Wednesday, November 6, 2019

THIS WEEK'S GNAC PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
OFFENSE
Jake Levine, Northwest Nazarene
F • 5-10 • Junior • Green Acres, Wash.

Levine scored three goals and added an assist as the Nighthawks won two matches, the team’s first wins in GNAC play. Levine scored a goal and assisted on the overtime game-winner in Thursday’s 4-3 win over Saint Martin’s. He then scored a pair of goals in the Nighthawks’ 3-1 win over Concordia on Saturday.

Also Nominated: Nicholas Denley (Concordia), Andres Perez (Montana State Billings), Brandon Madsen (Saint Martin’s), Christian Rotter (Western Washington).

DEFENSE
Camron Miller, Western Washington
D • 6-3 • Junior • Snohomish, Wash.

Miller played all 90 minutes in the Vikings 4-0 rout of Seattle Pacific on Thursday. He scored a goal in the 25th minute and helped the defense allow just four shots on goal in the shutout of the Falcons.
This is the second time that Miller has earned GNAC defensive honors.

Also Nominated: Jose Marquez (Saint Martin’s).

AROUND THE GNAC
CONCORDIA
• Concordia went 0-2 last week with a 1-0 loss at Montana State Billings on Thursday and a 3-1 loss at Northwest Nazarene on Saturday.

• Nicholas Denley scored the only goal for Concordia in the two matches, netting a goal in the 66th minute of the Cavaliers’ 3-1 loss at Northwest Nazarene. Denley is second in the GNAC and ranks 45th in Division II with nine goals. He is also tied for third in the conference with 19 points.

• Kenneth Symmes made six saves in the 1-0 loss to the Yellowjackets and Mathias Eriksen made two saves in the 3-1 loss to the Nighthawks. Symmes tops the conference and ranks 46th in Division II with 4.75 saves per match.

• Concordia is now 7-7-0 (4-5-0 GNAC) on the season and will end its season with a three-match homestand. Up next, the Cavs will host Saint Martin’s on Thursday.

MONTANA STATE BILLINGS
• Montana State Billings split its matches at home last week with a 1-0 win over Concordia on Thursday and a tough 2-1 overtime loss to Saint Martin’s on Saturday.

• A goal off the foot of Andres Perez in the 20th minute was all the Yellowjackets needed to top the Cavaliers, 1-0.

• The Yellowjacket defense limited the Cavs to just three shots on goal in the 1-0 victory.

• Perez also scored the only goal in the Yellowjackets’ 2-1 overtime loss to Saint Martin’s, notching his sixth goal of the season in the 26th minute. He is seventh in the GNAC with six goals and sixth in the conference with 17 points while also being tied for fourth with five assists.

• Goalkeeper Jessy Martin made three saves against the Cavs and five saves against the Saints. He leads the GNAC and ranks 19th in Division II with 75 saves while also ranking 24th with six shutouts and 26th with an .806 save percentage.

• Montana State Billings is now 8-6-2 (5-3-1 GNAC) on the season and sits in second place in the conference standings with 16 points, six points behind first-place Western Washington. Up next, the Yellowjackets will hit the road to play at Simon Fraser on Thursday and Western Washington on Saturday.

NORTHWEST NAZARENE
• Northwest Nazarene topped Saint Martin’s, 4-3, in overtime on Thursday then beat Concordia, 3-1, on Saturday to secure its first GNAC wins of the season.

• Jake Levine earned GNAC Offensive Player of the Week honors for the second time this season after he scored three goals and added an assist in the two matches. Levine scored a goal and assisted on the overtime game-winner against Saint Martin’s then scored a pair of goals against Concordia.

• Skyler Munroe played a big role in the overtime win over the Saints, scoring two goals and distributing two assists off the bench for the Nighthawks.

• Braeden Anderson scored the golden goal for the Nighthawks in the 100th minute of the 4-3 overtime victory.

• Dominic Abdel-Ahad netted the second goal for the Nighthawks and Brandon Parsio contributed with two assists in the 3-1 win over the Cavaliers.

• Northwest Nazarene is now 6-8-0 (2-6-0 GNAC) on the season. Up next, the Nighthawks will hit the road to play at Western Washington on Thursday and Simon Fraser on Saturday.

SAINT MARTIN'S
• Saint Martin’s split a pair of overtime-thrillers last week, dropping the first match, 4-3, at Northwest Nazarene on Thursday before edging out Montana State Billings, 2-1, on Saturday.

• Jose Marquez, Brandon Madsen and Oscar Aguilar were the three goal scorers in the Saints’ 4-3 overtime loss to the Nighthawks.

• The Saint Martin’s defense limited a tough Montana State Billings offense to just four shots and two shots on goal in the 2-1 overtime victory.

• Madsen was the hero in the Saints’ 2-1 overtime win against the Yellowjackets, scoring the equalizer in the 86th minute to send the match to overtime. Madsen then netted the game-winner in the 99th minute. He leads the GNAC and ranks fifth in Division II with 15 goals while also ranking seventh with 33 points and 13th with four game-winning goals.

• Hunter Askland assumed goalkeeping duties last week, making five saves against the Nighthawks and one save against the Yellowjackets.

• Saint Martin’s is now 8-6-2 (3-5-1 GNAC) on the season. Up next, the Saints will play at Concordia on Thursday and Seattle Pacific on Saturday.

SEATTLE PACIFIC
• Seattle Pacific lost 4-0 at Western Washington on Thursday then bounced back to top Simon Fraser, 2-1, on Saturday in Burnaby.

• The Clan outshot the Falcons, 10-4, but goalkeeper Lars Helleren made five saves on six shots on goal to anchor the Seattle Pacific defense.

• The Clan struck first but Sam Malloch tied the match with a goal in the 33rd minute. Titus Grant netted the game-winner in the 76th to lead the Falcons to the 2-1 victory.

• Grant tops the GNAC and ranks 38th in Division II with 3.43 shots per match while also ranking 45th with 22 points, 40th with 1.57 points per match and 44th with three game-winning goals.

• Seattle Pacific is now 4-9-1 (3-6-0 GNAC) on the season. Up next, the Falcons will host Saint Martin’s on Saturday.

SIMON FRASER
• Simon Fraser lost its only match of the week, 2-1, to Seattle Pacific on Saturday.

• Bjorn Borren opened the scoring in the match against Seattle Pacific with a goal in the third minute but the Falcons scored two unanswered goals to pick up the win.

• Matteo Polisi registered four shots in the match but wasn’t able to find the net. Polisi is second in the GNAC and ranks 44th in Division II with 3.42 shots per match. He also ranks 33rd with 0.67 goals per match and 39th with 1.58 points per match.

• Simon Fraser is now 7-4-1 (4-3-1 GNAC) on the season and sits in third place in the conference standings with 13 points, three points behind second-place Montana State Billings and nine points behind first-place Western Washington. Up next, the Clan will finish its homestand, hosting Montana State Billings on Thursday and Northwest Nazarene on Saturday.

WESTERN WASHINGTON
• Western Washington won its only match of the week with a 4-0 rout of Seattle Pacific at home on Thursday.

• Ryan Schaefer opened the scoring with a goal in the fifth minute of the match. Schaefer leads the GNAC and ranks second in Division II with six game-winning goals.

• Christian Rotter registered two assists in the match. He tops the GNAC with seven assists.

• Camron Miller earned GNAC Defensive Player of the Week honors for the second time this season after he played all 90 minutes in the Vikings’ 4-0 shutout of Seattle Pacific on Thursday. He scored a goal in the 25th minute and helped to anchor a Viking defense that allowed just four shots on goal by the Falcons.

• Johan Espinoza and Alex Whiting scored the other two insurance goals for the Vikings.

• Goalkeeper Brandon Locke picked up his fourth shutout of the season in the 4-0 win, making four saves on four shots on goal by the Falcons. Locke has established himself as one of the top goalkeepers in the GNAC. He leads the conference and ranks fourth in Division II with an .875 save percentage while also ranking fifth with a 0.46 goals against average.

• The Vikings moved up to No. 19 in the latest United Soccer Coaches Poll.

• Western Washington is now 10-3-1 (7-0-1 GNAC) on the season and sits in first place in the conference standings with 22 points, six points ahead of second-place Montana State Billings. The Vikings can clinch a share of the GNAC Championship with a win this week as they host Northwest Nazarene on Thursday and Montana State Billings on Saturday.