Wednesday, September 28, 2016

After earning a point with the 0-0 tie on Saturday against Montana State Billings, Concordia solidified its lead in the GNAC standings with a one point lead on Western Washington and Seattle Pacific.

Despite having played one less match, Western Washington is only one point behind the leader thanks to a pair of conference wins against Simon Fraser and Western Oregon. The Vikings are now on a seven-match win streak.

On Thursday, WWU first has to get through Saint Martin’s before hosting Concordia in the Cavaliers only match this week. Both teams are currently 7-0-1 overall this year.

Concordia goalkeeper Olivia Brock hasn’t allowed a goal all year, but WWU has scored in all of its last 20 GNAC matches. On top of that, Western Washington has scored multiple goals in five of its six home matches this year.

Montana State Billings will be looking to continue its hot start to GNAC play at Northwest Nazarene on Thursday. After starting the year 0-4-1, the Yellowjackets defeated Western Oregon and tied Concordia to start GNAC play on the right foot.

Seattle Pacific and Simon Fraser both split their results last week and they will go head to head on Thursday.

Central Washington bounced back nicely from a loss in its conference opener to Simon Fraser with a 1-0 win against Seattle Pacific. The Wildcats will host Western Oregon and Montana State Billings this week.

Western Oregon and Simon Fraser will meet on Saturday in Burnaby. Saint Martin’s and Northwest Nazarene are both looknig for their first conference wins this season, but at least one team will get that this week when they meet on Saturday.

PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

OFFENSE
Gabriela Pelogi, Western Washington
F • 5-4 • Sophomore • Federal Way, Wash.
Pelogi scored the game-winning goal in the seventh minute in the Vikings’ 5-0 nationally-television shutout of No. 10 Bridgeport on Thursday. She then added an assist on the game-winner in the Vikings’ 1-0 win at Simon Fraser on Saturday.

Also Nominated: Mariah Konyn (Western Oregon), Dana Lubieniecki (Montana State Billings), Gabrielle Ewing (Concordia), Mackenzie Nolte (Central Washington), Sarah Jenkins (Northwest Nazarene).

DEFENSE
Olivia Brock, Concordia
GK • 5-10 • Senior • Olympia, Wash.
Brock recorded a pair of shutouts and made five saves in two matches, including three in a blustery double overtime match at Montana State Billings, as Concordia notched its fifth and sixth shutouts of the season. Brock has yet to concede a goal in over 457 minutes of action this season.

Also Nominated: Sierra Shugarts (Western Washington), Emily Holt (Central Washington).

GNAC MILESTONE TRACKER

Hannah Huesers (SPU) - The Falcon scored the fourth goal in the 4-0 win against Saint Martin’s. It was her 39th career goal, giving her 86 career points. She is now tied with Jill Webb (2008-10) of Saint Martin’s and Katy McNutt (2004-07) of Northwest Nazarene for seventh most goals in conference history. Her 86 career points moves her up to a tie with Ashley Porter (2004-07) from Seattle Pacific for seventh on that list. Huesers has 26 goals and 58 points in GNAC matches. The 58 points ranks seventh all-time, while her 26th goal moved the senior into a tie for fourth place with Leah Wymer (2002-05) from Seattle Pacific. The 2015 GNAC Offensive Player of the Year now needs 10 more goals to tie the GNAC record for goals and goals in conference matches. Huessers has 12 career game-winning goals, which ranks eighth all-time and has seven game-winning goals in GNAC games, which is three away from the all-time record.

Olivia Brock (CU) - Brock is the new all-time leader in the GNAC in goals against average after posting a pair of shutouts this week. The 200 shutout minutes dropped her career goals against average to .396 surpassing Ashley Haden (2011,13-15) from Western Washington, who set the record last year. Brock also recorded five saves to improve on what was already a GNAC record in career save percentage as the senior boosted that to .918. In total this year, Brock has not allowed a goal in 457 minutes and has saved 13 shots. She will look to continue her goalless streak on Saturday when the Cavaliers travel to Western Washington, which hasn’t been shutout in a conference match in nearly two years and has scored a goal in seven consecutive matches this year.

Western Washington - A 5-0 win over No. 10 Bridgeport kept Western Washington’s pursuit of history alive. The Vikings have now won 18 consecutive home matches, which is just four away from the all-time GNAC record of 22 set by Seattle Pacific in 2004. The Vikings also have gone unbeaten in their last 35 home matches during the regular season, which is a streak that goes all the way back to the 2012 season. The GNAC record for longest home unbeaten streak in regular season matches is 40, which was set by Seattle Pacific in 2010. Elise Aylward’s goal against Simon Fraser gave Western Washington its 20th consecutive conference match with a goal and it also helped the team remain unbeaten in its last 32 conference matches. Including playoff matches, the Vikings now have a 24-match unbeaten streak against West Region opponents. All of these streaks will be on the line against a quality opponent for the third week in a row. After getting past No. 6 UC San Diego then No. 10 Bridgeport, WWU’s next challenger will be a 7-0-1 Concordia team on Saturday.

Concordia - The Cavaliers have won 11 out of 13 home matches since joining the GNAC and are unbeaten in all 13. Counting a 24-match unbeaten streak as an NAIA member, Concordia’s streak is now at 37 unbeaten home matches. The GNAC record for home unbeaten streak is 44 set by Seattle Pacific in 2010. The regular season home unbeaten streak is at 34, which is tied with WWU’s streak for longest active home unbeaten streak in the regular season.

AROUND THE GNAC

CENTRAL WASHINGTON
• Central Washington started the season 5-0, playing its first four matches on the road. It was the best start in program history.
• The Wildcats took a 2-0 loss at home to Simon Fraser in its conference opener.
• Mackenzie Nolte scored her second goal of the year in the 83rd minute against Seattle Pacific, scoring from 10 yards out off a pass from Michaela Wallace. The goal stood as the lone score in the 1-0 win against Seattle Pacific.
• Emily Holt saved four shots in the shutout victory over Seattle Pacific for her fourth shutout in eight matches. Holt is tied for the lead in the conference in saves (46) and is fourth in goals against average (0.75).
• Central Washington’s four shutouts in eight matches ranks 39th in the nation.

CONCORDIA
• For the third time in program history, the Cavaliers started the season with a seven-match win streak, which is the program record.
• Concordia is unbeaten through eight matches with a tie against Simon Fraser on Saturday.
• Concordia leads the conference in offense with 19 goals and 18 assists this year for 56 points. Kyra Radcliffe and Gabrielle Ewing became the first Cavaliers to reach three goals this year.
• The Cavaliers are unbeaten in all 13 matches played at Tuominen Yard since joining the conference. Including NAIA competition, that streak is now at 37 matches.
• This year, Concordia has outscored opponents 19-4 with all four goals coming when the Cavaliers already had a lead of at least three goals.
• Olivia Brock posted two shutouts this week to earn GNAC Defensive Player of the Week. She is now the conference’s all-time leader in goals against average. She has not allowed a goal in 457 minutes this year.
• Concordia is ranked No. 7 in the NSCAA West Region rankings.
• The Cavs’ only match this week is on Saturday against Western Washington.

MONTANA STATE BILLINGS
• The Yellowjackets quickly turned their season around with the start of conference play with a 3-1 victory over Western Oregon in their conference opener.
•Montana State Billings tied Concordia on Saturday, ending the Cavaliers seven-match winning streak.
• Montana State Billings plays at Northwest Nazarene on Thursday in its first conference match of the 2016 season. The Yellowjackets will then host Concordia on Saturday.
• Lili Delgadillo had six saves in the 110-minute shutout against Concordia.
• Jordan Devoto and Hayley Warren both came off the bench to score goals in the 3-1 victory over Western Oregon. The game-winner was scored by Dana Lubieniecki  in the 57th minute, which was her third goal this season. Warren also has two goals.
• Alexa Iacolucci has taken a team-high 22 shots, which is tied for fifth most in the conference.

NORTHWEST NAZARENE
• Northwest Nazarene dropped both matches in its trip to Oregon, losing to Concordia 3-0 and Western Oregon 2-1.
• Since scoring eight goals in the first two weeks, the Northwest Nazarene offense has cooled off, scoring one goal since.
• NNU’s 5.88 saves per match ranks 65th in the nation and Daniele Ortiz’s 46 saves this season ranks second in the conference and 41st in the nation.
• Sarah Jenkins has six points, which ranks in the top 10 in the conference.
• The Crusaders will look to end an nine-match losing streak in road conference matches this week when they take on Saint Martin’s and Saint Martin’s this week in Nampa, Idaho.

SAINT MARTIN’S
• Saint Martin’s dropped both of its contests this week against No. 10 Bridgeport and undefeated Concordia.
• The Saints allowed 11 goals in the two losses.
• Lauren Allison ended a nearly 500-minute scoring drought for Saint Martin’s with a first-half unassisted goal in the 2-1 win against Hawaii Pacific. It was Allison’s first career goal.
• Saint Martin’s has scored four goals this year by four different players, including two in the win against Hawaii Pacific.
• Saint Martin’s will play at Western Washington on Thursday and then will travel to Idaho to face Northwest Nazarene on Saturday.

SEATTLE PACIFIC
• Seattle Pacific scored four goals in its win against Saint Martin’s last week.
• Megan Moore scored her first two goals of the season in the win against the Saints.
• Hannah Huesers scored her fourth goal of the season in the second half against Saint Martin’s. The senior now needs 10 more goals this season to tie GNAC records for career goals and career goals in conference matches.
• Seattle Pacific dropped its second match of the week to Central Washington, 1-0, despite outshooting the Wildcats 17-12.
• The Falcons are one of three teams to claim two conference wins already this season.The win against Saint Martin’s was Seattle Pacific’s fourth consecutive win going back to 2015.
• The Falcons had scored goals in 14 consecutive GNAC matches before being shutout by Central Washington.
• Simone Herzberg has three assists in eight matches this year, which is tied for the most in the conference and ranks 94th in the nation.
• The Falcons rank in the top 100 in the nation in goals (1.6), assists (1.3), and points (4.5), while ranking 24th in goals against average (0.593).
• Seattle Pacific will travel north of the border to face Simon Fraser on Thursday, which is the Falcons’ only match this week.

SIMON FRASER
• The Clan’s defense, which was impenatrable through the first four matches of the season, allowed just one goal last week.
• Simon Fraser defeated Central Washington 2-0 on the road in its conference opener.
• Western Washington edged Simon Fraser in its second match of the week, taking a 1-0 victory against the Clan.
• Emma Pringle has scored all of Simon Fraser’s first four goals this year. Her four goals in six matches ranks 61st in the nation and leads the GNAC. Pringle has also scored three game-winning goals this year, which is just one shy of the national leader. She is one of 31 players in the nation with at least three game-winning goals.
• Olivia Aguiar scored an unassisted goal for insurace against Central Washington. It was her first goal of the season and eighth career goal.
• Priya Sandhu  was credited with the shutout against Central Washington. It was her fourth shutout this year, which makes Simon Fraser 13th in the nation in shutout percentage at 0.667.
• After having never beaten a California school this decade, the Clan went 2-1-1 against California schools to start the season.
• Simon Fraser will host Seattle Pacific on Thursday and then Western Oregon on Saturday.

WESTERN OREGON
• Western Oregon lost to Montana State Billings before rebounding with a 2-1 win against Northwest Nazarene. The Wolves are now 4-4 on the season.
• The Wolves are one of six teams in the conference with an overall record of .500 or better this year.
• Taylor Higa  scored an unassisted goal in the 66th minute of the loss to Montana State Billings, which was the first time that Western Oregon did not go on to win this season after scoring a goal.
• Higa has scored four goals this year and assisted two for a conference-best 10 points, which ranks 84th in the nation. She is also one of three players this year in the GNAC that has scored four goals this season.
• WOU will travel to Central Washington on Thursday, and then go to Simon Fraser on Saturday.

WESTERN WASHINGTON
• Since tying Sonoma State in the season-opener, Western Washington has won seven straight contests, which have all been played at Harrington Field.
• Western Washington defeated No. 6 UC San Diego 3-2 two weeks ago and beat Simon Fraser 1-0 this week. It was the team’s 22nd consecutive time tying or beating a West Region opponent.
• WWU defeated another nationally ranked team this week with a convincing 5-0 performance against Bridgeport in a match streamed nationally on ESPN3.
• Western Washington continued its GNAC championship defense with a 1-0 win over Simon Fraser. The Vikings are looking for their fifth consecutive conference title, which would be the first time in GNAC women’s soccer history that one program has won the title five times in a row.
• WWU’s win over Brdigeport was the team’s 18th consecutive win at home and improves the Vikings regular season unbeaten streak at home to 35 going back to 2012. The conference record for an unbeaten streak at home during the regular season is 40 by Seattle Pacific in 2010.
• No team puts pressure on opposing goalkeepers like Western Washington. The Vikings have taken 24.3 shots per match this season, which is five more than any other team in the conference has. They have outshot their oppponents 194-56 this year.
• Western Washington has moved back into the top 10 of the national rankings at No. 7 and is also No. 1 in the NSCAA West Region rankings.
• On Saturday, Western Washington will host Concordia, which is currently atop the GNAC standings. Concordia goalkeeper Olivia Brock hasn’t allowed a goal all year, but Western Washington hasn’t been shutout in a GNAC match since Oct. 25, 2014.
• Ashley Homer has produced seven shutouts in eight matches, which is the second best shutout percentage in the nation. Meanwhile, her 0.25 goals against average is 6th in the country.
• The Vikings are 7-0-1 so far this year with the lone tie coming to No. 22 Sonoma State. That is the sixth best winning percentage in all of NCAA Division II.
• Since the start of the 2012 season, Western Washington has been the toughest team to beat in the GNAC putting together a record of 83-9-7 (.874). The Vikings are also 50-3-4 (.912) during that span in conference play.