Wednesday, September 18, 2019

THIS WEEK'S GNAC PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

OFFENSE
Rikki Myers, Northwest Nazarene
F • 5-7 • Junior • Mill Creek, Wash.

Myers scored four goals for a total of eight points in the Nighthawks’ 6-2 victory over Cal State East Bay. She also scored a goal in NNU’s 2-1 win over Hawaii Hilo. Her four-goal performance broke a GNAC individual game-high record.

Also Nominated: Kyra Radcliffe (Concordia), Kiersten Madsen (Saint Martin’s), Jenna Killman (Western Washington).

DEFENSE
Natalie Dierickx, Western Washington
GK • 5-7 • Junior • Kirkland, Wash.

Dierickx recorded a clean sheet with three saves on three shots on goal in the Vikings 1-0 win over Sonoma State, a team that is ranked fourth in the West Region Rankings.

Also Nominated: Erinn Harder (Montana State Billings), Sophie Mendoza (Saint Martin’s), Nicole Anderson (Simon Fraser).

AROUND THE GNAC

CENTRAL WASHINGTON

• Central Washington went 1-1 in Week 2 and stand with an overall record of 2-3. The Wildcats beat Cal State East Bay 1-0 in Nampa, Idaho then lost 4-2 to Hawaii Hilo on Saturday.

• Olivia Sloan knocked in the lone goal in CWU’s 1-0 win over Cal State East Bay at the beginning of the second half off an assist from Emily Russell.

• Goalkeeper Megan Fox recorded five saves on five shots on goal to secure the win.

• Sloan and Sydney Lowe scored goals for CWU in the 4-2 loss to Hawaii Hilo.

• CWU ranks third in the GNAC with seven goals, 19 points and five assists.

• Sloan is tied for second in the GNAC with three goals. Lowe is tied for fourth in the GNAC with two goals.

• CWU already played their only match of the week, losing 3-2 to Hawaii Pacific at home.

CONCORDIA

• Concordia picked up its first win of the season with a 3-1 victory over Humboldt State. The Cavs then dropped a 2-0 game to Biola to end the week with a 1-3-0 record.

• Kyra Radcliffe scored a pair of goals in the Cavs convincing win over Humboldt State. The two goals were scored in just 49 minutes played.

• Jaida Nyby scored the third goal for the Cavs in the 3-1 win.

• Hailey Asato recorded six saves on nine shots on goal in the Cavs’ two games in Week 2.

• The Cavs are ranked third in the GNAC in saves with 17 and fourth in the GNAC with 1.25 goals per game.

• Up next, the Cavs will host Cal State Dominguez Hills at 7 p.m. on Thursday in Portland, Oregon. They will then travel to Bellingham, Washington, to play Texas Woman’s at noon on Saturday.

MONTANA STATE BILLINGS

• Montana State Billings opened the week with a 3-3 2OT draw with Cal State Dominguez Hills on Monday. The Yellowjackets followed with another 2OT tie with Carroll on Thursday before dropping a 1-0 game to Mary at home.

• Alexa Iacolucci, Haley German and Lindsey Meyer all scored goals in the 3-3 tie with the Toros.

• Goalkeeper Abby Hamilton kept MSUB in the game with six saves, playing all 110 minutes. Hamilton recorded another three saves in the loss to Mary.

• In the tie with Carroll, Erinn Harder had goalkeeping responsibilities and made four saves on four shots on goal by Carroll.

• MSUB is ranked second in the GNAC with 19 saves and two shutouts. Harder is one of three GNAC goalkeepers to record a shutout.

• MSUB already played its one match of the week, picking up a much-needed 2-0 win over Minot State in Minot, North Dakota. The Yellowjackets’ record now stands at 1-2-2.

NORTHWEST NAZARENE

• Northwest Nazarene is coming off of an incredible week, winning two wins over Hawaii Hilo (2-1) and Cal State East Bay (6-2).

• Junior forward Rikki Myers broke a GNAC individual single match record by scoring four goals in NNU’s 6-2 win over Cal State East Bay. Myers also scored the opening goal in the 2-1 win over Hawaii Hilo. She earned GNAC Offensive Player of the Week honors.

• Maddy Parton tallied three assists in the Nighthawks’ two games. All three assists were to Myers.

• Alexis Montoya recorded 11 saves on 15 shots on goal in the two wins.

• NNU is ranked 19th in Division II in both goals and assists. The Nighthawks also top the GNAC in goals, assists and points.

• Myers is ranked first in the GNAC with 10 points and five goals.

• With the two wins and Myers’ historic performance, NNU earned GNAC Team of the Week honors.

• NNU will play Cal Poly Pomona at 2 p.m. on Thursday then will play at 1:30 at Point Loma on Saturday. Both games are in San Diego, California.

SAINT MARTIN'S

• Saint Martin’s tied with Humboldt State, 0-0, in its only game of the week on Saturday in Portland, Oregon.

• The Saints’ defense allowed 16 shots and seven shots on goal by Humboldt State, but goalkeeping kept the Saints alive.

• Ali Campigotto and Sophie Mendoza shared goalkeeping responsibilities in the 0-0 tie. The duo combined for seven saves on seven shots on goal.

• Saint Martin’s ranks first in the GNAC with 24 saves.

• Campigotto ranks second in the GNAC with a 0.44 goals against average.

• Saint Martin’s beat Whitman 2-1 in OT on Monday. The Saints are scheduled to  stay at home to play Warner Pacific at 2 p.m. on Thursday then Hawaii Pacific at 1 p.m. on Saturday.

SEATTLE PACIFIC

• Seattle Pacific snagged a 1-0 win over Biola before dropping a 1-0 game to Sonoma State at home.

• Claire Neder scored the only goal in the 1-0 win over Biola.

• Riley Travis picked up four saves on four shots on goal by Biola. She recorded another four saves in the loss to Sonoma State.

• The Falcon defense allowed just six total shots by Biola during the match. SPU outshot the Eagles 18-6.

• SPU ranks third in the GNAC with a 0.99 goals against average. Travis ranks fourth in the GNAC with 13 saves.

• The Falcons begin a road trip to San Diego on Thursday. SPU will play Cal Poly Pomona at 2 p.m. then will play at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday at Point Loma.

SIMON FRASER

• Simon Fraser finally opened its season on Saturday with a 0-0 draw at Cal State San Marcos. It was the only match that the Clan had in Week 2.

• The Clan had just three shots and one shot on goal in the tie with Cal State San Marcos.

• Cal State San Marcos recorded 16 shots, but only four were on goal. SFU’s Nicole Anderson saved all four of those shots on goal.

• The Clan dropped a 3-0 game to then No. 3 UC San Diego on Monday. SFU is scheduled to travel to California to play at Sonoma State at 4:30 p.m. on Friday then at Stanislaus State at noon on Sunday.

WESTERN OREGON

• Western Oregon lost its one game last week at Cal State Monterey Bay by a score of 1-0 in OT.

• The Wolves tallied nine shots and five shots on goal, but the Cal State Monterey Bay goalkeeper had five saves in the match.

• WOU’s Alex Qualls recorded four saves on five shots on goal in the 1-0 OT loss.

• The Wolves are second in the GNAC with eight goals, six assists and 22 points.

• Alyssa Tomasini is tied for second in the GNAC and is ranked 34th in Division II with three goals on the season.

• The Wolves already tied with Academy of Art, 2-2 on Monday. Up next, WOU will stay at home and host Hawaii Pacific at 3 p.m. on Thursday and Cal State Dominguez Hills at 11 a.m. on Saturday.

WESTERN WASHINGTON

• Western Washington’s late-game heroics from Week 1 rolled into Week 2. In the Vikings’ Thursday night game against Sonoma State, the game was tied until Jenna Killman punched in the game-winning goal in the 89th minute, just before time expired.

• The Vikings had 25 shots and 10 shots on goal in the 1-0 win over Sonoma State. The Viking defense only allowed three shots on goal by the Seawolves.

• Natalie Dierickx earned GNAC Defensive Player of the Week honors after recording a clean sheet with three saves on three shots on goal. Dierickx opened her junior season with three consecutive shutouts, playing all 270 minutes.

• The Vikings keep climbing the national rankings, making the jump from No. 9 to No. 7 in this week’s United Soccer Coaches Poll.

• WWU dropped a heartbreaking 1-0 overtime match to Cal State LA on Monday. It was the team’s first loss of the season. Up next, the Vikings will host Texas Woman’s at 7 p.m. on Thursday in Bellingham, Washington.