Thursday, October 20, 2016

PORTLAND - This is a defining week for many teams within the GNAC with playoff spots and the conference title up for grabs after the first NCAA Regional Rankings were announced. Three GNAC squads packed into the top 5 of the NCAA West Region Rankings, led by Western Washington at No. 1. Taking the No. 3 ranking is Central Washington and Seattle Pacific was rewarded with its recent success with the No. 5 ranking.

This week, Western Washington will face both Seattle Pacific and Central Washington, heading to Seattle on Thursday before hosting the Wildcats on Saturday, when the Vikings have a chance to break the record for longest home winning streak. The Vikings also could clinch the GNAC title if they win both matches this week to become the first program in GNAC women’s soccer history to claim five consecutive conference titles.

A lot is on the line for CWU and SPU as well. Both teams would clinch a spot in the GNAC Championships if they each win both of their matches. On Thursday, Concordia and Simon Fraser will meet in another crucial contest as the two teams jocky for the fourth position in the GNAC standings.

Both Northwest Nazarene and Saint Martin’s have their backs against the wall this week, each needing to win both matches to have a chance to remain in the race to Burnaby, where the GNAC Championships will be held in November for the second year in a row.

PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

OFFENSE
Mackenzie Nolte, Central Washington
M• 5-9 • Junior • Marysville, Wash.
Nolte scored two goals and netted the game-winner in the 80th minute against an aggressive defensive set in the Wildcats’ 3-2 victory over Saint Martin’s on Thursday.

Also Nominated: Madi Taylor (Northwest Nazarene), Dana Lubienicki (Montana State Billings), Brooke Lancaster (Seattle Pacific), Bobbi Eckler (Concordia).

DEFENSE
Molly Stinson, Seattle Pacific
GK • 6-0 • Junior • Woodinville, Wash.
Stinson finished with nine saves and finished with a pair of shutout victories. She stopped two shots in a 1-0 shutout at Montana State Billings on Thursday and made seven saves against 19 total shots as the Falcons posted a 3-0 win over Simon Fraser on Saturday.

Also Nominated: Olivia Carter (Northwest Nazarene), Ashley Homer (Western Washington), Kalin Sandow (Montana State Billings), Olivia Brock (Concordia).

GNAC MILESTONE TRACKER

Hannah Huesers (SPU) - Huesers scored the game-winning goal in Seattle Pacific’s 3-0 win against Simon Fraser. It was her 13th career game-winning goal and eighth in conference matches, which is just two shy of the all time GNAC record. The goal was the 42nd of her career, giving her 92 career points. She is currently tied with Shannon Lovejoy (2002-05) from Seattle Pacific for fifth most goals in GNAC history. Huesers has tallied 29 goals and 64 points in GNAC matches in her career. She surpassed Catherine Miles (2012-15) from Western Washington for third most goals in conference matches in GNAC history. The 2015 GNAC Offensive Player of the Year needs seven more goals to tie the GNAC record for goals and goals in conference matches.

Daniele Ortiz (NNU) - The Crusader made five saves against Concordia on Thursday to reach 308 career saves. Last week, she became the seventh player in conference history to reach 300 career saves. The previous week, Ortiz recorded her 200th career save in conference matches. She was the ninth player to achieve the feat and now has 222 saves, which ranks fifth in GNAC history.

Western Washington - With wins over Montana State Billings and Northwest Nazarene last week, Western Washington tied the GNAC record for longest home winning streak, tying the mark of 22 set by Seattle Pacific in 2004. The Vikings also have gone unbeaten in their last 39 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. The Vikings are unbeaten in their last 38 conference matches and have scored a goal in 27 consecutive matches against conference opponents. Including playoff matches, the Vikings now have a 30-match unbeaten streak against West Region opponents.

Concordia - On Oct. 13, head coach Grant Landy reached a milestone 350th career victory, and 20 of those victories have come since Concordia joined the GNAC at the start of the 2015 season. Overall, Concordia is 20-6-6 since joining the conference, which includes an impressive 12-4-5 in conference matches. The Cavaliers are also 13-1-2 in home matches in the last two years, taking their first loss at home since 2012 on Oct. 15 against Western Washington.

AROUND THE GNAC

CENTRAL WASHINGTON
• Central Washington can clinch a spot in the GNAC Championships with a win and a tie to reach 23 points. If the Wildcats win just one match, they could clinch a spot with some help later in the week.
• Central Washington defeated both Saint Martin’s and Montana State Billings last week by one-goal margins to remain in second place in the GNAC standings.
• The Wildcats are receiving votes in the NSCAA Division II Coaches Poll. They received six votes, which is tied for the most of any team outside the top 25.
• Mackenzie Nolte scored twice last week to earn the GNAC Offensive Player of the Week honor. She has scored six goals this year, which is one shy of the conference leader.
• Emily Holt made four saves this week to reach 62 total saves this season. She also has five shutouts and a goals against average of 0.85.
• Central Washington’s 27 goals have been scored by 12 different players. Keilin Farrand has played a part in the most goals with five goals and five assists. Only one other player in the conference has played a part in 10 goals.
• Central Washington will host Northwest Nazarene on Thursday and then travel to Western Washington on Saturday for a battle of the top two teams in the GNAC standings. It is the only regular-season meeting between the two teams.

CONCORDIA
• Concordia has one of the toughest schedules to wrap up the 2016 season, facing Simon Fraser, Central Washington and Seattle Pacific. In order to guarantee a spot in the GNAC Championships for the second year in a row, the Cavaliers need to win all three remaining matches.
• Concordia played three times last week, starting with a 3-0 road victory against Northwest Nazarene on three second-half goals on Thursday.
• On Saturday, the Cavaliers lost to Western Washington 1-0. The loss ended a 39-match unbeaten streak at Tuominen Yard that dated back to 2012, before Concordia joined the GNAC.
• On Tuesday, the Cavs avoided an upset to Western Oregon, scoring in the 80th minute off a shot by McKenna Stocker to force a 1-1 tie.
• Olivia Brock has a career save percentage 0.898, which is still the GNAC record. Her goals against average is 0.526, which ranks fifth in conference history.
• Concordia is ranked No. 6 in the NSCAA West Region rankings, but is not eligible to be ranked in the NCAA West Region Rankings.
• Concordia averages exactly two goals per match this year, which ranks second in the GNAC. The Cavaliers also rank second in points (5.71), assists (1.71) and shots taken (17.50).
• This week, Concordia plays just once, facing Simon Fraser. Concordia is currently in fourth place in the GNAC standings with a three-point advantage over fifth-place Simon Fraser, which has played one less match this year. The top four teams in the conference punch their tickets to Burnaby for the GNAC Championships.

MONTANA STATE BILLINGS
• The Yellowjackets lost control of their own destiny for the GNAC Championships with the 2-1 loss to Central Washington, but is still one of five teams that are battling for the three remaining spots in the tournament, which MSUB qualified for last year.
• Montana State Billings narrowly lost two crucial GNAC contests last week, falling to Seattle Pacific 1-0 and then Central Washington 2-1.
• Lili Delgadillo has made 67 saves this season, which ranks 69th in Division II and third in the GNAC.
• Dana Lubieniecki scored Montana State Billings only goal of the week. She has five goals and two assists this year. In the GNAC, she ranks sixth in goals and seventh in points.
• Alexa Iacolucci has taken a team-high 29 shots and has assisted on one goal this season.
• Montana State Billings will play at Saint Martin’s on Thursday. The ‘Jackets will then play Seattle Pacific for the second week in a row on Saturday at Interbay Stadium.

NORTHWEST NAZARENE
• Northwest Nazarene dropped its only match of the week, falling to Concordia 3-0 at home.
• Daniele Ortiz became the seventh player in GNAC history to record 300 career saves and ranks fifth in conference history in saves.
• Madi Taylor has a team-best four goals this year, which ranks ninth in the conference this season.
• The Crusaders will travel to Central Washington on Thursday and then to Saint Martin’s on Thursday in search of their second conference win of the season.

SAINT MARTIN’S
• Saint Martin’s fell to Central Washington 3-2 in its only match of the week.
• The Saints are only the second GNAC team to score multiple goals in a match against Central Washington.
• Both goals for SMU were scored by Hannah Frakes. They were her third and fourth goals of the season, becoming the 12th GNAC player this year to score four goals and the 10th player with a multi-goal match.
• The Saints have allowed 30 goals in the last eight matches.
• Saint Martin’s has scored 12 goals this year by six different players, including four in the win against Western Oregon.
• Saint Martin’s will host Montana State Billings and Northwest Nazarene this week in search of the team’s second conference victory of 2016.

SEATTLE PACIFIC
• Seattle Pacific can clinch its spot in the GNAC Championships for the third year in a row with two wins this week at Interbay Stadium, where the Falcons host both Western Washington and Montana State Billings.
• Seattle Pacific is ranked No. 5 in the first NCAA West Region Rankings, which help determine which six teams from the region will compete in the NCAA tournament.
• The Falcons defeated Montana State Billings and Simon Fraser last week to move up two spots in the GNAC standings to third place.
• Hannah Huesers scored her seventh goal of the season against Simon Fraser, which counted as the game-winner. The senior now needs seven more goals this season to tie GNAC records for career goals and career goals in conference matches.
• Seattle Pacific will return to Interbay Stadium this week  to host Western Washington and Montana State Billings. The Falcons have not beaten the Vikings since sweeping them in 2012. Seattle Pacific did force a tie at home against WWU in 2014.
• Simone Herzberg has four assists this year, which is one shy of the conference leader.
• Seattle Pacific has scored 21 goals this season and 16 different players have played a part in those goals either scoring or assisting them. Julia DeVere became the 16th different player to do so, scoring the third goal in the win against Simon Fraser.

SIMON FRASER
• Simon Fraser needs to win all four remaining matches this year to guarantee a spot in the GNAC Championships, which the Clan will host.
• The path to the GNAC Championships starts with a crucial battle with fourth-place Concordia, which is three points ahead the Clan. With a win, the Clan would move into a tie for fourth place with Concordia.
• The Clan lost its only match last week 3-0 to Seattle Pacific. It was just the third time this year that SFU had been shutout.
• Simon Fraser has seven shutouts this season, which is the 26th best shutout percentage in Division II. Priya Sandhu has been credited with six of those shutouts, which is the second most in the conference.
• Emma Pringle scored all of the team’s first four goals this season and six of the first eight with her sixth goal coming in the first half agaisnt Western Oregon. She is one of three players in the conference with seven goals this year.
• Monpreet Heer scored two goals and assisted on two others against Western Oregon. Her six points stands as the GNAC single-game high for 2016.
• Nine of the team’s 20 goals have been scored by freshmen.
• The Clan is looking for its first berth into the GNAC Championships in program history.
• Simon Fraser has taken more than twice as many shots as its opponents, outhsooting opponents 219-109 in 12 matches this season.
• Simon Fraser will host Concordia on Thursday and then travel to Western Oregon on Saturday.

WESTERN OREGON
• Western Oregon lost to Western Washington and tied Concordia this week.
• Taylor Higa scored the first goal of the tie against Concordia to become the conference leader in points this year with 17. She ranks 94th in the country in goals per match.
• It was the first tie that Concordia has taken at home this season and only the second time that Concordia hasn’t won at home in 2016.
• Caitlyn Kastelic has recorded 7.07 saves per match, which ranks 22nd in Division II.
• The Wolves will host Simon Fraser on Saturday and then Saint Martin’s on Tuesday.

WESTERN WASHINGTON
• Western Washington was the first team to clinch a spot in the GNAC Championships thanks to a 1-0 win agianst Concordia.
• The Vikings can clinch an unprecedented fifth consecutive GNAC title with two wins this week agaisnt Central Washington and Seattle Pacific.
• Western Washington is ranked No. 1 in the first NCAA West Region Rankings, which help determine which teams will advance to the NCAA tournament. Western Washington has won or tied its last 30 matches against West Region opponents.
• Two other GNAC teams are ranked in the top 5 of the NCAA West Region Rankings and Western Washington will play both of those teams this week. The Vikings will travel to Seattle Pacific on Thursday and then host Central Washington on Saturday, looking to extend their 13-match winning streak.
• Against Central Washington, the Vikings need a victory to break the all-time GNAC record for longest home winning streak. It was a record that was more than a decade old set by Seattle Pacific in 2004.
• Since tying Sonoma State in the season-opener, Western Washington has won 13 straight contests, earning the second best winning percentage in the nation.
• For the second week in a row, Western Washington is ranked No. 1 in the nation after having never previously been ranked No. 1 in program history.
• The Vikings’ win over NNU improved their regular-season unbeaten streak at home to 39 going back to 2012. The conference record for an unbeaten streak at home during the regular season is 40 by Seattle Pacific in 2010. The Vikings can tie that record against Central Washington on Saturday.
• No team puts pressure on opposing goalkeepers like Western Washington. The Vikings have taken 23.6 shots per match this season, which is six more than any other team in the conference has. They have outshot their oppponents 331-89.
• Goalkeeper Ashley Homer has helped the Vikings record 11 shutouts in 14 matches, which is the third best shutout percentage in the nation. Meanwhile, her 0.22 goals against average ranks second in Division II and is on pace to break the single-season GNAC record set in 2003 by Jennifer Hull for SPU.
• Since the start of the 2012 season, Western Washington has been the toughest team to beat in the GNAC putting together a record of 89-9-7 (.881). The Vikings are also 56-3-4 (.921) during that span in conference play.
• The Vikings lead the conference in every team statistic except saves.