Tuesday, September 10, 2013

PORTLAND, Ore. – With a pair of one-goal victories, Simon Fraser continued its winning ways of 2012 and displayed that it is worthy of its No. 3 National Soccer Coaches Association of America preseason national ranking.

Lucas Ferritto (F, 5-6, Sr., Hamilton, ON – St. Jean De Brebeuf), the first Red Lion GNAC Offensive Player of the Week of the 2013 season, scored in both games, notching the Clan’s first goal of the season against Cal State East Bay and providing the go-ahead goal in a 4-3 victory over Holy Names.

Andrew Weishaar (F, 6-1, 165, Sr., Puyallup, WA – Puyallup) posted four points of his own for Western Washington thanks to a goal on Friday against Metro State and a pair of assists in a 4-1 victory over Colorado Christian on Sunday. 

The Vikings benefitted from solid defensive play by Bailey Martin (D, 6-0, 165, Sr., Tacoma, WA – Stadium), who played 152 minutes on the weekend.

Another defensive standout was Juan Perez (D, 6-0, 170, Jr., Los Angeles, CA – LA Harbor College) of Northwest Nazarene, whose 110 minutes and game-tying goal in an overtime draw against Cal State Stanislaus on Thursday earned him Red Lion GNAC Defensive Player of the Week honors.

Seattle Pacific, picked to finish second in the GNAC preseason coaches poll, managed just one shot on goal in a tough 1-0 home loss to Chico State on Saturday.

Kyle Emerick (M, 5-8, 145, Jr., Billings, MT – Billings Senior) of Montana State Billings notched a goal in the 85^th minute on Saturday to help the Yellowjackets salvage a 1-1 tie against Sonoma State in the Seawolf Classic.

South Dakota Mines made its GNAC debut, losing 3-0 to Johnson & Wales at home on Friday. Hardrocker goalkeeper Timothy Tribbett (GK, 6-1, Fr., Centennial, CO) made a conference-high 10 saves and played all 90 minutes.

NOTABLE: Aodhan Brownlee (M, 5-8, 163, Fr., Ossett, England – Leeds College) and Sam Butterworth (D, 5-11, 160, So., Aylesford, England – Kent College) of MSU Billings were named to the 2013 Seawolf Classic All-Tournament Team. The tournament, hosted by Sonoma State, also featured San Francisco State and Fresno Pacific.

NATIONAL POLL: Simon Fraser moved up to No. 2 in the NSCAA national poll thanks to its two wins last week. The Clan was the only GNAC school ranked in the top 25 poll, which was released Tuesday.

COMING UP: Saint Martin’s looks to bounce back after a pair of losses last week, as the Saints hit the road to take on The Academy of Art on Thursday and Dominican on Saturday.

Simon Fraser hosts its first contest of the season as Hawaii Pacific heads to Burnaby, BC on Thursday. The Clan also face fellow Canadian school Trinity Western on Saturday.

MSU Billings’ first year head coach Alex Balog is in search of his first collegiate win as his Yellowjackets remain in California for a pair of matchups against Azusa Pacific and Point Loma Nazarene this weekend.

Mary is set to kick off its 2013 season with a nonconference road match against Fort Lewis on Thursday. In their second GNAC campaign this year, the Marauders will look to improve on last season’s 5-10-3 mark.