WE HAVE LIFTOFF: The GNAC men’s soccer schedule got underway last week with six of the seven teams earning at least one point. Western Oregon and Northwest Nazarene both emerged from the first week of conference play undefeated courtesy of 1-0-1 records to sit at the top of the GNAC standings after wins on Saturday. The draw was the most popular way for teams to earn points last week, with half of last week’s matches ending in a stalemate.

SPLIT TIME: This week will be a busy one on the road as no team has the luxury of playing two games at home. Northwest Nazarene, Saint Martin’s and Western Washington will all begin the week on home soil before SMU and WWU both hit the road. Montana State Billings will be the only team to play two matches on the road as it faces Saint Martin’s on Thursday and Seattle Pacific on Saturday. Northwest Nazarene and Simon Fraser each have a bye this week.

EASY MATH: The offensive production has been outstanding around the conference to start the season. After the first week of conference play, five players from five different programs all own double-digit points totals led by WOU’s Alejandro Velasco with 13. Montana State Billings’ Ty Vohland, Western Washington’s Albin Jonsson and Simon Fraser’s Koji Poon are all tied for second in the GNAC with 10 points and Seattle Pacific’s Raymundo Mendez checks in at No. 5 with 10.

NEW FANG VS. CONFERENCE CHAMPS: Western Oregon (4-2-1, 1-0-1 GNAC) is tied atop the GNAC standings with four points after drawing 2-2 with Simon Fraser and taking a 2-0 win over Montana State Billings last week. The Wolves will face defending GNAC champion Northwest Nazarene (2-3-3, 0-0-2) on the road for one of their biggest tests of the season so far.

The matchup will see the two reigning conference players of the week go head-to-head. Western Oregon junior forward/midfielder Alejandro Velasco comes into the week after earning GNAC Offensive Player of the Week honors by scoring three goals and adding an assist in two matches last week. Two of Velasco’s goals came within a minute, lifting WOU from a 2-0 deficit to a 2-2 draw with SFU last Thursday. Velasco now leads the Wolves and the GNAC with 13 points on six goals and one assist. His six goals also rank 24th in Division II.

Senior Northwest Nazarene goalkeeper Sawyer Price comes into the week on the back of his sixth-career GNAC Defensive Player of the Week award. Price has been one of the top goalkeepers in the conference this season, ranking second in the GNAC with a .821 save percentage and third with a 0.88 goals against average. He also ranks fourth in the conference with 32 total saves.

Like the two squads’ player of the week recipients, the meeting in Nampa will showcase one of the top offensive teams in the conference in WOU, while NNU represents one of the best defensive teams. Western Oregon leads the GNAC with 40 points and 13 goals and will be up against a Northwest Nazarene defense that ranks third in the conference with just seven goals allowed and a 0.88 goals against average.

THE ROAD CALLS: After one match at home to open conference play, Montana State Billings (3-3-1, 0-1-0) will hit the road for a pair of matches this week. The Yellowjackets will travel to face Saint Martin’s (3-3-1, 1-1-0) on Thursday and remain in Washington to take on Seattle Pacific (2-3-2, 0-0-1) on Saturday.

The Yellowjackets dropped a 2-0 decision to WOU and will look to tally their first points of the season on the road where they own an undefeated 2-0-0 record. Offensively, MSUB has been led by sophomore Ty Vohland with five goals and one assist while senior goalkeeper Jeremi Campagnolo has amassed a .672 save percentage against 80 shots through seven starts.

Montana State Billings’ match against Saint Martin’s will mark the first time this season that the Saints play in front of a home crowd. The Saints opened GNAC play by upsetting preseason favorite Western Washington with a 1-0 win in Bellingham last Thursday before falling 5-0 at Simon Fraser. Freshman midfielder Xander Koenig tallied the game-winner against WWU for SMU with his second goal of the season in the 88th minute. Koenig now leads the team with four points and ranks ninth in the GNAC with 0.40 goals per game.

After Lacey, MSUB will make the trip to Seattle to face the Falcons who opened their conference slate with a 1-1 draw at Northwest Nazarene. It was none other than junior transfer Raymundo Mendez who tied the game up for SPU in the 49th minute last week with his team-leading fourth goal of the season. Mendez leads the Falcons and ranks fifth in the GNAC with 10 points.

In net, freshman goalkeeper Mitchell Wilson has gone undefeated for the Falcons through three starts with a 1-0-2 record. Wilson was in net for SPU’s conference opener last week against NNU where he made a pair of saves to help secure Seattle Pacific’s first point of the season. 

BORDER BATTLE: Preseason favorites Simon Fraser (4-2-2, 1-0-1) and Western Washington (3-3-2, 0-1-1) will face off in Burnaby on Saturday for the first time this season. The Red Leafs will come into the match relatively fresh while the Vikings will also host Seattle Pacific on Thursday. Simon Fraser opened conference play with a 2-2 draw at Western Oregon last Thursday before exploding for five goals in a 5-0 victory over Saint Martin’s at home. Western Washington comes into the week off the back of a 0-0 draw with Northwest Nazarene.

The Red Leafs offense has been led by freshman forward Koji Poon who is tied for second in the conference with 11 points. Poon has started all eight matches of his debut season, notching five goals and one assist, including a brace in last Saturday’s 5-0 win.

 Senior defender Niko Papakyriakopoulos was also a key part of that victory, assisting on three of the five goals to give him four helpers on the year while leading a defense that didn’t allow a single shot on goal. Senior goalkeeper Justyn Sandhu has remained strong in net, leading the GNAC and ranking 12th in Division II with a .846 save percentage and four shutouts.

Western Washington is still looking for its first goal of the conference slate and will look toward team points lead Albin Jonsson to head up the attack. Jonsson is also tied for second in the GNAC with 11 points courtesy of five goals and one assist. He found the back of the net most recently while scoring a brace in WWU’s 2-0 win over Regis on Sept. 16. Defensively, senior goalkeeper Brandon Locke has been excellent for the Vikings and is tied for the conference lead with a 0.75 goals against average. Locke also ranks fifth in the GNAC with a .769 save percentage.

Bjarne Fedkenhauer, Montana State Billings

Fedkenhauer has been impressive in his sophomore campaign for MSUB, already just one point shy of his freshman season points total. The sophomore from Ahrensburg, Germany started every match last season and has picked up right where he left off, starting six of MSUB’s seven games this year. He has been a key part of the Yellowjackets’ passing play in 2023, notching three assists to lead the team and tie for second in the GNAC.

Fedkenhauer picked up his first helper of the year in MSUB’s regular-season opener against South Dakota Mines on Sept. 1, finding teammate Kolja Thomas to contribute on the game-winning goal in the 2-1 victory.  He added two more assists in a high offense contest against Texas A&M International on Sept. 8. Fedkenhauer and Montana State Billings will be on the road this week, facing Saint Martin’s on Thursday and Seattle Pacific on Saturday.

The fifth United Soccer Coaches Division II rankings of the season came out on Oct. 3 with no GNAC teams featuring in the top 25.