Wednesday, November 2, 2016

PORTLAND - Simon Fraser wrapped up the GNAC title quickly and now has set its sights on returning to the postseason for the fourth time in five years of playoff eligibility.

The Clan is currently the No. 1 team in the NCAA West Regional Rankings, which determine which six teams will advance to the playoffs. The seeds for the NCAA West Regional tournament will be announced on the selection show on Monday at 3:30 p.m. (Pacific). The top two seeds will each get byes and host the first two rounds of playoffs.

Simon Fraser clinched the conference title with consecutive 4-0 victories over Northwest Nazarene and Montana State Billings, setting a pair of conference records. The Clan have now won or tied a conference record 19 consecutive home matches. Goalkeeper Brandon Watson broke the record for career shutouts, reaching 30 with 276 consecutive shutout minutes.

During the three consecutive shutouts, SFU outscored opponents 13-0, which is the most goals in three consecutive shutouts for the Clan since recorded a 21-0 scoring advantage over opponents during a three-match stretch in 2013.

Western Washington defeated the same teams Simon Fraser did last week, beating both Northwest Nazarene and Montana State Billings 2-0 to keep the Vikings’ playoff hopes alive. The WWU defense has recorded seven shutouts this season. On Thursday, Western Washington and Simon Fraser will play in Bellingham, Wash. The Vikings are 6-1-1 when playing at home and tied Simon Fraser 1-1 on the road. Since then, Simon Fraser hasn’t allowed a goal.

Northwest Nazarene is second in the GNAC standings and will wrap up the season against Concordia on Thursday and Saint Martin’s on Saturday. Seattle Pacific’s only contest is the season finale against Simon Fraser on Saturday.

PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

OFFENSE

Eleazar Galvan, Western Washington

M • 5-6 • Senior • Chelan, Wash.

Galvan finished with a goal and two assists to lead the Vikings in a pair of 2-0 shutouts. He scored the game-winner and had an assist in Saturday’s win over Montana State Billings.

Also Nominated: Alex Mitrovic (Northwest Nazarene), Julien Dragomir (Montana State Billings), Anthony Dean (Western Washington), Sebastian Navarro (Saint Martin’s), Magnus Kristensen (Simon Fraser), Michael Mollay (Northwest Nazarene), Erick Uruza (Concordia).

DEFENSE

Brandon Watson, Simon Fraser

GK • 6-1 • Senior • Victoria, B.C.

Watson finished with two shutouts and became the GNAC career leader with 30 shutouts as the Clan clinched the 2016 GNAC championship. He finished with four saves in a 4-0 shutout of Montana State Billings on Thursday and made two stops in a 4-0 shutout of Northwest Nazarene on Saturday.

Also Nominated: Tyler Visten (Western Washington), Alejandro Basulto-Merito (Northwest Nazarene).

GNAC MILESTONE TRACKER

Brandon Watson (SFU) - Watson recorded his 29th and 30th career shutouts last week, breaking the all-time GNAC record, which was set by Cody Lang earlier this season. Watson has now played 276 consecutive shutout minutes since allowing a penalty-kick goal in the final minutes against Western Washington.Watson’s goals against average this season is 0.52, which leads the conference and ranks sixth in Division II. His career goals against average is 0.738, which ranks third all-time.

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 7 saves in two victories. He now has 237 career saves, which ranks 10th all-time and leads all active players. Lang is also the active leader in save percentage.

Ryan Dhillon (SFU) - Dhillon scored a goal against Montana State Billings, giving him four on the season. 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 24 goals and 69 points in his career which rank 18th and 12th all-time in the GNAC, respectively. Dhillon needs four more points to crack the top 10 in career points in GNAC history.

Ryan Foo (NNU) - Foo has recorded 96 saves already this season for 236 career saves, which is second among active goalkeepers. He also ranks seventh in saves per match this year in all of NCAA Division II with 6.40. Foo was the 11th goalkeeper in GNAC history to reach 200 career saves. Foo needs either two more saves than Lang in the final two matches or seven more saves to finish the year in the top 10.

Simon Fraser - The Clan beat Montana State Billings and Northwest Nazarene at home to extend the team’s home unbeaten streak to 19 matches, breaking the record of 17 that the Clan set twice in 2012 and 2014. Overall, SFU is unbeaten in its last 21 matches, which is three away from the record, and SFU has the third best winning percentage in Division II. Simon Fraser has also scored a goal in each of its last 22 matches, which is 11 shy of the all-time record. The Clan has outscored its last three opponents 13-0.

Kyle Witzel (SMU) - Witzel scored four goals in the Saints’ 5-2 win against Concordia. It was the fourth time in GNAC history that a player scored four goals in a conference match. Including non-conference matches, the record is six goals in a match. Witzel now has 22 career goals, which ranks 21st in GNAC history. He is now the conference leader in goals this year wtih 10. It is the most single season goals in program history since joining the GNAC in 2007.

AROUND THE GNAC

CONCORDIA
• Concordia lost both matches this week to Seattle Pacific and Saint Martin’s. The Cavaliers have lost their last six matches.
• Matt Paine has scored eight goals in 12 games this year. He ranks fourth in the conference in goals and sixth in points.
• Erick Urzua scored all three of the team’s goals last week to reach six goals on the season. Since Oct. 8, he is the only Cavalier to score a goal recording four.
• The Cavaliers will host Northwest Nazarene and Western Washington.

MONTANA STATE BILLINGS
• Montana State Billings dropped both of its matches last week, losing to Simon Fraser 4-0 and then Western Washington 2-0.
• The Yellowjackets dropped out of the NCAA West Regional Rankings following the two losses despite having beaten No. 7 California Baptist 3-0 earlier in the season.
• The ‘Jackets will wrap up their season hosting Saint Martin’s on Thursday. They tied the Saints 2-2 on Oct. 1.
• The Yellowjackets have one of the best offenses in the West Region with 33 goals this season, including nine by Julien Dragomir, who ranks second in the conference in goals and third in points (22).
• Ricardo Palomino and Thiago Novis both have five goals this year for MSUB.

NORTHWEST NAZARENE
• Northwest Nazarene had its seven-match unbeaten streak come to an end with a 2-0 loss against Western Washington. The Crusaders then took a 4-0 loss against Simon Fraser.
• The Crusaders remained in second place in the conference standings and can equal their best finish in the GNAC standings in program history with two wins this week.
• 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 Concordia before hosting Saint Martin’s to wrap up the 2016 season. The Crusaders have the 11th best DII Performance Indicator in the West Region. On Monday, six teams from the region will be selected to advance to the postseason.
• Logan Wood leads NNU in goals with five. Mollay, meanwhile, leads the team in assists with six, while Linus Mansson has five.

SAINT MARTIN’S
• Saint Martin’s lost to Seattle Pacific on Saturday before beating Concordia 5-2 in a make-up match on Monday.
• Kyle Witzel scored four goals against Concordia to become the conference leader in goals with 10 and tie the GNAC record for goals in a conference match. He now has 22 career goals.
• Saint Martin’s will wrap up the season at Northwest Nazarene and Montana State Billings this week.

SEATTLE PACIFIC
• The Falcons ended their road struggles with a 3-1 victory against Concordia and then a 2-1 triumph over Saint Martin’s.
• Cody Lang recorded seven saves in the two matches. Lang now has 237 career saves, which ranks 11th in GNAC history.
• After missing a large chunk of the season, Stephen MacDonald scored a goal and an assist last week to reach 17 points for the season in just nine matches.
• Seattle Pacific will wrap up the season at home against 2016 GNAC champion Simon Fraser.

SIMON FRASER
• The Clan defeated Northwest Nazarene and Montana State Billings last week, each by a score of 4-0 to wrap up the GNAC title.
• Brandon Watson recorded his 30th career shutout against Northwest Nazarene, breaking the GNAC record to earn GNAC Defensive Player of the Week.
• Simon Fraser broke the conference record it set twice before for longest home unbeaten streak with the two victories to reach 19.
• Seven different players scored the eight goals for SFU, while Magnus Kristensen was the only player to score multiple goals.
• Simon Fraser is ranked No. 1 in the third set of West Region Rankings, which determine which six teams will advance to the West Region Tournament. The selection show is on Monday.
• The Clan has taken more than twice as many shots as its opponents, 252-111.
• This week, the Clan gets back on the road, traveling to Western Washington on Thursday and then Seattle Pacific on Saturday. The Clan is looking to wrap up its second unbeaten regular season since going 18-0-1 in 2011.

WESTERN WASHINGTON
• Western Washington swept Northwest Nazarene and Montana State Billings last week, beating both teams 2-0, keeping the Vikings’ postseason hopes alive.
• The Vikings will have to get through No. 3 Simon Fraser this week to make its case for one of the six playoff spots in the West Region.
• The Vikings lead the West Region in shots taken per match with exactly 18, and those shots started to be converted into goals last week, scoring six times.
• Eleazar Galvan leads the team in shots with 42 this season and scored twice for the Vikings to earn GNAC Offensive Player of the Week.
• Western Washington will wrap up its case for the postseason on Saturday at Concordia.