Tuesday, August 30, 2022

THIS WEEK'S GNAC PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
OFFENSIVE
Chelsea Crocq, Simon Fraser
M • 5-6 • Senior • Clalgary, Atla.

Crocq made her debut performance as a freshman and scored the game-winning goal to give Simon Fraser a 1-0 victory over MSU Denver. Crocq also started the match for SFU and logged 79 minutes in the season opener.                                                                                  

Also Nominated: Madison Grande (NNU), Jenna Efraimson (WOU)

DEFENSIVE
Olivia Holdenried, Western Oregon
GK • 5-7 • Sophomore • Windsor, Calif.

Holdenried earned player of the week after making 20 saves in two games to help the Wolves get off to a 2-0 start to the 2022 season. She made 14 saves to shutout No. 20 Sonoma State and followed it up with a six-save performance against defending RMAC champions Colorado Mesa.

Also Nominated: Sarah Loewen (SFU), Jadyn Nguyen (WWU)

AROUND THE GNAC
CENTRAL WASHINGTON
• Central Washington opens its regular season on  Thurs. Sept. 1 at home against Chico State.

• The Wildcats were picked to finish seventh in the 2022 GNAC Women’s Soccer Preseason Coaches Poll following their 5-13-0 record last season (4-10-0 in conference).

• Central Washington head coach Lindsey Lee starts her first season leading the Wildcats in 2022 after seven seasons as an assistant coach at Division I Cal Poly.

MONTANA STATE BILLINGS
• Montana State Billings dropped both of its home matches to start the season, losing 1-0 against Northern State on Thursday and 2-0 against Mary on Saturday.

• The Yellowjackets enter the week second in shots with 25, averaging 12 per match, but have yet to find the back of the net in the young season.

• The opening week of the season saw Montana State Billings goalkeepers Clare Keenan and Tuva Sallvin make a combined 11 saves on 29 shots.

• Sophomore forward Jillian Hust leads the team with eight shots in two matches, putting four of those shots on goal.

• The Yellowjackets continue their season on the road at Division I Montana (0-2-2) in Missoula on Friday.

NORTHWEST NAZARENE
• Northwest Nazarene went 0-1-1 over the weekend thanks to a 2-2 tie at Cal State East Bay before taking a 2-0 loss at Holy Names on Saturday.

• Junior midfielder Madison Grande tallied the team’s match-tying goal against Cal State East Bay in the 89th minute and put five shots on goal over the two-game weekend.

• Despite dropping the match against Holy Names, the Nighthawks dominated in shots, firing 14 (nine on goal) compared to Holy Names' four (two on goal).

• Northwest Nazarene will have a week to regroup from the road trip before continuing non-conference play at home on Sept. 6 against Hawaii Pacific.

SAINT MARTIN'S
• Saint Martin’s opened their 2022 with a 3-1 victory over visiting Colorado Mesa on Friday with goals from Maria Pagnotta, Ellison Kephart and Brianna Yamada. On Sunday, SMU took a 1-0 neutral site loss to MSU Denver in Burnaby.

• Goalkeeper Soph Mendoza made 12 saves in net for the Saints in their season-opening win and sits second in Division II after the first week of play with 18 saves total.

• Saint Martin’s is currently second in the conference in goals with three on the season.

•The Saints take a week off before returning to the pitch on Fri. Sept. 9 to take on Cal State Monterey Bay at home in Lacey, Wash. 

SEATTLE PACIFIC
• One of only two teams to not start their season last week, Seattle Pacific opens their non-conference schedule on Thurs, Sept. 1 at home against San Francisco State.

• The Falcons were picked to repeat as conference champions in the 2022 GNAC Women’s Soccer Preseason Coaches Poll by a slim margin, splitting the eight first place votes with Western Washington.

• In the United Soccer Coaches Preseason poll, the Falcons were ranked No.5.

• Last year’s GNAC Freshman of the Year, Lauren Forster, returns for Seattle Pacific after putting up nine goals and three assists in 2021.

SIMON FRASER
• Simon Fraser started the year off on the right foot, taking a 1-0 win in their first match of the season over MSU Denver on Friday.
Freshman midfielder Chelsea Crocq scored her first collegiate goal in her first match to lead Simon Fraser to victory and earn GNAC Offensive Player of the Week.

• Sarah Loewen recorded her first shutout in net for SFU, making four saves on eight shots.

• Last year’s leading scorer for Simon Fraser, Giulliana Zaurrini, leads the teams in shots with three in the first match of the 2022 campaign.

• The season continues for SFU on Thursday when they take on Concordia in a neutral site match on Bellingham, Washington.

WESTERN OREGON
• Western Oregon opened the season with a statement win over No. 20 Sonoma State in enemy territory in Rohnert Park, Calif. on Monday. The Wolves recorded a 1-0 shutout victory against the Seawolves with a 10th-minute goal from Jenna Efraimson and a nine-save performance from Olivia Holdenried.   

•Holdenried earned GNAC Defensive Player of the Week honors for her opening week starts in net, totaling 14 saves on the weekend. She leads the GNAC and Division II in saves.

• In their second match of the season on Sunday, the Wolves took a 3-2 win over Colorado Mesa. Trailing 1-0 in the 38th minute, Emma Smith tied the game just under two minutes later and goals from Savannah Taylor and Lulu Sadler sealed the deal with Sadler’s goal breaking yet another tie in the 85th minute.

• Western Oregon takes to the road this week and will face Colorado Christian on Thursday in Lakewood, Colorado.

WESTERN WASHINGTON
• Western Washington got off to a winning start with a 2-0 victory against Puget Sound. The Vikings struck early when freshman Morgan Manalili scored in the third minute. Junior forward Ellie Busik tallied the insurance goal.

• The Vikings bombarded Puget Sound, racking up 23 shots in the match which puts them third in the GNAC and eighth in Division II.

• Estera Levinte, Tera Ziemer and Ashley Nguyen all tallied four shots in the match to lead the team.

• Goalkeepers Grace Wales and Abigail Trengrove split duties in net for the season opener, facing a combined 10 shots and making five saves between the two.

• The Vikings play two matches this week. Concordia making the trip to Bellingham on Tuesday before Western Washington hits the road to take on No. 20 Sonoma State on Saturday in Rohnert Park, California.