Wednesday, October 4, 2017

THIS WEEK'S GNAC PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
OFFENSE
Emma Pringle, Simon Fraser
F • 5-8 • Sophomore • North Vancouver, B.C.
Pringle notched a pair of two-goal performances to lead the Clan to a 2-0 week. She scored just 45 seconds into the match against Saint Martin’s on Thursday and completed the brace with a 73rd-minute goal in the 5-0 shutout of the Saints. Against Northwest Nazarene on Saturday, Pringle scored goals in the 44th and 80th minutes en route to the 3-0 shutout at home. 

Also Nominated: Kyra Radcliffe (Concordia), Lauren Allison (Saint Martin’s), Amber Whitmore (Western Oregon), Sophie Butterfield (Western Washington).

DEFENSE
Taylor Hallquist, Western Washington
D • 5-5 • Junior • Vancouver, Wash.
Hallquist played all 180 minutes for the Western Washington defense in a pair of road shutouts. She anchored a defense that allowed Central Washington just four shots (two on goal) in a 2-0 win over the Wildcats on Thursday. She then paced a defensive effort that allowed just three shots in a 1-0 shutout at Montana State Billings on Saturday. 

Also Nominated: Katie Greene (Concordia), Erinn Harder (Montana State Billings), Ali Koehler (Saint Martin’s), Allyson Dickson (Simon Fraser), Kai Mahuka (Western Oregon).

AROUND THE GNAC
CENTRAL WASHINGTON
LAST WEEK: Lost 2-0 vs. Western Washington. Tied 1-1 at Saint Martin's.
THIS WEEK: Oct. 5 at Northwest Nazarene, 4 p.m. Oct. 7 vs. Western Oregon, 11 a.m.
• On Saturday, Central Washington drew with Saint Martin’s 1-1. Sophia Keenan scored her third goal of the season while Kelsey Bechtholdt earned her first assist.
• Through four conference games, the Wildcats have yet to find a win, sitting in sixth place at 0-2-2.
• Mackenzie Nolte ranks second in the GNAC with 39 shots while Whitney Lowe ranks fifth with 30. Shot stopper Emily Holt leads the conference with 60 saves, maintaining an .811 save percentage through eight matches this season.
• Central Washington travels to Nampa, Idaho, on Thursday to take on Northwest Nazarene. They return home on Sunday to host Western Oregon.
• The Wildcats played NNU just once in 2016, handing the Crusaders a 2-0 loss.  Nolte picked up a pair of assists on goals from Bailey Martoncik and Kennedy Anson. Central Washington has not lost to NNU since 2010.
• The Wildcats swept Western Oregon in 2016, picking up 4-1 and 3-1 wins.  Molly Edvalds, KK Wallace, and Nolte all scored against the Wolves. Central Washington’s last loss against Western Oregon came in 2015. The Wildcats haven’t lost to Western Oregon at home since 2013.

CONCORDIA
LAST WEEK: Won at Western Oregon 3-0. Won vs. Seattle Pacific 2-1.
THIS WEEK: Oct. 5 at Saint Martin's, 4 p.m. Oct. 7 vs. Simon Fraser, 1 p.m.
• Concordia improved to 6-2-1 after defeating Western Oregon 3-0 and Seattle Pacific 2-1 last week. The Cavaliers have won their last three matches and are 4-0-1 in their last five games.
• Concordia heads into this week in third place, two points behind Seattle Pacific’s 12. The Cavaliers are five points behind first-place Western Washington’s 15.
•  Last Tuesday, the Cavs blanked Western Oregon 3-0. Kyra Radcliffe scored two goals while Maddie Misi added a last-minute tally.  Kayla Braunthal, Kasey Ames and Gabrielle Ewing each had assists in the contest.
• In the Cavaliers’ Thursday matchup against Seattle Pacific, Megan Myers’ 87th-minute goal led Concordia to a 2-1 win. Brenda Uribe scored the Cavs’ first goal on a ball from Misi in the 73rd minute. Anna Miller had four saves in goal for CU.
• Sydney Van Steenberge leads the team with three goals for a team high six points. Quinn Williams, Radcliffe and Ewing each have two goals.
• In the latest United Soccer Coaches Division II West Region Poll announced Tuesday, Concordia jumped three spots to earn a No. 6 ranking.
• The Cavaliers travel to Lacey, Wash., this Thursday, for a 4 p.m. kickoff against Saint Martin’s. Concordia will then host Simon Fraser this Saturday.

MONTANA STATE BILLINGS
LAST WEEK: Lost 3-1 vs. Northwest Nazarene. Lost 1-0 vs. Western Washington.
THIS WEEK: Oct. 5 vs. Simon Fraser, 1:30 p.m. Oct. 7 vs. Saint Martin's, 3 p.m.
• The Yellowjackets are coming off a crushing 1-0 defeat against No. 3 Western Washington University at home last week. Montana State Billings also fell to Northwest Nazarene 3-1 last Thursday.
• In her best performance of the year, freshman goalkeeper Erinn Harder helped keep the Yellowjackets afloat against the reigning Division II national champions, producing a season-high 12 saves against 29 shots. Harder currently ranks sixth in the GNAC with 3.50 saves per game.
• Keeping pace among the top goal scorers in the league is sophomore Alexa Iacolucci, who found the net for the fourth time this season against Northwest Nazarene. Her goal total is tied for seventh in the conference and has recorded nine points this season.
• The ‘Jackets have recorded a total of 76 shots this, with 69.7 percent of their chances hitting the target.
• A lengthy homestand continues this week as the Yellowjackets host Simon Fraser on Thursday and Saint Martin’s on Saturday.
• MSUB had dramatic overtime victories in both games against the Clan last year. The ‘Jackets claimed a 2-1 win in Burnaby on Oct. 8, before another 2-1 overtime win against Simon Fraser came at home on Oct. 27.

NORTHWEST NAZARENE
LAST WEEK: Won at Montana State Billings 3-1. Lost at Simon Fraser 3-0.
THIS WEEK: Oct. 5 vs. Central Washington, 4 p.m. Oct. 7 vs. Seattle Pacific, 1 p.m.
• Northwest Nazarene defeated Montana State University Billings 3-1 on Thursday, thanks in part to a  three-assist performance by  NNU’s Anita Maryskova.
• The NNU offense started rolling early when Mabinty Kanu finished a header from three yards out in the 16th minute. The header was Kanu’s third goal of the season. Rikke Myers tallied the second goal of the day in the 58th minute after collecting a Maryskova pass to put the Crusaders up 2-0.
• Two late Simon Fraser goals buried the Crusaders 3-0 at Burnaby. With a 1-0 lead after a goal in the 43rd minute by Emma Pringle, the Clan added goals in the 79th and 84th minutes, maintaining the shutout.
• Maryskova’s three-assist weekend puts her in a three-way tie for fourth place on the GNAC leaderboard. Goalkeeper Danielle Ortiz ranks third in the GNAC with a 1.00 goals against average.
• Collectively, Northwest Nazarene ranks second in the GNAC with five shutouts this season. Only Western Washington has more with six.
• The Crusades host a pair of matches this week, starting with Central Washington this Thursday at 4 p.m. Two days later, NNU plays host to Seattle Pacific to cap this week’s GNAC action.

SAINT MARTIN'S
LAST WEEK: Lost vs. Simon Fraser 5-0. Tied vs. Central Washington 1-1.
THIS WEEK: Oct. 5 vs. Concordia, 4 p.m. Oct. 7 at Montana State Billings, 3 p.m.
• After Simon Fraser scored two goals in the first 14 minutes on Thursday, Saint Martin’s struggled to climb out of the early deficit, falling 5-0 at home.
• In the second half, the Saints found their first opportunity to strike with a corner kick in the 47th minute. The Saints first shot was recorded by Lauren Allison in the 65th minute. Simon Fraser broke through the Saints’ defense in the 70th minute with their third goal of the game. The Clan went on to add two more goals in the final 20 minutes to secure the convincing victory.
• Behind Allison’s second goal of the season and a stellar performance from netminder Ali Koehler, the Saints earned their first points of the year with a 1-1 double overtime draw against Central Washington on Saturday.
• Despite Saint Martin’s being outshot 18-1 in the second half, Koehler kept the match knotted at 1-1 by making seven saves in the period.
• Koehler tied her season-high 11 saves, a mark she set against Notre Dame de Namur earlier this season.
• Saint Martin’s leads the league in saves with 72. Koehler leads the GNAC and ranks 12th in Division II with 7.71 saves per game.
• Saint Martin’s finishes its three-game homestand hosting Concordia this Thursday at 4 p.m. The Saints finish up the weekend with a trip to Montana State Billings on Saturday.

SEATTLE PACIFIC
LAST WEEK: Lost at Concordia 2-1. Won at Western Oregon 2-1.
THIS WEEK: Oct. 5 at Western Washington, 5 p.m. Oct. 7 at Northwest Nazarene, 1 p.m.
• Seattle Pacific saw its three-game win streak snapped last week, as the Falcons fell 2-1 at Concordia on Thursday.
• Bouncing back just two days later, Sophia Chilczuh netted the game-winning goal in SPU’s 2-1 overtime victory against Western Oregon. The contest marked the eighth time this season that a Falcons game has been decided by a one-goal margin.
• Kasey Reeve leads the team with six goals and has a conference-leading four game-winning goals.
• A pair of road battles against teams in the top-half of the GNAC standings awaits Seattle Pacific this week. The Falcons start with a clash against defending Division II national champion Western Washington on Thursday. The Vikings have not lost to SPU since a 1-0 result on Oct. 27, 2012. Since then, Western Washington has posted a 10-0-3 series record against the Falcons.
• Seattle Pacific dropped to No. 8 in this week’s United Soccer Coaches Division II West Region Soccer Poll.
• On Saturday, the Falcons complete their four-game road trip in Nampa, Idaho against fourth-place Northwest Nazarene. SPU owns a 30-2 all-time series advantage against the Crusaders. In last year’s matchup, Seattle Pacific blanked NNU 3-0.

SIMON FRASER
LAST WEEK: Won at Saint Martin's 5-0. Won vs. Northwest Nazarene 3-0. 
THIS WEEK: Oct. 5 at Montana State Billings, 1:30 p.m. Oct. 7 at Concordia, 1 p.m.
• Since losing to No. 3 Western Washington Sept. 21, the Clan have rattled off three straight wins, outscoring their opponents 12-2 in that stretch. Last week, Simon Fraser beat Saint Martin’s 5-0 and shutout Northwest Nazarene 3-0 in GNAC action.
• Sophomore sensation Emma Pringle has been monumental in the Clan’s three-game win streak. Pringle’s stellar four-goal week has not only garnered her GNAC Women’s Soccer Player of the Week honors, but she was also named the United Soccer Coaches Division II Women’s Player of the Week on Tuesday afternoon.
• In their 3-0 shutout against NNU, Claire Bareilles tallied her first career goal while Katelyn Erhardsen added two assists.
• Pringle ranks first in the GNAC and is tied for second nationally with 11 goals this season. Through nine games this year, she has surpassed her 2016 Freshman of the Year season goal tally of nine.
• Clan goalkeeper Priya Sandhu has recorded 39 saves and earned her second shutout of the season against Northwest Nazarene.
• Simon Fraser embarks on a two-game road trip, making their way to Billings, Mont., to take on the Yellowjackets this Thursday. The Clan finishes the week at Concordia at Tuominen Yard.

WESTERN OREGON
LAST WEEK: Lost vs. Concordia 3-0. Lost vs. Seattle Pacific 2-1.
THIS WEEK: Oct. 7 at Central Washington, 11 a.m.
• The Wolves went winless last week with a 3-0 loss to Concordia and a 2-1 loss in double overtime against Seattle Pacific.
• Amber Whitmore scored for Western Oregon in the 23rd minute against SPU on Saturday before the Falcons leveled the match in the 84th minute and found the game-winner in the second overtime.
• Three of Western Oregon’s nine matches this season have advanced to the second overtime period. The Wolves are 0-2-1 in overtime matches with a 3-2 loss in the season opener against Biola (Aug. 31) and the recent 2-1 loss to Seattle Pacific. The Wolves earned a point in a 1-1 tie against Montana State Billings on Sept. 23.
• Six different Wolves have scored a goal this season. Freshman forward Alyssa Tomasini the lone player to find the net more than once through the first four GNAC contests.
• Sophomore goalkeeper Caitlin Kastelic has played all 856 minutes for the Wolves between the sticks. Kastelic is third in the GNAC with 49 saves this season.
• Western Oregon begins a four-game road trip starting with Central Washington on Saturday. Kickoff against the Wildcats is scheduled for 11 a.m.

WESTERN WASHINGTON
LAST WEEK: Won at Central Washington 2-0. Won at Montana State Billings 1-0.
THIS WEEK: Oct. 5 vs. Seattle Pacific, 5 p.m.
• In both games last week, Western Washington came away with a pair of shutout victories at Central Washington (2-0) and Montana State Billings (1-0). The Vikings outshot their opponents a combined 58-7.
• The Vikings extended its winning streak to 33 consecutive games. Seven of their nine wins this season have come away from home.
• WWU is ranked No. 3 in the latest edition of the United Soccer Coaches Division II Women’s Soccer Poll after holding the top spot in the last 15 consecutive polls dating back to last year. Western Washington, however, maintains its No. 1 ranking in the United Soccer Coaches West Region poll.
• Dating back to last season, the Vikings’ 33-game win streak is the 4th-longest winning streak in Division II history and their 34-game unbeaten streak is tied for 5th-longest in Division II history.
• Western Washington is 2nd in Division II with 10.67 points per game and is 4th in scoring offense with 3.56 goals per game. The Vikings lead the nation with 32 assists.
• Junior Taylor Hallquist picked up this week’s GNAC Women’s Soccer Player of the Week award after the Vikings recorded its fifth and sixth shutout of the season, which leads the GNAC and is tied for 14th in Division II.
• The Vikings lead all GNAC teams in shots (223), points (96), goals (32), goals allowed (3), shutouts (6) and assists (32).
• WWU hosts second-place Seattle Pacific this Thursday at 5 p.m.