Tuesday, November 23, 2021

PORTLAND, Ore. – On the heels of their GNAC championship and the program’s first appearance in the Division II playoffs since 2015, a pair of Seattle Pacific players lead the conference’s selections to the Division 2 Conference Commissioners Association’s (D2CCA) All-West Region Team.

Senior forward Alex Mejia and senior defender Nik Reierson both earned first-team accolades after leading the Falcons to a 12-4-2 overall record. The tandem was joined on the first team by Western Washington senior midfielder Drew Farnsworth.

Montana State Billings junior forward Halil Yilmaz was named to the second team as were a trio of Simon Fraser players: junior midfielder Conrad Cheng, sophomore midfielder Mark Talisuna and freshman defender Simone Masi. All seven players were First Team All-GNAC selections.

The unanimous selection for GNAC Player of the Year, Mejia finished the season with 14 goals, which ranks 10th in Division II. He scored 12 times in the Falcons’ first 11 matches, which included a hat trick at Saint Martin’s on October 9. Mejia also ranks third in Division II in shots on goal per match (6), 12th in goals per match (0.78), 13th in shot accuracy (.611) and 24th in points per match (1.67).

Reierson helped anchor a Seattle Pacific defense that allowed just over a goal per match. On the season, SPU outscored its opponents 37-19. Reierson started 17 of 18 possible matches and played 1,532 minutes on the backline, second-most on the team, and finished two goals and four assists.

Farnsworth was one of the primary creators for Western Washington. He finished the season with seven goals, including the overtime game-winner against Simon Fraser on October 9. He also finished with three assists and 17 points and was tied for third in the conference with 49 shots.

Yilmaz finished second in the conference in most offensive stats, including goals (11), points (23) and shots (51). He scored hat tricks in both the first match of the season and the first conference match of the season, tallying three against Texas A&M-International on September 2 and another three against Seattle Pacific on October 2.

Cheng, the conference Newcomer of the Year, played 738 minutes for Simon Fraser this season and finished with three goals. His .636 shots on goal percentage was the best of any SFU regular starter. Talisuna and Masi both placed key roles with a Simon Fraser defense that allowed 1.23 goals against this season.

Mejia, Reierson and Farnsworth are now eligible for consideration on the D2CCA Men’s Soccer All-America Team, which will be announced on Tuesday, December 7.