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Northwest Nazarene freshman forward Jim Wagenaar made conference history last week, becoming the first player to score a hat trick in back-to-back games. | Photo by Cameron Duke/NNU Athletics Related Links
Tuesday, October 17, 2023 PORTLAND, Ore. – The next seven days of GNAC men’s soccer action have a lot to live up to after last week produced changes at the top of the conference standings and a historic performance to usher in the final month of the regular season. Last week saw Simon Fraser climb to the top of the league standings and be named the GNAC Team of the Week after taking a 3-1 win at Seattle Pacific and a 3-0 victory over Western Oregon to become the only undefeated team in conference play. Meanwhile in Billings, Northwest Nazarene’s Jim Wagenaar wrote himself into the record books as he became the first player in the 23-year history of the GNAC to record a hat trick in back-to-back games. This week sees Western Washington as the only team to remain home for two matches as it hosts Montana State Billings on Thursday and Northwest Nazarene on Saturday. Saint Martin’s will play host to Simon Fraser before the Red Leafs return home to host MSUB on Saturday. Western Oregon and Seattle Pacific both have a bye this week. The Wolves will host the Nighthawks on Thursday while the Falcons will host the Saints on Saturday.
TAKING SHAPE: With roughly one month of conference play remaining, the GNAC standings have finally begun to take shape. Simon Fraser (7-2-2, 4-0-1 GNAC) and Western Oregon (8-3-1, 4-1-1) sit atop the standings with 13 points apiece with the Red Leafs holding the top spot courtesy of a .727 overall winning percentage after handing the Wolves their first conference loss of the season, 3-0, last Sunday. Following the two squads are Seattle Pacific (4-5-2, 2-2-1) with seven points and Northwest Nazarene (4-5-2, 1-1-3) with six. Looking at the title fight as it stands, Simon Fraser is aiming for its eighth conference title and its first GNAC championship since 2018 when the Red Leafs went 11-1-0 in conference play. Western Oregon is in exceptional form during the second season in program history and has already significantly eclipsed its 1-10-1 conference record from last season in the pursuit of its first GNAC title.
The Red Leafs will look to carry an impressive goal-scoring form into their contests this week after netting 17 goals during their seven-match unbeaten streak. Freshman forward Koji Poon has solidly put himself on the watchlist for GNAC Freshman of the Year honors and leads the team while ranking second in the conference with 17 points on eight goals and one assist after adding a goal in each match last week. Poon is paired with the veteran presence of senior forward Devin O’Hea up front for SFU which has proven to be a lethal combination as the Red Leafs are tied for the GNAC lead with 1.91 goals per game. O’Hea has been unstoppable in conference competition, scoring a goal in each of SFU’s first five GNAC games and adding three assists just last week. He ranks second on the team and is tied for fourth in the conference with 14 points on the season. Senior goalkeeper Justyn Sandhu has balanced the scoring prowess of the Red Leafs with rock-solid defense, leading the GNAC and ranking 10th in Division II with a .849 save percentage. Sandhu has played every minute in net for SFU, also amassing a conference-leading five shutouts and 0.73 goals against average. Read More: Red-Hot Red Leafs Earn GNAC Team of the Week Honors HAT TRICK HERO STRIKES AGAIN: If there’s one thing to remember about Northwest Nazarene’s Jim Wagenaar, it’s that he can score goals. The freshman forward from Den Bosch, Netherlands made GNAC history last week recording the first back-to-back hat tricks in conference history. After scoring the first hat-trick of his career on Oct. 5 against Western Oregon, Wagenaar followed that up with his second-straight three-goal performance in NNU’s 4-0 victory over Montana State Billings last Thursday. Wagenaar added one more goal in the Nighthawks’ 2-2 draw with Saint Martin’s last Saturday to put the bow on his second straight GNAC Offensive Player of the Week award in what has already been a stunning freshman campaign. After last week’s performances, Wagenaar now leads the conference and ranks second in Division II with 1.10 goals per game. He also leads the conference and ranks seventh in the division with 2.30 points per game.
Northwest Nazarene (3-4-4, 1-1-3) heads into this week looking to capitalize on Wagenaar’s momentum as it travels to face Western Oregon (7-2-2, 4-1-1) on Thursday and Western Washington (4-5-2, 1-3-1) on Saturday. ONE FOR THE WOLVES: Western Oregon (7-2-2, 4-1-1) will be at home for its lone game of the week as it hosts Northwest Nazarene (3-4-4, 1-1-3) on Thursday. After beating Western Washington 2-1 last Thursday, WOU’s six-game unbeaten streak came to an end last Saturday with a 3-0 loss to Simon Fraser. The Western Oregon roster features two of the top-10 scorers in the conference in junior forward Gabriel Silva and junior forward/midfielder Alejandro Velasco. Silva ranks third in the GNAC with 15 points on six goals and three assists while Velasco is tied for sixth with 13 points courtesy of six goals and one assist. Both players are tied for third in the conference in total goals. Freshman midfielder Yahir Ocampo has been the top offensive facilitator in the GNAC this season, leading WOU and the conference with five assists. Defensively, senior goalkeeper Juan Suarez has continued his strong play in net. Suarez leads the GNAC with 60 saves and ranks second in the conference with a .779 save percentage. His three shutouts are also tied for third in the GNAC.
BELLINGHAM BECKONS: Western Washington (4-5-2, 1-3-1) will be back home this week after taking a pair of road losses last week. The Vikings will host Montana State Billings (4-6-1, 1-4-0) on Thursday before taking on Northwest Nazarene (3-4-4, 1-1-3) on Saturday. The Vikings’ offense has been led by sophomore forward Albin Jonsson with 11 points on five goals and one assist. Joining Jonsson as multi-goal-scorers are brothers Ryan and Andrew Rotter with two goals apiece. Ryan Rotter holds the slim points advantage between the two with a pair of assists while Andrew has one. In net, Brandon Locke ranks second in the conference with four shutouts and a 1.00 goals against average.
Montana State Billings comes into Bellingham looking to snap a three-match skid and overhaul WWU in the GNAC standings. Junior forward Kamden Beck scored his first goal of the season last week to give MSUB an early lead in its 3-1 loss to Seattle Pacific last Thursday. The Yellowjackets continue to be led by sophomore forward Ty Vohland with 11 points on five goals and one assist. MARCH TO THE EMERALD CITY: Saint Martin’s (3-5-2, 1-3-1) will host Simon Fraser (7-2-2, 4-0-1) on Thursday before traveling to face Seattle Pacific (3-4-4, 2-2-1) for the Falcons’ lone match this week. The Saint Martin’s offense has been led by junior midfielder Arjun Gill with five points courtesy of two goals and an assist. Gill netted both of those goals last week in SMU’s come-back 2-2 draw with Northwest Nazarene to earn the Saints a valuable point in the GNAC standings and keep them level with Western Washington on four points. Junior goalkeeper Nick Mueller has been one of the busiest goalies in Division II this season, leading the conference and ranking No. 11 in the division with 5.60 saves per game. Mueller has notched three shutouts this season and owns a .778 save percentage. Seattle Pacific has had few issues scoring goals, outscoring conference opponents 8-7 this season, but still finds itself searching for more points. The offense has been headed by standout newcomer Raymundo Mendez who leads the team with six goals and two assists for 14 points to tie for fourth in the GNAC. Sophomore forward Orlando Erazo has also been rounding into form during the conference slate and ranks second on the team with 13 points on six goals and one assist. Erazo has notched seven of his 13 points against GNAC competition.
Ryan Rotter, Western Washington The third brother in the Rotter family to don the navy and white of Western Washington, Ryan Rotter has been one of the top offensive players for the Vikings this season. The sophomore midfielder from Auburn, Wash., ranks second on the team with six points to match his freshman points haul after notching two goals and two assists. Rotter has played in every match of the season and has started nine. Rotter tallied his first point of the season, an assist, in Western Washington’s 3-0 non-conference win over Colorado Mines on Sept. 14. He followed that up with another helper in WWU’s 2-0 victory over Regis two days later. Rotter scored his first goal of the season on Oct. 5 in the Vikings’ 2-0 win over Seattle Pacific, putting the game beyond doubt in the 69th minute. He then scored Western Washington’s lone goal in a 2-1 loss to Western Oregon last Thursday on an assist from his brother Andrew Rotter. Western Washington will hope the points keep flowing from the youngest Rotter on the squad as the Vikings host Montana State Billings and Northwest Nazarene this week.
The seventh United Soccer Coaches Division II rankings of the season came out on Oct. 17 with no GNAC teams featuring in the top 25.
Team Rankings (Top-30)
Assists Per Game: 18. WOU, 2.18; 25. SFU, 1.91 Game-Winning Goals: 6. Koji Poon, SFU, 4; 14. Albin Jonsson, WWU, 3; 14. Jim Wagenaar, NNU, 3
Oct. 16 GNAC Men's Soccer Players of the Week Offensive: Jim Wagenaar, Northwest Nazarene One hat trick wasn’t enough for Wagenaar, who became the first player in GNAC history to achieve the feat in back-to-back games when he netted three goals in NNU’s 4-0 blanking of Montana State Billings on Thursday. The reigning GNAC Men’s Soccer Offensive Player of the Week doubled down on the award adding a fourth goal for good measure in Saturday’s 2-2 draw at Saint Martin’s. Wagenaar bolstered his case for GNAC Freshman of the Year by upping his goals total to a conference-leading 11 – eight of which have come in the Nighthawks’ five conference matches this fall. Also Nominated: Arjun Gill, SMU; Cameron Yriondo, SPU; Devin O’Hea, SFU. Defensive: Justyn Sandhu, Simon Fraser Perhaps the league’s top statistical goalkeeper, Sandhu leads the conference in goals-against average (0.73), save percentage (.849) and shutouts with five. With his seven stops last week the senior upped his season save tally to 45 and 4.09 per game, which both rank third in the conference. “In the way we want to play, you need somebody in goal who is technically proficient and can play out of the back,” said Schneider. “We like to take risks and go forward, and we want our guys to be free to go score. If you don’t have the confidence in your goalkeeping and defenders, that changes. Justyn is that kind of guy - he is very even-keel and he has high demands for himself as we have high demands for him. We talk about the different areas he can improve upon every week, because his aspirations for playing are far beyond SFU. His focus is here, but it’s our job to make sure we are preparing him for the next level.” Also Nominated: Nick Mueller, SMU; Cam Welty, SPU. |
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