Wednesday, September 25, 2019

THIS WEEK'S GNAC PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

OFFENSE
Brandon Madsen, Saint Martin's
F • 6-1 • Senior • Auburn, Wash.

Madsen scored six goals in three wins, notching two goals in each match. He had both goals in Thursday’s 2-0 win at Academy of Art, two goals in the 4-1 win at Stanislaus State on Saturday and two goals in Sunday’s 3-2 win over Lubbock Christian. Madsen’s nine goals and 19 points both lead the GNAC and Division II.

Also Nominated: Brendan Laun (Concordia), Jake Levine (Northwest Nazarene), Matteo Polisi (Simon Fraser), Georg Cholewa (Western Washington).

DEFENSE
Alex Nadermann, Northwest Nazarene
GK • 6-0 • Sophomore • Redmond, Ore.

Nadermann earned gained shutouts in the Nighthawks’ 2-0 road wins at Notre Dame de Namur on Thursday and at Dominican (Calif.) on Saturday. He recorded four saves in the two matches.

Also Nominated: Klaus Huovila (Concordia), Dylan Shaw (Saint Martin’s), Marcello Polisi (Simon Fraser), Jeremiah Lee (Western Washington).

AROUND THE GNAC

CONCORDIA
• Concordia won its only match of the week on Friday, escaping with a 1-0 victory over Lubbock Christian.

• Brendan Laun scored the only goal in the game in the 17th minute off of a through ball by Klaus Huovila.

• The Concordia defense limited Lubbock Christian to just two shots on goal.

• Goalkeeper Kenneth Symmes recorded two saves in the match to secure his first shutout of the season. He ranks fifth in the GNAC with 13 saves.

• The Cavs rank tied for second in the GNAC in total goals with eight.

• Paul Seydel is ranked 16th in Division 2 with three assists. He also ranks 13th in Division II with 0.75 assists per match.

• The Cavs are 3-2-0 on the season after the win over Lubbock Christian. Up next, the Cavs will open GNAC play at home against Montana State Billings on Saturday, Oct. 5.

MONTANA STATE BILLINGS
• Montana State Billings lost its only match of the week on Saturday, dropping a 3-0 game to then No. 13 Eastern New Mexico in Bismarck, North Dakota.

• The Yellowjackets were able to get five shots on goal, three of them coming from Shantik Bedrosian, but the Eastern New Mexico goalkeeper saved all of them.

• Jessy Martin recorded four saves in the 3-0 loss. Martin ranks 14th in Division II with 29 total saves.

• Montana State Billings is second in the GNAC with 69 shots.

• Andres Perez ranks third in the GNAC with seven points, scoring two goals and dishing out three assists.

• Montana State Billings already picked up a win this week with a 3-1 victory at Mary. Up next, the Yellowjackets will host Mary on Sunday in Billings.

NORTHWEST NAZARENE
• Northwest Nazarene picked up a pair of 2-0 victories last week on its California road trip. The first win came on Thursday at Notre Dame de Namur. The second came on Saturday at Dominican (Calif.).

• Jake Levine opened the scoring at Notre Dame de Namur, wasting no time and scoring in the second minute of the match. He also had an assist to Skyler Munroe in the 88th minute to make the score 2-0.

• Levine scored both goals in the Nighthawks’ 2-0 win at Dominican (Calif.). The first goal came in the 38th minute while the second came in the 60th minute. He is now ranked second in the GNAC with three goals.

• Alex Nadermann had two saves on two shots on goal by the Argonauts. He made another two saves on two shots on goal by the Penguins. Nadermann earned GNAC Defensive Player of the Week honors after he gained two shutouts on the week.

• The Nighthawks are second in the GNAC with eight goals, eight assists and 24 points.

• Northwest Nazarene is now 3-2-0 on the season. Up next, the Nighthawks will host Mary on Friday in Nampa.

SAINT MARTIN'S
• Saint Martin’s had a busy Week 3 and came out of it with three consecutive wins. The Saints won 2-0 at Academy of Art on Thursday then won 4-1 at Stanislaus State on Saturday before coming home to top Lubbock Christian 3-2 on Sunday.

• Brandon Madsen scored six goals in the three wins, notching two goals in each match. He had both goals in the win at Academy of Art, two goals in the win at Stanislaus State and two goals in the 3-2 win over Lubbock Christian. He earned GNAC Offensive Player of the Week honors.

• Madsen’s nine goals and 19 points in 2019 both lead the GNAC and Division II. He also leads the GNAC with 24 shots.

• In the Saints’ rout of Stanislaus State, Oscar Aguilar and Jose Marquez were the other two players to score goals. Jason Fairhurst recorded the third goal in the game against Lubbock Christian.

• Goalkeeper Dylan Shaw recorded seven saves in the three games. Gunnar Morehead came into the game at Stanislaus State and recorded two saves in just 18 minutes played.

• Led by Madsen, Saint Martin’s continues to have the GNAC’s top scoring offense with 105 shots, 54 points, 20 goals and 14 assists. The Saints also lead the GNAC with three shutouts.

• The Saints improved to a 5-1-1 record and sit atop the standings going into the GNAC schedule. After a week’s absence, the Saints have gotten back into the United Soccer Coaches West Region Rankings and claim the No. 10 spot.

• Up next, Saint Martin’s will face its first true test of the season when it opens GNAC play against defending GNAC champion and No. 20 Simon Fraser.

SEATTLE PACIFIC
• Seattle Pacific dropped its only match of the week with a 3-0 loss to then No. 5 West Texas A&M.

• The Falcons has 12 shots and four shots on goal, but weren’t able to find the net. West Texas A&M tallied 26 shots in the match, 15 of which were on goal.

• Goalkeeper Jordan Marwood recorded 11 saves in the loss. It was the freshman’s first match of the season. He now ranks sixth in the GNAC in saves.

• Seattle Pacific ranks second in the GNAC with 31 saves. The Falcons’ 10.33 saves per match ranks first in Division II.

• Titus Grant leads the GNAC and ranks 13th in Division II with 4.33 shots per match.

• Seattle Pacific is now 0-2-1 on the season. Up next, the Falcons will host Point Loma on Thursday and Azusa Pacific on Saturday in Seattle.

SIMON FRASER
• Simon Fraser won its only match of the week on Saturday with a 2-0 win over Hawaii Pacific in Honolulu.

• Marcello Polisi opened the scoring in the game with a 14-minute goal off of an assist from his brother, Matteo Polisi. Matteo also scored the second goal in the 75th minute.

• Goalkeeper Aiden Bain recorded two saves on two shots on goal by the Sharks.

• Simon Fraser’s offense has gotten off to a slow start in 2019, but defense and goalkeeping has proved to be the difference as the Clan leads the GNAC with a 0.73 goals against average.

• Bain ranks first in the GNAC and 30th in Division II with a 0.731 goals against average.

• The Clan moved up to No. 20 in the latest United Soccer Coaches National Poll.

• Simon Fraser is now 3-1-0 on the season. Up next, the Clan will open GNAC play at home, hosting Saint Martin’s on Oct. 3 in Burnaby.

WESTERN WASHINGTON
• Western Washington won its only match of the week in style with a 4-3 victory in overtime at Colorado Mines on Monday.

• Georg Cholewa scored the golden goal for the Vikings in the 95th minute. Cholewa was also credited with the assist in the game’s opening goal scored by Christian Rotter in the fifth minute.

• Iakov Shmelev and Ryan Schaefer were the other two Vikings credited with goals.

• The Vikings totaled 16 shots and nine shots on goal in the overtime road win.

• Western Washington ranks second in Division II with 8.25 corner kicks per match. The Vikings also rank first in the GNAC and 29th in Division II with a .500 shutout percentage.

• Up next, Western Washington will host Azusa Pacific on Thursday and Point Loma on Saturday to close its non-conference schedule.