PORTLAND, Ore. – The Seattle Pacific University men's soccer team swept the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Weekly Awards that were announced on Monday afternoon, with
Judah Straight being named the conference's Offensive Player of the Week, while
Willem Ficek picked up the Defensive award.
Straight helped the Falcons win both its matches in a pivotal week within conference play, providing important offensive contributions throughout the weekend. Straight provided the assist on each of his team's game-winning goals last week, in addition to adding his fourth goal scored of the season.
In Thursday's 3-1 win over Simon Fraser, Straight set up
Hugh Lear for the game-winner in the 79th minute before adding an insurance goal with an 87th-minute finish to secure three points.
On Saturday against Western Washington, Straight delivered another assist to
JP Guzman in the 79th minute to break a 1-1 draw and propel SPU to the victory. The big performance helped the Falcons climb into sole possession of first place in the GNAC standings with 16 points.
"Judah has been a fantastic addition to the team this year," head coach
Kevin Sakuda said. "He is so tough to deal with when he is running downhill at a defender, and he is a player who can change a game with his creativity and quality in front of goal. Winning requires players to step up and make plays in big moments, and Judah has consistently done that for us all year long."
Ficek was equally instrumental in helping the Falcons collect six points last week, earning the win in each contest between the posts. Ficek made three saves in the triumph over Simon Fraser on Thursday, before following with four stops in the win over the Vikings on Saturday. That lowered his season goals-against average to 1.23 and his save percentage to .719, each ranking him third in the conference.
"Willem has been outstanding for us," Sakuda said. "He gives our group a lot of confidence with his presence in goal – not only making big saves when called upon but also in his composure to play out from the back. He has been incredibly consistent for us and his ability to step up when we need him most has been a big part of the success of the team this week and over the entire season."
Straight, Ficek, and the Falcons make their final road trip of the regular season when they play Western Oregon on Thursday at noon, followed by a match against Saint Martin's on Saturday at 3:00 p.m.
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