Tuesday, October 25, 2016

PORTLAND - Going into the final two weeks of the season, four teams have a shot at claiming the title of 2016 GNAC Champion, and those four teams will all face each other this week.

Simon Fraser currently leads the GNAC standings and can clinch at least a share of the conference title this week if it beats both opponents. The Clan will host Montana State Billings on Thursday and Northwest Nazarene on Saturday.

Western Washington has the toughest road to the title, needing four consecutive wins and some help from other teams. The Vikings play the reverse schedule of Simon Fraser this week, hosting Northwest Nazarene on Thursday and Montana State Billings on Saturday.

Northwest Nazarene tied Simon Fraser earlier in the season 2-2. The Crusaders have a chance to shake up the race for the conference title if they can hand Simon Fraser its first loss of the season. First, they’ll have to get through Western Washington on the road.

Montana State Billings gets the first shot at the No. 1 team in the region, traveling to Burnaby on Thursday. In the first meeting, red cards were handed out to both teams as SFU defeated the Yellowjackets 1-0 despite being outshot 16-4. The ‘Jackets have three matches left to try to close the five-point gap with Simon Fraser.

In the national rankings, Simon Fraser moved back up to No. 3 in the NSCAA Coaches Poll. The Clan has been ranked as high as No. 2 this year. The Clan was ranked No. 1 in the NCAA West Region Rankings and MSUB was No. 8. The new set of rankings will come out on Wednesday. The top six teams in the rankings will go to the NCAA West Regional Tournament.

Last week, Simon Fraser goalkeeper Brandon Watson tied Cody Lang from Seattle Pacific for most career shutouts in GNAC history with 28. Both goalkeepers are in their senior season.

Both goalkeepers currently rank in the top three in GNAC history in career goals against average. Lang holds the slight advantage with a career GAA of 0.75, while Watson’s mark is currently at 0.76. The GNAC record is 0.67 set by Simon Fraser’s Hide Ozawa in 2012.

PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

OFFENSE
Adam Jones, Simon Fraser
M • 5-7 • Junior • Coquitlam, B.C.
Jones scored two goals and had two assists as the Clan scored a 5-0 shutout of Saint Martin’s on Saturday. It is the third time this year that a GNAC player has scored six points in a single match.

Also Nominated: Alex Mitrovic (Northwest Nazarene), Julien Dragomir (Montana State Billings), Anthony Dean (Western Washington).

DEFENSE
Oliver Posarelli, Montana State Billings
D • 5-11 • Freshman • Verona, Italy
Posarelli anchored a Montana State Billings’ defense that picked up to wins and scored its sixth shutout of the year on Saturday, a 1-0 win over Seattle Pacific. The freshman played all 90 minutes in the shutout win and also had his first career assist in the Yellowjackets’ 4-1 win on Thursday over Concordia.

Also Nominated: Linus Mansson (Northwest Nazarene), Tyler Visten (Western Washington).

GNAC MILESTONE TRACKER

Brandon Watson (SFU) - Watson recorded his 28th career shutout against Concordia, tying Seattle Pacific’s Cody Lang for the all-time GNAC record. Both goalkeepers are in their senior season. Watson already holds the record for shutouts in conference matches at 22. Watson’s goals against average this season is 0.59, which leads the conference and ranks eighth in Division II. His career goals against average is 0.76, which ranks third all-time, just one-hundredth behind second place.

Cody Lang (SPU) - Earlier this year, Lang broke the all-time GNAC record for career shutouts with his 28th in a 0-0 draw with Northwest Nazarene. That record, however, has since been tied by Watson. This week, Lang tallied 17 saves in two 1-0 losses. He now has 230 career saves, which ranks 11th all-time. He trails Ryan Foo by two saves, but leads all active goalkeepers in shutout percentage at .810, which ranks fifth in GNAC history.

Ryan Dhillon (SFU) - Dhillon recorded two assists this week, giving him seven on the season, which is second best in the conference. Dhillon now has 21 career assists, cracking the top 10 all-time in the GNAC for career assists in a four-way tie for seventh. He also has 23 goals and 67 points in his career which rank 18th and 14th all-time in the GNAC, respectively. Dhillon has now taken 137 career shots, reaching the top 20 in GNAC history in that statistical category.

Ryan Foo (NNU) - Foo has recorded 92 saves already this season for 232 career saves, which leads active players and places Foo in the top 10 in GNAC history for career saves. He also ranks sixth in saves per match this year in all of NCAA Division II with 6.57. Foo was the 11th goalkeeper in GNAC history to reach 200 career saves.

Simon Fraser - The Clan beat Saint Martin’s at home to extend the team’s home unbeaten streak to 16 matches, which is just one away of the conference record. Overall, SFU is unbeaten in its last 19 matches and has the third best winning percentage in Division II. Simon Fraser, Northwest Nazarene and Montana State Billings this week. If the Clan wins or ties both matches, it will break the GNAC record for longest home unbeaten streak. Simon Fraser has also scored a goal in each of its last 20 matches.

Montana State Billings - The Yellowjackets’ offense has been their strength this year, having scored 33 goals this season, which not only leads the GNAC but also the entire West Region. Earlier this year, the ‘Jackets went on a five-match winning streak in which they outscored opponents 16-0. Julien Dragomir now shares the conference lead in goals with nine this year. Dragomir also has four assists for 22 points, which is also tied for best in the conference and ranks fifth in the West Region.

AROUND THE GNAC

CONCORDIA
• Concordia lost both matches this week to Montana State Billings and Northwest Nazarene. The Cavaliers have lost their last four matches.
• Matt Paine has scored eight goals in 11 games this year. He ranks third in the conference in goals and fourth in points.
• Erick Urzua scored the team’s lone goal last week, which gave the Cavaliers a 1-0 lead against MSUB before giving up four unanswered goals.
• The Cavaliers will host Seattle Pacific in its only match this week.

MONTANA STATE BILLINGS
• Montana State Billings won both matches this week, beating Concordia 4-1 and Seattle Pacific 1-0 to stay in the hunt for the GNAC title and one of six spots in the West Regional Tournament.
• The Yellowjackets will play at Simon Fraser and Western Washington this week. They must at least tie against No. 3 Simon Fraser to maintain a chance at claiming the conference title.
• With three matches remaining, the Yellowjackets trail Simon Fraser by five points in the conference standings. Montana State Billings lost 1-0 at home against SFU earlier in the year despite outshooting the Clan 16-4.
• Two weeks ago, MSUB defeated Western Washington at home 3-1. The Vikings and Yellowjackets, two of four teams with a shot at the conference title, will play in Bellingham, Wash., on Saturday.
• The ‘Jackets are ranked eighth in the first NCAA West Region Rankings.
• The Yellowjackets boast the best offense in the West Region with 33 goals this season, including nine by Julien Dragomir, who shares the conference lead in both goals and points (22).
• Ricardo Palomino and Thiago Novis both have five goals this year for MSUB.

NORTHWEST NAZARENE
• Northwest Nazarene has gone unbeaten in its last seven matches since losing its conference opener to Montana State Billings 3-0.
• The Crusaders are in second place in the conference standings and can move into first place with two wins this week.
• Northwest Nazarene has a four-match winning streak. If NNU wins its next four matches it will claim its first GNAC title in program history.
• The Crusaders went to overtime in six consecutive matches, going 4-0-2. The four overtime goals were scored by Alex Mitrovic and Michael Mollay with two apiece.
• Northwest Nazarene will travel to Western Washington and Simon Fraser this week.
• Logan Wood leads NNU in goals with five. Mollay, meanwhile, leads the team in assists with six, while Linus Mansson has five.
• Last week, the Crusaders were not in the top eight of the NCAA West Region Rankings, which determine the six teams that will advance to the NCAA West Regional Tournament. The Crusaders, however, were ranked seventh in this week’s NSCAA Regional Poll. The new set of NCAA West Region Rankings will come out on Wednesday.

SAINT MARTIN’S
• Saint Martin’s lost to Western Washington and Simon Fraser last week, getting outscored 8-0 in the two matches.
• Kyle Witzel has a team-best six goals and his 38 shots this season, which rank fifth and fourth in the GNAC respectively.
• Saint Martin’s will host Seattle Pacific on Saturday in the squad’s only match this week.
• The Saints are looking to end a 189-minute scoring drought since scoring two goals against Seattle Pacific on Oct. 13.

SEATTLE PACIFIC
• The Falcons lost both matches last week 1-0 to Montana State Billings and Northwest Nazarene, ending their chances at defending their conference title.
• Cody Lang recorded 17 saves in the two matches, including 10 against Northwest Nazarene. It was just the fifth time this year that a GNAC goalkeeper made double digit saves. Lang now has 230 career saves, which ranks 11th in GNAC history.
• Seattle Pacific will travel to Concordia and Saint Martin’s this week. The Falcons are looking for their eighth consecutive season with a winning record, needing at least two wins and a tie in their last three matches.

SIMON FRASER
• The Clan defated Simon Fraser 5-0 on Saturday for its only match of the week.
• Brandon Watson recorded his 28th career shutout against SMU, tying the conference record for most career shutouts.
• Adam Jones scored two goals and recorded two assists for six points in the victory to earn GNAC Offensive Player of the Week. It was just the third time this year that a player recorded six points in a single game and the second time playing a part in four different goals.
• Simon Fraser was ranked No. 1 in the first set of West Region Rankings, which determine which six teams will advance to the West Region Tournament. The next set of rankings come out on Wednesday.
• Mamadi Camara scored twice against SMU for nine goals this season, which is tied for the most in the conference. Ryan Dhillon was the third player in the 5-0 win for the Clan with a multi-point game, registering two assists.
• The Clan has taken more than twice as many shots as its opponents, 211-95.
• This week, the Clan hosts Northwest Nazarene and Montana State Billings. Simon Fraser can clinch a share of the GNAC title with two wins this week.

WESTERN WASHINGTON
• Western Washington defeated Saint Martin’s in its only match last week to stay alive in the battle for the conference title.
• The Vikings lead the West Region in shots taken per match with 18.31, but rank sixth in the conference in goals per match with 1.46.
• Eleazar Galvan leads the team in shots with 38 this season and six different players have taken at least 20 shots.
• Western Washington will host Northwest Nazarene on Thursday and Montana State Billings on Saturday.