Tuesday, October 25, 2022

THIS WEEK'S GNAC PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
OFFENSIVE

Jeremie Briquet, Montana State Billings
M • 6-3 • Junior • Cannes, France

Briquet was a driving force in MSUB’s eight-minute offensive barrage against the Nighthawks, netting two goals and adding an assist on the final goal of the scoring outburst. His two goals were key in the Yellowjackets’ upset of No. 22 Northwest Nazarene on Saturday.

Also Nominated: Jimmy Koufidakis (NNU), Mark Talisuna (SFU), Abraham Villalobos (WOU), Andrew Rotter (WWU)

DEFENSIVE

Patrick Restum, Western Washington.
GK • 6-1 • Senior • Okemos, Mich.

Restum earned his seventh shutout of the season in a 2-0 victory over Simon Fraser on Thursday in Bellingham. He made two saves in net against 11 shots. He is tied for first in the GANC and 11th in Division II with seven clean sheets this season.

Also Nominated: Jeremi Campagnolo (MSUB)

AROUND THE GNAC

MONTANA STATE BILLINGS
• Montana State Billings took a stunning 4-1 home victory over nationally-ranked Northwest Nazarene in its only match of the week on Saturday.

• The Yellowjackets arguably played their strongest match of the season against the No. 22 ranked Nighthawks, outshooting one of the top offensive teams in the conference 17-7 and only allowing one goal on the way to a win.

• After a scoreless first half, MSUB came out of the locker room ready to capitalize on its chances. The Yellowjackets did so in a big way, crashing through with four goals in eight minutes. Jeremie Briquet netted the first goal in the 54th minute followed by Kolja Thomas in the 59th minute. Briquet completed the brace just two minutes later and then assisted on Edgar Ramirez’s goal in the 62nd minute.

• Briquet earned GNAC Offensive Player of the Week honors for his five-point week.

• Montana State Billings will be back in action at home on Thursday against Western Washington and on Saturday against Western Oregon.

NORTHWEST NAZARENE
• Northwest Nazarene took a 3-1 win over Western Oregon at home on Thursday before falling 4-1 to Montana State Billings on the road on Saturday.

• On Thursday, The Nighthawks struck early against the Wolves with Jimmy Koufidakis scoring in the eighth minute. Western Oregon was able to respond, however, and tied the score going into halftime. Koufidakis broke through again with the game-winner in the 51st minute while Sullivan Smith added an insurance goal in the 79th minute.

• Saturday’s match against Montana State Billings was a rare stumbling block for the top-placed team in the GNAC as the Nighthawks surrendered four goals in eight minutes. It was only the sixth time this season that NNU has failed to score more than one goal. The decision leaves the Nighthawks just one point ahead of Western Washington in the conference standings.

• Northwest Nazarene will face Saint Martin’s on Thursday in its final regular-season road match.

SAINT MARTIN’S
• Saint Martin’s dropped its only match of the week at Western Oregon 2-0 on Sunday after its Thursday match at Seattle Pacific was rescheduled to Mon., Oct. 31 due to poor air quality.

• In a match with few scoring opportunities for either side, the Saints fell victim to Wolves freshmen Alex Grignon and Abraham Villalobos.

• As a team, the Saints rank second in the GNAC with 60 saves and have committed the fewest fouls of any team in the conference.

• Sophomore forward Ethan Jud ranks second in the conference with six goals and is tied for second in the GNAC averaging 0.93 points per game

• Saint Martin’s will play a pair of matches at home this week, hosting Northwest Nazarene on Thursday and Simon Fraser on Saturday. The Saints will then travel to Seattle Pacific on Monday for the rescheduled match against the Falcons.

SEATTLE PACIFIC
• Seattle Pacific dropped its only match of the week 2-1 against Simon Fraser at home after its Thursday match against Saint Martin’s was rescheduled to Mon., Oct. 31 due to poor air quality.

• The Falcons heavily outshot the Red Leafs 17-3, firing seven shots on frame, but couldn’t solve Justyn Sandhu until the second half. Ed Weise netted his third goal of the season in the 70th minute but not before SFU netted two goals of their own in the first half. Weise and Alden Massey led the way for SPU with four shots each.

• Seattle Pacific sits in fourth place in the conference standings, three points back from Simon Fraser and four points clear of Montana State Billings.

• The Flacons will stay at home this week to face Western Washington on Saturday before the rescheduled match against Saint Martin’s on Monday.

SIMON FRASER
• Simon Fraser split its week on the road, falling 2-0 at Western Washington on Thursday before bouncing back with a 2-1 win over Seattle Pacific on Saturday.

• The Red Leafs matched the Vikings with 11 shots on Thursday but couldn’t find the back of the net.

• On Saturday, SFU made the most of the few opportunities they were given, scoring two goals on three total shots. Senior forward Alan Soto chipped in his fourth goal of the season in the sixth minute and junior midfielder Mark Talisuna converted on a penalty kick to score the game-winner in the 39th minute.

• Goalkeeper Justyn Sandhu led the conference with eight saves last week. He ranks first in the GNAC and 22nd in Division II with a .806 save percentage.

• Simon Fraser will play its final road matches of the regular season this week in Western Oregon on Thursday and Saint Martin’s on Saturday.

WESTERN OREGON
• Western Oregon won its first conference match in program history on Sunday with a 2-0 shutout over Saint Martin’s in Monmouth after opening its week with a 3-1 loss at Northwest Nazarene on Thursday.

• The Wolves conceded an early goal to the Nighthawks on Thursday but bounced back in the 34th minute when Dauda Woodruff netted his second goal of the season to equalize going into halftime.

• In a rare Sunday matinee match, it was the leading freshmen of Alex Grignon and Abraham Villalobos who lifted Western Oregon to victory. Grignon netted the game-winner in the 27th minute while Villalobos added an insurance marker in the 68th minute. Goalkeeper Juan Suarez was well protected by the WOU defense, making one save to earn his second shutout of the season.

• Western Oregon will face Simon Fraser at home on Thursday before hitting the road to face Montana State Billings on Saturday.

WESTERN WASHINGTON
• Western Washington took a 2-0 win at home over Simon Fraser on Thursday in its only match of the week.

• The Vikings were evenly matched in shots with the Red Leafs with each side firing 11, but it was the Rotter brothers who led the way to victory for WWU.

• Sophomore forward and elder brother Andrew Rotter netted the game-winner in the 21st minute and freshman midfielder Ryan Rotter scored the insurance goal in the 59th minute.

• The Vikings remain just one point behind rivals NNU in the GNAC standings after picking up a win while the Nighthawks split their week.

• Western Washington will begin its final slate of regular season road matches on Thursday taking on Montana State Billings on Thursday and Seattle Pacific on Saturday.