizona); Catie Fry, Central Washington (S, 5-11, Jr., Tacoma, WA – Mount Si); Alaina Gentili, MSU Billings (MB, 6-2, Fr.,  Spokane Valley, WA – Central Valley); Michelle Terpstra, Northwest Nazarene (S, 5-9, Sr., Ripon, CA – Ripon Christian); Christie Colasurdo, Western Oregon (OH, 5-11, So., Olympia, WA).

Football

Offense – Terrell Watson, Azusa Pacific (RB, 6-2, 240, Sr., Oxnard, CA) rushed for 202 yards, including an 80-yard touchdown with 2:32 left in the fourth quarter as the Cougars pulled out a 19-18 victory over Western Oregon clinching at least a tie for their  second straight GNAC football title. With two regular-season games, remaining Watson already has rushed for 1,687 yards and 22 touchdowns.

Defense – Jordan Herdman, Simon Fraser (LB, 6-2, 231, So., Winnipeg, MB – Sturg) and Jeremiah Maluia, Humboldt State (DB, 5-11, 202, Sr., Compton, CA) ...  Herdman set three GNAC records in Saturday’s 33-17 home loss to Humboldt State.    Herdman had 27 total tackles including 19 assists to set single game records in both categories.  The old records were 25 by Bubba Reynolds of Humboldt State against Dixie State in 2008 and 16 by Jon Apgar of Western Oregon against Puget Sound in 2005 and by Reynolds against DSU.  Herdman also set a GNAC single-season record for tackles, increasing his total to 129 and breaking the record of 128 by Caleb Jessup of Western Washington in 2008 ... Maluia led HSU in the game with nine tackles and also intercepted two passes for 23 yards as the Lumberjacks improved to 7-1 keeping alive their post-season hopes.

Special Teams – Matthew Hackett, Azusa Pacific (DE, 6-2, 240, Jr., Modesto, CA) blocked a 41-yard field goal attempt with 31 seconds left to preserve the Cougars’ 19-18 home win over Western Oregon.

Honorable Mention – Kevin Haynes, Central Washington (LB, 6-0, 230, Fr., Brush Prairie, WA – Battle Ground); Ryan Bergman, Western Oregon (QB, 6-2, 170, Sr., Issaquah, WA); Kraig Akins, Western Oregon (DE, 6-2, 290, Sr., Springfield, OR – Thurston).

Men’s Golf - Chris Hatch, Western Washington (So., Mukilteo, WA) finished fourth in the Dennis Rose Invitational with a 54-hole total of 224.  Hatch carded rounds of 73, 76 and 75 at the Waikoloa Beach Golf Course in Hawaii to finish the fall season as the Vikings’ top golfer with a stroke average of 73.5.

Honorable Mention – Mike Delie,  Northwest Nazarene (Jr., Boise, ID – Mountain View).

Women’s Golf -  Jennifer Liedes, Saint Martin’s (So., Olympia, WA) placed third at the Dennis Rose Invitational in Hawaii with a 54-hole score of 231.  Liedes had rounds of 79. 75 and 77 to complete her fall season with a stroke average of 75.3, third best in the GNAC.