Tuesday, October 18, 2022

THIS WEEK'S GNAC PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
OFFENSIVE

Estera Levinte, Western Washington
F • 5-7 • Junior • Bothell, Wash.

Levinte netted three goals last week for the Vikings in a pair of 3-0 wins. She scored the third goal on Saturday against Seattle Pacific on Thursday and followed it up with a brace against Montana State Billings on Saturday which included the game-winner in the 13th minute.

Also Nominated: Ashley Parton (NNU), Chelsea Crocq (SFU), Jordan Bartlow (CWU)

DEFENSIVE

Magda Wronski, Northwest Nazarene
D • 5-4 • Senior • Anaheim, Calif.

Wronski showed her strength on both sides of the pitch for NNU last week. She anchored a defense that only allowed six shots on goal through two shutout wins. Wronski also contributed offensively, recording three assists including on both of Saturday’s goals in a 2-0 win over Saint Martin’s. 

Also Nominated: Clare Keenan (MSUB), Nicole Anderson (SFU), Asia Harden (WWU)

AROUND THE GNAC

CENTRAL WASHINGTON
• Central Washington split its week at home, taking a 1-0 win over Saint Martin’s on Thursday before dropping a 4-3 decision to Western Oregon on Saturday.

• The Wildcats outshot the Saints 16-10 which included a first half where the CWU defense didn’t allow a single shot. Junior Lily Newberry scored the game-winning goal for the Wildcats in the 44th minute. Kassandra Jaggard recorded the shutout in net with a four-save performance.

• Central Washington showed its mental fortitude on Saturday against WOU. The Wolves cached in four straight goals, with three in the first half, but to their credit, the Wildcats did not stop pushing. They outshot Western Oregon 8-6 in the second half with Jordan Bartlow recording a brace and Emily Darcy adding her fourth goal of the season.

• Central Washington will hit the road to face Simon Fraser on Thursday and No. 7 Western Washington on Saturday.

MONTANA STATE BILLINGS
• Montana State Billings picked up a 1-1 draw against Simon Fraser on Thursday before dropping its match to No. 7 Western Washington 3-0 on Saturday.

• The Yellowjackets took the lead early on Thursday when Vendela Andersson scored her first goal of the season in the 13th minute. From there, goalkeeper Clare Keenen kept MSUB ahead until the Red Leafs broke through with an equalizer in the 54th minute. Keenan ended the match with 10 saves.

• After Saturday’s game against Western Washington, Keenan leads the GNAC and is 14th in Division II with 88 saves this season.

• Montana State Billings will play its last regular-season road matches this week, taking on Western Oregon in Monmouth on Thursday and Saint Martin’s in Lacey on Saturday.

NORTHWEST NAZARENE
• Northwest Nazarene picked up another pair of shutout wins at home last week, with a 5-0 victory over Western Oregon on Thursday and a 2-0 win against Saint Martin’s on Saturday.

• The Nighthawks found the back of the net early and often on Saturday. They were led by senior forward Ashely Parton who recorded her second brace in as many weeks with goals in the 13th and 53rd minutes. Madison Grande tallied the game-winner win in the 10th minute for her eighth goal of the season. Parton and Grande lead the GNAC with eight goals apiece.

• Northwest Nazarene continued its dominant run of play on Saturday against Saint Martin’s, outshooting the Saints 21-4. The NNU defense allowed only one shot on goal in the first half while the offense struck twice in nine minutes. Savanna Herz netted the game-winner off a corner kick assist from senior defender Magda Wronski in the 11th minute.

•Wronksi contributed three assists last week along with shutting down the Nighthawks' opponents to earn the GNAC Defensive Player of the Week award.

• Northwest Nazarene has not conceded a goal in eight straight matches and enters the penultimate week of regular-season play on a 12-match unbeaten streak. It is one of two teams to have secured a spot in the 2022 GNAC Championships.

• The Nighthawks are ranked nationally for the first time this season at No. 25 in the United Soccer Coaches Poll after also being named the GANC Team of the Week.

• In a possible preview of what is to come in the GNAC Championships, Northwest Nazarene travels to face Western Washington on Thursday. The first meeting between NNU and WWU resulted in a 0-0 tie in Nampa. The Nighthawks will then cross the border to face Simon Fraser in Burnaby on Saturday.

SAINT MARTIN’S
• Saint Martin’s dropped a pair of matches last week, falling 1-0 to Central Washington on Thursday and 2- 0 to Northwest Nazarene on Saturday.

• Soph Mendoza started in net for the Saints on Thursday, making five saves against 16 shots. She ranks 10th in Division II with an average of 7.29 saves per match.

• Ali Campigotto made eight saves against 21 shots on Saturday against the Nighthawks. She leads the GNAC with a .889 save percentage and ranks third in the conference with a 0.80 goals against average.

• Saint Martin’s will return home this week to face Seattle Pacific on Thursday and Montana State Billings on Saturday.

SEATTLE PACIFIC
• Seattle Pacific played only one match last week, falling to No. 7 Western Washington 3-0 on Thursday at home while Saturday’s match against Simon Fraser was forced to be rescheduled due to poor air quality. The Falcons took a 6-2 win in the postponed match at Interbay Stadium.

• The Falcons just couldn’t fire up the offense on Thursday and were outshot 19-7 by the Vikings. Goalkeeper Mercedes Cullen made seven saves in net.

• On Saturday, the Falcons’ match against the Red Leafs was forced to be postponed and moved to Monday due to poor air quality at Interbay Stadium.

• When SPU did get to play its match against SFU on Monday afternoon, the Falcons' offense erupted for a 6-2 victory. Jacqueline Blakely scored the first and second goals of the match for the Seattle Pacific. Senior midfielder Callie Rheaume netted her first goal of the season in the 32nd minute to give the Falcons a 3-1 lead going into halftime. Seattle Pacific went on to outscore Simon Fraser 3-1 in the second half as well, with Sophie Beadle, Emmy Moore and AJ DePinto all finding the back of the net.

• Seattle Pacific will be on the road this week, facing Saint Martin’s in Lacey on Thursday and Western Oregon in Monmouth on Saturday.

SIMON FRASER
• Simon Fraser only played one match last week, earning a 1-1 draw at Montana State Billings on Thursday before its Saturday match against Seattle Pacific was forced to be rescheduled due to poor air quality. The match was rescheduled to Monday where the Red Leafs fell 6-2 to the Falcons.

• The Red Leafs were forced to come from behind to earn the draw on Thursday after the Yellowjackets struck first in the 13th minute. Chelsea Crocq netted the equalizer in the 54th minute with her second goal of the season off a Jazz Dev assist. Goalkeeper Nicole Anderson made four saves against seven shots.

• On Monday, Simon Fraser returned to Interbay Stadium to face the Falcons. After surrendering a goal in the fifth minute, the Red Leafs responded just five minutes later when Kiara Buono found the back of the net for her third goal of the season. While SFU outshot SPU 17-13, the Falcons were only able to net one more goal courtesy of Kate Carter.

• Simon Fraser will return home to begin its final homestand of the season with Central Washington coming to town on Thursday and No. 25 Northwest Nazarene on Saturday.

WESTERN OREGON
• Western Oregon split its week on the road with a 5-0 loss to Northwest Nazarene on Thursday and a 4-3 win over Central Washington on Saturday.

• The Wolves snapped a five-match streak without scoring a goal on Saturday when they exploded for four straight against the Wildcats. Junior forward Chloe Smith scored the opening tally in the 19th minute while Savannah Taylor and Alyssa Talkington also added markers in the first half. Sophomore Briana Kubli netted the eventual game-winner in the 53rd minute. From there, WOU survived a three-goal pushback by CWU in the second half.

• The win lifts Western Oregon into fourth place in the conference standings, level on points with Simon Fraser. Both teams hold 2-5-3 records heading into the penultimate week of GNAC play as the battle to make it into GNAC Women’s Soccer Championships rages on.

• Western Oregon will return home to face Montana State Billings on Thursday before taking on Seattle Pacific on Saturday.

WESTERN WASHINGTON
 • Western Washington was the first team to claim its place in the 2022 GNAC Championships with a pair of 3-0 wins on the road over Seattle Pacific on Thursday and Montana State Billings on Saturday.

• The Vikings were dominant in Seattle on Thursday, outshooting the Falcons 19-7 with Claire Potter netting her fourth goal of the season for the game-winner in the 10th minute. Freshman forward Minji Rauch added an insurance marker in the first half as well before Estera Levinte tallied the third goal in the 67th minute.

• It was a very similar story on Saturday against the Yellowjackets as WWU outshot its opponents 19-5 and struck in the first 20 minutes of the match. Levinte scored the game-winner in the 12th minute and capped off the match with a goal in the 35th minute to complete the brace. Levinte’s three-goal week earned her the GNAC Offensive Player of the Week award.

• Western Washington remains ranked at No. 7 in the United Soccer Coaches Poll and at top of the West Region Poll.

• The Vikings are tied for first in the conference with NNU with nine shutouts.

• Western Washington will face fellow nationally-ranked rivals Northwest Nazarene at home on Thursday in a possible postseason preview. The last time the Vikings faced the Nighthawks, they battled to a 0-0 draw in Nampa. Central Washington will come to town on Saturday to round out the week.