Wednesday, September 5, 2018

The 2018 women's soccer season is off and running with a handful of teams already making a name for themselves. Three GNAC schools enter week two with a perfect record still intact, while another two are ranked nationally inside the top-25. 

Northwest Nazarene finds itself on top of the table after playing, and winning, three straight matches. The Nighthawks tied their best start in program history on Monday, blowing out Minnesota Crookston for a 5-0 victory. 

Non-conference play continues to roll on this week with 19 matches scheduled for week two. The slate is highlighted by a top-15 showdown on Saturday night in Bellingham, Wash., where No. 7 Metro State will meet 11th-ranked Western Washington.

THIS WEEK'S GNAC PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

OFFENSE
Kiersten Madsen (Saint Martin’s, M, 5-9, So., Auburn, Wash. – Thomas Jefferson)
Madsen scored two goals and had an assist as the Saints posted their first 2-0-0 start since 2008. She scored the game-tying goal and had an assist on the game-winner in a 3-1 victory at Corban on Thursday. Madsen then added an insurance goal in the Saints’ 4-0 shutout at home over Northwest Christian on Saturday.

Also Nominated: Makinzie Packwood (Central Washington), Sydney Van Steenberge (Concordia), Amanda Grimshaw (Montana State Billings), Kaisa Tsuruta (Northwest Nazarene), Kasey Reeve (Seattle Pacific), Jenna-lee Baxter (Simon Fraser), Isabelle Creighton (Western Oregon).

DEFENSE
Julia DeVere (Seattle Pacific, D, 5-3, Sr., Bellingham, Wash. – Squalicum)

DeVere anchored a Seattle Pacific backline that posted a pair of season-opening shutouts to go along with a goal and an assist. The Falcons allowed just three shots on goal, with DeVere playing the full 90 minutes, in Thursday’s 2-0 shutout of Cal Poly Pomona. DeVere scored the game-winner in the 26th minute and later assisted on an insurance goal in Saturday’s 2-0 shutout of Minnesota State Moorhead. In the match, SPU limited Minnesota State Moorhead to just five shots and one on goal.

Also Nominated: Emily Russell (Central Washington), Hailey Asato (Concordia), Amanda Hemmen (Montana State Billings), Sara Christensen (Saint Martin’s), Alex Qualls (Western Oregon), Emily Nelson (Western Washington).

AROUND THE GNAC

CENTRAL WASHINGTON
• Central Washington went 0-2-1 last week, playing Fresno Pacific to a 1-1 draw before dropping matches to Stanislaus State and Northwest (Wash.).
• The Wildcats were led by freshman forward Makinzie Packwood, who finished the week with four shots and one goal. The team’s other two strikes were scored by midfielders Madison Bradley and Sophia Keenan.
• In CWU’s lone result in the first week of action, Packwood drove home a 90th-minute goal to erase a 1-0 deficit and get out of Fresno with a draw.
• Central Washington now returns home for its final two matches of non-conference play. It will host Metro State in Ellensburg on Thursday before Cal State San Bernardino comes to town on Sunday afternoon.

CONCORDIA
• Concordia finished the first week of play with a record of 2-0-1, including wins away from home against Humboldt State and Notre Dame de Namur.
• Senior forward Sydney Van Steenberge paced the Cavaliers, scoring a pair of goals and adding one assist in three matches. Van Steenberge started all three of those matches.
• In the latest edition of the United Soccer Coaches Division II Coaches Poll, Concordia comes in ranked at No. 20. The Cavaliers are slotted at third in the West Region Poll.
• Concordia will play its first home match of the season on Saturday in their lone game of the week. Stanislaus State will make the trip to Portland for a 12:00 p.m. kickoff.

MONTANA STATE BILLINGS
• Montana State Billings went 1-0-1 last week, playing Colorado Christian to a road draw before shutting out Wayne State (Neb.).
• Sophomore Amanda Grimshaw led the Yellowjackets, posting one goal and one assist over the weekend. Forward Julia Keller and midfielder Alexa Iacolucci netted the club’s other two goals.
• In MSUB’s lone victory of the week, goalkeeper Lili Delgadillo played all 90 minutes in goal and recorded a clean sheet in the 2-0 win. The match marked the program’s first shutout victory since October 31, 2015 (1-0 vs. Central Washington).
• Montana State Billings will host the Rimrock Classic this week for its first home matches of the 2018 season. The team will open the tournament against Nebraska Kearney on Thursday before playing host to Black Hills State on Saturday afternoon.

NORTHWEST NAZARENE
• Northwest Nazarene finished the first week of competition with a perfect 3-0 record, matching its best start in program history.
• Senior Kaisa Tsuruta has recorded four assists thus far in 2018. There are no other players in the Division II ranks with more than three.
• Junior Maddy Parton has been world class in her efforts as well, tallying three goals and a .600 shot percentage.
•.The Nighthawks most explosive game was their last, a 5-0 blowout of Minnesota Crookston on Tuesday. The shutout was their second in three matches.
•  Next up is the club’s Dakota swing, featuring Northwest Nazarene’s first away days of the season against Northern State (Thursday) and Minot State (Saturday).

SAINT MARTIN'S
• Saint Martin’s went 2-0 last week, starting the season with a road win at Corban before returning home and blanking Northwest Christian.
• The pair of victories marked the program’s first 2-0-0 start since the 2008 campaign.
• Midfielder Kiersten Madsen was named the Women’s Soccer Offensive Player of the Week after scoring two goals and adding one assist. She scored the game-tying goal and assisted on the game-winner in the 3-1 victory over Corban.
• SMU is currently ranked 23rd nationally in Division II scoring offense (and first in the GNAC) with 3.5 goals per game.  
• The Saints will look to stay hot this week as they host Academy of Art on Thursday and Holy Names on Saturday afternoon.

SEATTLE PACIFIC
• Seattle Pacific finished the first week of play with a clean 2-0 record after wins against Cal Poly Pomona and Minnesota State Moorhead.
• Both victories came via matching 2-0 scorelines, and the Falcons deployed a pair of goalkeepers (Abby Smith and Riley Travis) to get those clean sheets.
• In the latest edition of the United Soccer Coaches Division II Coaches West Region Poll, SPU comes in ranked No. 6.
• It was senior midfielder Julia DeVere who came away with the conference’s Defensive Player of the Week honors. Devere anchored a defense that allowed four shots on goal in two matches and scored the game-winning goal against Minnesota State Moorhead.

SIMON FRASER
• Simon Fraser finished the first week of competition with a record of 1-1-0, the lone victory coming in a decisive 6-1 decision against Minnesota State Moorhead.
• Four different players scored for the Clan in that match, while goalkeeper Mikayla Isobe let through just one goal in 90 minutes.
• Senior midfielder Jenna Lee-Baxter has been doing a bit of everything so far for Simon Fraser, scoring one goal with three assists. Her five points leads the team through two matches, while those three assists has her tied for second nationally.
• The Clan return to the pitch on Saturday afternoon in Salt Lake City, where they will meet Notre Dame de Namur for a neutral site match.

WESTERN OREGON
• Western Oregon split two matches to open its season. The year started with a tight 1-0 loss in overtime at Cal State San Marcos, but the Wolves got back on track two days later with a one-goal win at Cal State Dominguez Hills.
• Sophomore forward Isabelle Creighton notched the team’s only goal of the week. The strike was the team’s game-winner against the Toros.
• Western Oregon notched just two shutout victories a year ago (2-0 vs. Central Washington and 2-0 vs. Chaminade).
• The Wolves will host their first home matches of the season this week, starting on Thursday afternoon against Stanislaus State. After that will be a visit from Academy of Art for an 11:30 a.m. kickoff on Saturday.

WESTERN WASHINGTON
• Western Washington finished the opening week of play with a 1-1-0 record.
• Following a dramatic 2-1 victory at Point Loma on opening day, the Vikings gave No. 5 UC San Diego all it could handle before ultimately falling to the Tritons in a 1-0 heartbreaker.
• In the latest edition of the United Soccer Coaches Division II Coaches Poll, Western Washington comes in ranked just outside the top-10 at No. 11 (and No. 2 in the West Region).
• Defenders Emily Nelson and Taylor Hallquist notched the team’s first two goals of the 2018 campaign.
• The Vikings will return to the pitch for their home opener against Holy Names on Thursday. They will then close the week with a showdown against No. 7 Metro State on Saturday night.