Monday, October 22, 2012

PORTLAND, Ore. - Eleven Great Northwest Athletic Conference athletes, including Montana State Billings defender Connor Moe, have earned Red Lion Player of the Week honors for their performances during the period of Oct. 15-21, 2012.  They include:

Men’s Soccer

Offense - Rory Pratt, U-Mary (F,  6-2, So., Dublin, Ireland – St. Michaels College)  had a hand in all four of his team’s goals as  Marauders earned four points, tying nationally ninth-ranked Seattle Pacific 1-1 and defeating Saint Martin’s 3-1.  Pratt scored the lone goal in a 1-1 draw with Seattle Pacific.  He then scored two goals and had an assist – his first of the season – in their win against Saint Martin’s to earn Red Lion Offensive Player of the Week accolades.

Defense -  Conner Moe, MSU Billings (D, 6-1, Sr., Snohomish, WA – Bellevue) scored a goal in the Yellowjackets’ 2-1 overtime win against Western Washington and led the MSUB defense which held Simon Fraser – the  nation’s top-scoring team - without a goal in a 0-0 deadlock.  That snapped a GNAC-record string of games in which Simon Fraser had scored a goal at 33 games and earned Moe the Red Lion Defensive Player of the Week award.

Honorable Mention -  Justin Moore, Western Washington; Thomas Sheets, MSU Billings;  Nate Barber, Saint Martin’s; Zach Johnson, SPU.

Women’s Soccer

Offense - Megan Lindsay, Seattle Pacific (F, 5-7, Sr., Spokane, WA – Gonzaga Prep) scored four goals leading the Falcons to 4-2 and 2-0 wins over Saint Martin’s and Western Oregon, respectively, as SPU ran its win streak to six games and its unbeaten streak to 10.  Lindsay, who was selected the Red Lion Offensive Player of the Week, currently leads the GNAC in scoring with 10 goals and 24 points and needs one more point to become the sixth player in GNAC history to score 100 or more career points.  "Megan is just being Megan,” SPU coach Chuck Sekyra said.  “She is scoring goals in so many different ways right now."

Defense – Jamie Arthur, Western Washington (GK, 5-8, Sr., Richland, WA) had six saves in lowering her national-leading goals against average to 0.25 as the Vikings extended their consecutive shutout streak to nine with a pair of 2-0 wins against Montana State Billings and Northwest Nazarene.  Arthurs streak of 810 minutes, 15 seconds without allowing a goal is the fourth longest team streak and third longest individual streak in GNAC history.  The Red Lion Defensive Player of the Week award winner has 13 shutouts this season, tying the GNAC single-season record set by Kaitlyn Jackson of Seattle University in 2007.  Her nine consecutive shutouts also ties a GNAC record set by Maddie Dickinson during the final stages of the 2008 season and early in the 2009 campaign.  Dickinson’s streak extended over 11 games, including two in which she split the goal-keeping duties and therefore did not get credit for a shutout.

Honorable Mention – Brina Sych, Western Washington; Jaucelyn Richter, MSU Billings; Jennifer Larsen, MSU Billings; Hanna Massee, Saint Martin’s.

Volleyball

Offense -  Sam Harthun, Alaska Fairbanks (OH, 6-0, Fr., Oregon City, OR)  and Samantha Ward, Western Oregon (OH, 6-1, Sr., Salem, OR – West Salem)... Harthun had 36 kills, three service aces and 18 digs and hit for a  .413 percentage (36-5-75) as the Nanooks split two matches. In a 3-0 sweep of Saint Martin’s she finished with a match-best 18 kills hitting a career-high .654 (18-1-26). Her hitting percentage was only .079 off the GNAC record (min. 18 kills). She also accrued two service aces to help the Nanooks to their first straight-set win since Oct. 9, 2010 when it swept Central Washington ... Ward shared the Red Lion Offensive Player of the Week award with Harthun producing a team-high 34 kills and hitting for a .413 percentage in wins at UAF and Alaska Anchorage. She had 21 kills and 10 digs and hit .487 against the Nanooks, then led all players with 13 kills in the Wolves’ sweep at Alaska Anchorage.

Defense – Kayla Erickson, Western Washington (MB, 6-0, So., Gig Harbor, WA – Peninsula) had 10 blocks as the Vikings swept Central Washington and Northwest Nazarene extending their win streak to seven, all 3-0 sweeps.  Erickson also had 15 kills and four digs in her Red Lion Defensive Player of the Week performance.  The Vikings held their two opponents to a combined hitting percentage of .078.

Honorable Mention – Marlayna Geary, Western Washington; Erin Smith, Central Washington; Kristyn Ross, Saint Martin’s.

Football

Offense - Nick Ricciardulli, Humboldt State (RB, 5-8, 190, Jr., Poway, Calif.) rushed for 206 yards on only 18 carries, scoring three touchdowns and surpassing 200 yards for the third time this season and the second consecutive game to claim his third Red Lion Player of the Week award this fall. He was also the Jacks' leading receiver with four catches for 83 yards, including a 60-yard touchdown hook-up from quarterback Casey Mintz. Ricciardulli, who ranks third in NCAA Division II rushing with 158 yards per game, has gone over the 100-yard mark in all but one of the ‘Jacks eight games to equal a GNAC single-season record for most 100-yard rushing games of seven.

Defense - Nick Grunsky, Azusa Pacific (SS, 5-10, 190, Jr., Folsom, CA – Vista del Lago) had an interception at the Cougars’ 11-yard line with 12 seconds left to seal a 24-17 upset of Central Washington.  Just prior to the interception, he was credited with a pass breakup.  Grunsky also earned eight tackles in the win in earning Red Lion Defensive Player of the Week honors.

Special Teams - Gustave Benthin, Western Oregon (DL, 6-2, 285, Jr., Nampa, ID) blocked an 18-yard field goal attempt that would have tied the game with 6:30 left in the fourth-quarter as the Wolves extended their win streak to five games with a 20-17 road win at Simon Fraser earning him Red Lion Special Team honors.  He also had seven tackles and assisted on a tackle for a loss.

Honorable Mention – Kyle Dravis, Azusa Pacific; Jerry Maluia, Humboldt State; Matt Bruder, Humboldt State; Bryce Peila, Western Oregon.

Men’s Golf

Gage Huft, MSU Billings (So., Kimberly, Idaho) won  the MSUB Triangular individual title with a 36-hole score of 135, including a GNAC season-best 64 in Monday’s opening round as he led the  Yellowjackets to a school-record low round score of 271. Huft, who earned his second GNAC Red Lion Player of the Week award of the season, made 10 birdies, and was three-under on par-four holes and five-under on par-fives.