Wednesday, October 11, 2017

THIS WEEK'S GNAC PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
OFFENSE
Madi Taylor, Northwest Nazarene
M • 5-4 • Junior • Lewiston, Idaho
Taylor scored three goals in a pair of home victories. She scored two goals in the Crusaders’ 3-0 shutout of Central Washington, tallying in the 14th and 61st minutes. Taylor then netted the golden goal game-winner just 54 seconds into overtime for a 1-0 victory over Seattle Pacific.

Also Nominated: Sydney Van Steenberge (Concordia), Alycia Wright (Montana State Billings), Lauren Allison (Saint Martin’s), Sydney Thomas (Western Oregon), Gabriela Pelogi (Western Washington).

DEFENSE
Kasey Ames, Concordia
M • 5-9 • Junior • Liberty Lake, Wash.
Ames keyed the Cavaliers’ defense in a pair of shutout victories at Tuominen Yard. She anchored a defense that allowed Saint Martin’s just four shots, two on goal, and scored a 49th-minute goal, in a 4-0 shutout on Thursday. Ames then keyed the defense in the Cavaliers’ 3-0 shutout of Simon Fraser on Saturday.

Also Nominated: Cassandra Clarke (Northwest Nazarene), Ali Koehler (Saint Martin’s), Caitlin Kastelic (Western Oregon), Emily Webster (Western Washington).

AROUND THE GNAC
CENTRAL WASHINGTON
LAST WEEK: Lost 3-0 at Northwest Nazarene. Lost 2-0 vs. Western Oregon.
THIS WEEK: Oct. 12 at Seattle Pacific, noon. Oct. 14 at Simon Fraser, 3 p.m.
• Central Washington fell to Northwest Nazarene 3-0 in in GNAC action last Thursday.
• Northwest Nazarene opened the scoring in the 12th minute after Rikki Myers converted her opportunity inside the 18-yard box.
• Less than two minutes later, NNU’s Madi Taylor converted her penalty kick to give the Crusaders a 2-0 cushion.
• The Wildcats later fell to Western Oregon 2-0 on Saturday.
• Central Washington generated early chances, firing off 11 shots before the Wolves were able to attempt their first chance, which was eventually turned away by CWU goalkeeper Emily Holt.
• Emmi Seelbach nearly broke the scoreless tie with a pair of shots that both hit the post. Mackenzie Nolte and Sophia Keenan’s first-half shot attempts were stymied by Wolves’ goalkeeper Caitlin Kastelic in the first 11 minutes.
• Nolte ranks second in the GNAC with 43 shots while Whitney Lowe ranks fourth with 36. Holt ranks second in the conference with 64 saves, averaging 6.40 per match.
• The Wildcats visit Seattle Pacific this Thursday and finish the week at Simon Fraser.

CONCORDIA
LAST WEEK: Won 4-0 at Saint Martin's. Won 3-0 vs. Simon Fraser.
THIS WEEK: Oct. 12 vs. Northwest Nazarene, 4 p.m. Oct. 14 at Montana State Billings.
• Concordia will look to extend its seven-match unbeaten streak this week as CU faces Northwest Nazarene and Montana State Billings.
• After recording back-to-back shutouts this past weekend, the Cavaliers are in second place, five points behind No. 3 Western Washington.
• Concordia started its week with a 4-0 win at Western Oregon last Thursday. The Cavaliers outshot the hosts 29-4. Kyra Radcliffe, Quinn Williams, Kasey Ames and Sydney Van Steenberge each found the scoresheet.
• The Cavaliers finished their week with a 3-0 home win over Simon Fraser on Saturday afternoon. Goalkeeper Shannon Peth recorded her second-straight shutout with two saves.
• Since the start of GNAC play, the Cavaliers have recorded five shutouts and have outscored its opponents 14-1. Concordia has not lost a match since Sept. 13.
• Defensive midfielder Ames was awarded the GNAC Women’s Defensive Player of the Week after leading the Cavs to a 2-0 week.
• Van Steenberge leads the team with five goals and 11 points.
• The Cavaliers host fourth-place Northwest Nazarene this Thursday and travel to Billings to take on the Yellowjackets at 2 p.m. on Saturday.

MONTANA STATE BILLINGS
LAST WEEK: Won 4-1 vs. Simon Fraser. Lost 2-0 vs. Saint Martin's.
THIS WEEK: Oct. 12 vs. Western Oregon, 2 p.m. Oct. 14 vs. Concordia, 2 p.m.
• Montana State Billings’ final two home matches will be played this week against Oregon GNAC foes Western Oregon and Concordia.
• Saturday will be senior day at Yellowjacket Field, with MSUB’s lone senior Jessica Spang being honored in the pregame ceremony.
• The Yellowjackets split a pair of conference matches last week, defeating Simon Fraser 4-1 last Thursday before falling to Saint Martin’s 2-0 two days later.
• Putting together the best performance of her career on Thursday, junior Alycia Wright stole the show with a hat trick and an assist in MSUB’s triumph over Simon Fraser. The goals gave Wright a team-high five goals and 11 points. She also ranks tied for eighth in the GNAC in points and is tied for seventh in goals.
• Finding the net for the first time this season in the win over Simon Fraser was Spang, who has made five consecutive starts since missing the first five matches through injury. Spang also had an assist on Wright’s first goal, upping her career tally to nine goals and nine assists for 27 points.
• MSUB is 0-2-2 all-time against Concordia all-time. The ‘Jackets have never scored a goal against the Cavaliers.

NORTHWEST NAZARENE
LAST WEEK: Won 3-0 vs. Central Washington. Won 1-0 vs. Seattle Pacific.
THIS WEEK: Oct. 12 at Concordia, 4 p.m. Oct. 14 vs. Western Oregon, 12:30 p.m.
• After shutting out its two opponents this week and tying the most conference victories in its Division II program history, the Northwest Nazarene women’s soccer team earned this week’s GNAC/Red Lion Team of the Week honor.
• The Crusaders began the week with a convincing 3-0 home win against Central Washington. In the 12th minute, Rikki Meyers scored her fifth goal of the season after finishing her breakaway chance to open the scoring. Reigning GNAC Women’s Offensive Player of the Week, Madi Taylor, closed out the match with a pair of goals to give Northwest Nazarene its seventh win of the season.
• Northwest Nazarene finished the week strong after Taylor’s golden goal 54 seconds into overtime sunk Seattle Pacific 1-0 to improve the Crusaders to 8-4-0. The victory also tied a women’s soccer school record for most wins in a conference season (5) since the Crusaders joined the GNAC in 2002.
• The pair of wins moved Northwest Nazarene up to third in the GNAC standings with a 5-2-0 conference record. Blanking both opponents this week, the Crusaders are tied for first with No. 3 Western Washington with seven shutouts this season and rank 23rd in Division II with .583 shutouts per game.
• Crusader goalkeeper Danielle Ortiz ranks third in the GNAC with a 0.80 goals against average and is second with a .814 save percentage. Taylor’s team-high six goals rank tied for third in the GNAC.
• The Crusaders travel to Portland, Ore., next week to take on second-place Concordia, in what could be a possible preview of a GNAC Championships’ tournament matchup in November. NNU finishes the week at home against Western Oregon on Sat., Oct. 14.

SAINT MARTIN'S
LAST WEEK: Lost 4-0 vs. Concordia. Won 2-0 at Montana State Billings. Lost 4-0 at Western Washington.
THIS WEEK: Oct. 14 vs. Seattle Pacific, 1 p.m.
• Ali Koehler recorded a season-high 13 saves in Saint Martin’s 4-0 loss to Concordia to end their four-game homestand Thursday.
• On Saturday, goals by Tiare Kahalewai and Lauren Allison earned Saint Martin’s its first win of the season against Montana State Billings 2-0. The victory marked the first win under first-year head coach Heather Cato.
• Koehler earned her first clean sheet of the season with six saves against 16 shots.
• Playing in the sole GNAC women’s soccer match on Tuesday, the Saints fell 4-0 to defending Division II champion No. 3 Western Washington. Sara Christensen produced a season-high 11 saves in the match.
• Saint Martin’s leads the league in saves with 104. Koehler leads the GNAC and ranks 9th in Division II with 8.11 saves per game.
• The Saints’ lone match of the week occurs this Saturday, as they host Seattle Pacific at 1 p.m.

SEATTLE PACIFIC
LAST WEEK: Lost 1-0 at Western Washington. Lost 1-0 at Northwest Nazarene.
THIS WEEK: Oct. 12 vs. Central Washington, noon. Oct. 14 at Saint Martin's, 1 p.m.
• The Falcons were shutout 1-0 in their two matches last week against No. 3 Western Washington and Northwest Nazarene.
• Those were the fifth back-to-back shutouts in program history. The Falcons have never gone scoreless in three-straight games in program history.
• Of their 11 matches this season, 10 have been decided by a one-goal margin.
• Kasey Reeve leads the team with six goals and is tied for first in the GNAC with four-game winners.
• Senior goalkeeper Molly Stinson has amassed 48 saves in 11 appearances this season. Her current career total of 260 saves is just 11 shy of Jennifer Hull’s (2001-04) SPU record of 271.
• Seattle Pacific seeks to return to the NCAA Division II Tournament for the 15th-straight year. The Falcons won the 2008 national championship and advanced to the Final Four on three occasions (2005, 2007, 2008).Their current run of 14 consecutive playoff appearances is tied for the longest active streak among Division II women’s soccer teams.
• Ending its four-game road trip, the Falcons return home this Thursday to face Central Washington. Seattle Pacific plays its final road match of the season two days later in Lacey, Wash., against Saint Martin’s. SPU finishes the season with three-straight home games.

SIMON FRASER
LAST WEEK: Lost 4-1 at Montana State Billings. Lost 3-0 at Concordia.
THIS WEEK: Oct. 12 vs. Western Washington, 5 p.m. Oct. 14 vs. Central Washington 3 p.m.
• Simon Fraser had its three-game win streak snapped after losing 4-1 to Montana State Billings on Thursday.
• Forward Emma Pringle, who had scored seven goals during the three-game win streak and was named the United Soccer Coaches Division II Women’s Player of the Week last week, was held to just two shots on goal. Pringle is tied for ninth in Division II with 11 goals this season.
• In their Saturday matchup at Concordia, the Clan couldn’t muster any offense as they fell 3-0 to the Cavaliers at Tuominen Yard.
•Simon Fraser placed two of their six shots on target but could not find the net after scoring 12 goals during their previous three-game win streak.
• Jenna Baxter leads the GNAC with eight assists and ranks fourth in Division II with 0.73 assists per game.
• Simon Fraser begins a four-game homestand this week, hosting No. 3 Western Washington on Thursday and Central Washington this Saturday.

WESTERN OREGON
LAST WEEK: Won 2-0 at Central Washington.
THIS WEEK: Oct. 12 at Montana State Billings, 2 p.m. Oct. 14 at Northwest Nazarene, 12:30 p.m.
• The Wolves posted its second shutout of the season with a 2-0 win at Central Washington in their only match of the week. Sydney Thomas scored for the Wolves 29 seconds into the second half while Meli Cortez netted in the 58th minute.
• Goalkeeper Caitlin Kastelic stopped six shots en route to Western Oregon’s second road win of the season.
• Three of WOU’s 10 matches this season have gone to overtime. All three matches have been at home.
• Seven different WOU players have scored a goal this season. Alyssa Tomasini and Cortez are tied for the team lead with two. The team’s six assists have come from five different players. Alexie Morris has a team-high two assists.
• Kastelic has played all 945 minutes for the Wolves between the sticks. Kastelic is averaging a .696 save percentage and is third in the GNAC with 55 saves this season.
• Western Oregon closes out its four-game road trip with a visit to Montana State Billings this Thursday and third-place Northwest Nazarene on Saturday.

WESTERN WASHINGTON
LAST WEEK: Won 1-0 vs. Seattle Pacific. Won 4-0 vs. Saint Martin's.
THIS WEEK: Oct. 12 at Simon Fraser, 5 p.m.
•  Western Washington’s Gabriela Pelogi netted her team-leading 10th goal of the season in the Vikings’ 1-0 win over Seattle Pacific last Thursday.
• In the only GNAC women’s match yesterday, Karli White scored an early goal to lift the Vikings to a 4-0 win over Saint Martin’s.
• Freshman Zoe Milburn, freshman Darby Doyle, and sophomore Jordyn Bartelson added second-half goals to seal the win. Bartelson also recorded two assists.
• With the victory, WWU extended its current winning streak to 35 consecutive games (4th-longest in Division II history) and unbeaten streak to 36 consecutive games (5th-longest in Division II history).
• The Vikings are also undefeated in its last 60 games against GNAC opponents (54-0-6), making the streak the third-longest in Division II history. Western Washington has also won its last 29 home games to tie for the 9th-longest streak in Division II history.
• Western Washington is fifth in Division II with 9.90 points per match and is eighth in scoring offense with 3.30 goals per game. The Vikings are sixth in the nation with 33 assists.
• The Vikings lead all GNAC teams in shots (249), points (99), goals (33), goals allowed (3), shutouts (7) and assists (33).
• WWU hosts second-place Seattle Pacific this Thursday at 5 p.m.