Thursday, September 6, 2018

Clutch road results were the name of the game for the GNAC's top sides in the opening week of competition. 

Four of the league's five victories in week one came away from home, with the highlight being a 3-0 shutout victory for Simon Fraser at No. 4 Cal Poly Pomona. The road win was their second of the week, following a quality 2-1 win at Cal State San Bernardino.

The road sweep has the Clan up to No. 4 in the United Soccer Coaches Division II Coaches Poll, but the GNAC's nationally-ranked representation doesn't end there. 

Clocking in at No. 13 is Western Washington, fresh off a pair of road victories against Sonoma State and Chico State.

Non-conference play continues this week with 13 matches scheduled for week two. The slate is highlighted by a top-20 showdown on Thursday afternoon in Los Angeles, where No. 4 Simon Fraser will meet 18th-ranked Cal State LA.

THIS WEEK'S GNAC PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

OFFENSE
Matteo Polisi(Simon Fraser, F, 6-0, Sophomore, Coquitlam, B.C.)

Polisi led the defending GNAC champions to a 2-0-0 week with two goals and three assists in two road matches. He had an assist and scored the game-winning goal in the 46th minute in Friday’s 2-1 win at Cal State San Bernardino. Polisi then scored the match’s second goal in the 11th minute and assisted on the Clan’s other two tallies in a 3-0 shutout at No. 4 Cal Poly Pomona on Sunday.

Also Nominated: Nicholas Denley (Concordia), Brandon Madsen (Saint Martin’s), Stephen Jinneman (Western Washington).

DEFENSE
Griffin Small(Saint Martin's, GK, 5-11, Senior, Edmonds, Wash.)

Small finished with 14 saves against 20 shots faced and a 0.67 goals against average in the Saints’ opening two matches on the road. He played the full 90 minutes on Saturday against Cal State LA, making 11 saves in the 1-0 loss.

Also Nominated: Axel Lonnfors (Concordia), Marcello Polisi (Simon Fraser), Jeremiah Lee (Western Washington).

AROUND THE GNAC

CONCORDIA
• Concordia posted a shutout victory in its first match of opening week, knocking off Mary (N.D.) 2-0 at Tuominen Yard in Portland.
• Forward Kieran McMinn put the Cavaliers in front with a header in the match’s 37th minute, and midfielder Nicholas Denley added some insurance with a strike in the 72nd minute.  
• Goalkeeper Grant Alcorn logged all 90 minutes in goal, making one save to go along with his clean sheet victory.
• Concordia returns to the pitch for one more match this week against Humboldt State on Friday.

MONTANA STATE BILLINGS
• Montana State Billings came up empty in its first three matches of the 2018 campaign, dropping road decisions to Cal Poly Pomona, Cal State San Bernardino and Cal State San Marcos.
• The team’s season opener featured a heartbreaking 1-0 defeat in double overtime against No. 4 Cal Poly Pomona.
• The Yellowjackets also put together a nice showing against Cal State San Marcos, taking a 1-0 lead off the foot of midfielder Dana Kowachek. Two late goals (one in the 90th minute) would ultimately doom the club in the 2-1 defeat.
• Montana State Billings returns home now for the Rimrock Classic. It will host Colorado Christian on Friday and Sonoma State on Saturday afternoon.

NORTHWEST NAZARENE
• Northwest Nazarene ended up on the wrong side of a pair of two-goal defeats in week one.
• The Nighthawks best chance at a positive result came on Saturday evening against Westminster (Utah). After falling in a 1-0 hole, NNU was able to pull level on a goal by defender Jose Labanino-Ramos. The scoreline would not hold, however, and the Griffins were able to escape Nampa with a 3-1 victory.
• After opening with a pair of home matches, it’s time to hit the road for Northwest Nazarene. Six out of the club’s next seven contests will be played away from the friendly confines of NNU Field.
• The team has two matches on tap this week, beginning Thursday afternoon against Fort Lewis in Grand Junction, Colo. They will then stay in the River City over the weekend and face Colorado Mesa on Saturday.

SAINT MARTIN'S
• Saint Martin’s finished its first week of competition with an 0-2 record after losses to Westminster (Utah) and Cal State LA.
• Its best chance at a victory came on Saturday against the Golden Eagles. Goalkeeper Griffin Small was able to hold down the opponent until Cal State LA finally broke through for the game-winning goal in the 76th minute.
• Small was named the GNAC Defensive Player of the Week for his heroics in the first two games of the year. The senior finished the week with 14 saves against 20 shots faced and a 0.67 goals against average. He played the full 90 minutes in that Cal State LA contest, making 11 saves in the 1-0 loss.
• The Saints will remain on the road for a pair of games this week, facing Cal State Dominguez Hills on Thursday and Cal State San Marcos on Saturday.

SEATTLE PACIFIC
• Seattle Pacific dropped two tight matches to open the year, both coming on the road in California.
• The Falcons conceded one goal in each half of Thursday’s opener at Chico State en route to a 2-0 loss.
• Saturday’s contest was much more competitive as SPU was able to force overtime on a 71st-minute strike by forward Samuel Agyei. Ultimately, Sonoma State prevailed with a rebounded goal off a free kick in the 92nd minute.
• Seattle Pacific continues its California swing with a pair of games this week, starting on Saturday night at Azusa Pacific. The week will come to an end Saturday with a match at Point Loma.

SIMON FRASER
• Simon Fraser sits on top of the table and is up to No. 4 nationally after finishing week one with a perfect 2-0 record. The Clan took to the road and took down both Cal State San Bernardino and Cal Poly Pomona to grab the two victories.
• The highlight of the pair was Sunday’s 3-0 shutout of No. 4 Cal Poly Pomona. Three different players - including a pair of midfielders (Quinn Dawson and Mamadi Camara) and GNAC Offensive Player of the Week Matteo Polisi scored for the Clan in that one.
• Matteo Polisi was named the Offensive Player of the Week after leading the defending GNAC champions to a perfect week with two goals and three assists. He had an assist and scored the game-winner in Friday’s 2-1 win at Cal State San Bernardino, then added a pair of assists and the aforementioned goal on Sunday.
• Simon Fraser will look to ride the wave of momentum into week two as the club as two more road games on tap. It will return to the pitch on Thursday afternoon against Cal State LA and wind the week down against Cal State Dominguez Hills on Saturday night.

WESTERN WASHINGTON
• In a pair of entertaining thrillers, Western Washington emerged from week one unscathed after posting one-goal victories at Sonoma State and Chico State.
• The season opener against the Seawolves was one to remember as seven total goals were scored. The Vikings came out on the right end of the decision, using a 95th-minute penalty kick by sophomore Georg Cholewa to win 4-3 in overtime.
• Cholewa and defender/forward Stephen Jinneman have paced WWU thus far. Cholwea has tallied one goal and two assists through two matches, while Jinneman has netted two goals of this own.
• In the latest edition of the United Soccer Coaches Division II Coaches Poll, the Vikings come in at No. 13 (and No. 2 in the West Region).
• Western Washington continues its season-opening four-game road trip with a pair of games this week. First up is a showdown with Point Loma on Thursday afternoon, followed by a trip to Azusa Pacific on Saturday.