Tuesday, October 13, 2015

NINE AND COUNTING: Western Washington continued to roll last week, winning its eighth and ninth straight matches over Central Washington and Montana State Billings, respectively. With the wins, the Vikings moved up from No. 3 to No. 2 in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America Division II Top-25 Poll.

STILL IN THE RANKINGS: Seattle Pacific also won both matches this week, defeating Concordia and Western Oregon each by the score of 3-1. The Falcons are now ranked No. 19 in Division II.

SECOND PLACE STANDSTILL: Three teams are tied for second place to begin the week. Concordia, Seattle Pacific and Simon Fraser each have 13 points.

LOOKING TO REBOUND: Montana State Billings entered last week in second place, but fell in tough road matches against Northwest Nazarene and Western Washington. The Yellowjackets host Seattle Pacific and Saint Martin’s with a chance to bounce back into the top-four.

MATCHUPS TO WATCH: Western Washington hosts Seattle Pacific in this week’s match to watch. Concordia hosts Simon Fraser, with both teams looking to pull ahead in the standings.

OFFENSIVE
Hannah Huessers, Seattle Pacific
F • 5-10 • Junior • Lake Stevens, Wash.

Huesers scored four goals for the Falcons in victories at Concordia and Western Oregon. She assisted on the game-winner and scored an insurance goal in SPU’s 3-1 win at Concordia. She then scored all three Seattle Pacific goals on just four shots in the Falcons’ 3-1 win at Western Oregon. Also nominated: Christina Dixon (Simon Fraser), Sarah Jenkins (Northwest Nazarene), Gabriela Pelogi (Western Washington), Alycia Wright (Montana State Billings).

DEFENSIVE
Emily Webster, Western Washington
M • 5-6 • Sophomore • Bellingham, Wash.

Webster paced a Western Washington defense that allowed just one goal on seven shots on goal as the Vikings won two matches and moved into first place in the GNAC standings. She also assisted on the golden goal in the Vikings’ 2-1 overtime win over Central Washington and scored off a set piece in the 2-0 shutout of Montana State Billings. Also nominated: Makena Dandley (Northwest Nazarene), Chloe Hopps (Montana State Billings), Shannon McMahon (Concordia).

AROUND THE GNAC
CENTRAL WASHINGTON
• The Wildcats took No. 3-ranked Western Washington to overtime on Thursday, but fell 2-1. They responded with a 3-0 win on Saturday over Saint Martin’s.

• Central Washington is 2-4-0 in conference with six points. They are 4-7-0 overall.

• They are third in the conference in points (55) and tied for third in goals (18).

• Whitney Lowe leads the team with 10 points and four goals. Cassie Ripley also has scored four goals.

• The Wildcats host Western Washington on Thursday for a rematch of last week’s loss. They then travel to Northwest Nazarene on Saturday.

CONCORDIA
• The Cavaliers finished the week 1-1-0, with a 2-0 victory over Western Oregon on Tuesday and a 3-1 loss to Seattle Pacific.

• Concordia’s 3-1 loss at Seattle Pacific was the first time this season the Cavaliers have allowed more than one goal in a match.

• The team has posted six shutouts this season and carries a 0.61 goals against average.

• Goalkeeper Olivia Brock is second in the GNAC in goals against average (0.55) and save percentage (.889).

• The Cavaliers host two matches this week. They welcome Simon Fraser on Thursday and in-state rival Western Oregon on Saturday.

MONTANA STATE BILLINGS
• The Yellowjackets fell twice on the road last week, 2-1 at Northwest Nazarene and 2-0 to No. 3-ranked Western Washington.

• Montana State Billings is now fifth in the GNAC with 10 points and a 3-3-1 record.

• Jessica Spang leads the team and is ranked third in the conference in points (14) and sixth in goals (5).

• The Yellowjackets play two home matches, welcoming No. 19 Seattle Pacific on Thursday and Saint Martin’s on Saturday.

NORTHWEST NAZARENE
• The Crusaders split their two matches last week, defeating Montana State Billings 2-1, before falling to Simon Fraser 2-1 in overtime on Saturday.

• Northwest Nazarene is in sixth place with seven points on the season.

• The Crusaders are led this season by Nicole Nsa. She is tied for second in the GNAC in goals (6) and third in points (14). Lexi Fesenbek is ninth in points (10).

• Northwest Nazarene has been one of the best offensive teams in the GNAC this season. They rank second in points (62), goals (21) and assists (20).

• The Crusaders play one match this week, hosting Central Washington on Saturday.

SAINT MARTIN’S
• The Saints dropped two road matches at Simon Fraser 5-0 on Thursday and at Central Washington 3-0 on Saturday.

• Saint Martin’s ranks third in the GNAC in saves (55). Goalkeeper Sunny DeBoer is third in the conference in saves per game (5.00).

• Abby McFaul ranks eighth in the GNAC in shots (27) and assists (3). She leads the team with nine points as well and is tied with teammate Kelli Bannerman with three goals.

• The Saints look to get back into the win column with a home match against Western Oregon on Thursday and a road contest at Montana State Billings on Saturday.

SEATTLE PACIFIC
• The Falcons won both matches this week, defeating Concordia and Western Oregon 3-1 each.

• Despite the two wins, SPU dropped one spot in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America Division II Top-25 Poll to No. 19.

• They are tied for second place in the conference with 13 points and a 4-2-1 GNAC record.

• Hannah Huesers had four goals in two matches this week, increasing her conference lead to four goals. She has 10 on the season and also leads the GNAC in points (22) and shots (51).

• The Falcons have two tough road matches in front of them this week. They face Montana State Billings on Thursday and No. 2-ranked Western Washington on Saturday in the match of the week.

SIMON FRASER
• SFU has won 6 games this year, the most since 2010 when it went 11-5-3.

• The Clan is unbeaten on the road with a 1-0-2 mark. The team defeated NNU 2-1 in OT on the road in its last outing, the first of five straight road contests.

• Freshman Christina Dickson, one of seven freshman to suit up for the Clan this season, leads the team with six goals in 10 games. It is the most goals by a Clan player since 2010 when Lia Marining scored 7.

• The Clan play one road contest this week at Concordia on Thursday. They enter the week tied for second in the conference with 13 points.

WESTERN OREGON
• The Wolves played two home matches, but fell in both, 2-0 to Concordia and 3-1 to Seattle Pacific.

• Western Oregon has an even record of 5-5-1 overall, but are 1-4-1 in conference.

• Makana Pundyke leads the Wolves with five goals and 11 points on the season. She is tied for sixth in the conference in goals and seventh in points.

• As a team, the Wolves rank third in the GNAC in goals (18) and goals per match (1.64).

• Western Oregon plays two road matches this week at Saint Martin’s on Thursday and at Saint Martin’s on Saturday.

WESTERN WASHINGTON
• The Vikings won two tightly played matches this week, 2-1 in overtime against Central Washington on Thursday and 2-0 over Montana State Billings on Saturday.

• With the victories, Western Washington ran its win streak to nine matches. They are 6-0-0 in conference and 11-1-0 overall.

• The team moved up one spot this week in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America Division II Top-25 Poll to No. 2 in the nation.

• The Vikings lead the GNAC in goals scored (28) and goals allowed (5). Catherine Miles leads the team with six goals and 14 points ranking second and third respectively in each category.

• Goalkeeper Ashley Haden leads the GNAC in goals against average (0.38) and save percentage (.892).

• The Vikings will be on the road at Central Washington on Thursday to start the week. They then host No. 19 Seattle Pacific on Saturday in the match of the week.