INDIANAPOLIS -- Green Bay sophomore Audi Jepson (Green Bay, Wis.) is the Horizon League Men’s Soccer Offensive Player of the Week while Detroit senior Nathan Steinwascher (Sterling Heights, Mich.) and Valparaiso sophomore Omar Lawrence (Kingston, Jamaica) are the Defensive Co-Players of the Week for the week of Sept. 8-14.
Green Bay (3-2-1) hosted Viterbo Friday night and showed explosive power on the offensive end. The Phoenix scored eight goals in the contest while allowing none. Two day later, Green Bay took the road to face Northern Illinois in a matchup that ended in a 2-2 draw after two overtime periods.
Jepson found the back of the net six times over the two games to lead the offensive attack for the Phoenix. Against Viterbo, the sophomore recorded two Horizon League single match records in goals and points. He broke the previous record of four goals after placing five behind the Viterbo goalkeeper. In addition to his 10 points from goals, Jepson also tallied an assist to total 11 points for the match, breaking the previous record of nine. On Sunday versus Northern Illinois, the sophomore continued to find the back of the net as he scored in the 26th minute to put the Phoenix up 1-0 early in the game.
Detroit (2-2-1) traveled to Nevada to face Cal State Fullerton and UNLV over the weekend. On Friday, the Titans defeated Cal State Fullerton 2-1 in the first match of the UNLV Nike Invitational. On Sunday versus UNLV, Detroit went into double overtime that ended in a 0-0 draw after 110 minutes on the pitch.
Steinwascher had an impressive weekend in goal for the Titans and was named the Outstanding Defensive Player of the UNLV Nike Invitational. The senior faced 32 shots between the two games, making seven saves against Cal State Fullerton’s offensive attack and the remaining five facing UNLV. The shutout against UNLV was Steinwascher’s first of the season.
The Valparaiso (2-0-2) men’s soccer team took the pitch in two mid-week matchups against Butler and then No. 7 Michigan State. The Crusaders went into double overtime facing the Bulldogs and found the back of the net in the 101st minute to clinch the victory. Two days later, the team traveled to East Lansing and shutout the Spartans in a 1-0 road victory.
Lawrence made the most of his shooting opportunities from the defensive line and was able to launch one shot off against Michigan State. The sophomore found the back of the net in the 57th minute when he struck a loose ball in front of the goal past the Spartan goalkeeper. The winning-goal marked the first in program history against a top-ten opponent.
Valparaiso continues its mid-week contests as the Crusaders travel to Northwestern to go up against the Wildcats on Wednesday at 8:00 p.m. ET. Green Bay is back on the pitch this Friday as the team hosts Western Michigan at 4:00 p.m. ET while Detroit follows later that night at 7:00 p.m. ET on the road at Buffalo.
Top Offensive Players of the Week:
Jordan James, Valparaiso (Fr., MF): Scored the game-winning goal in the 101st minute against Butler in double overtime.
Mike Matlock, Cleveland State (Sr., F): Scored Cleveland State’s lone goal against No. 18 California.
Peguy Ngatcha, Wright State (So., F.): Scored two game-tying goals over the weekend for the Raiders, one against San Diego State and the other against Grand Canyon.
Spiro Pliakos, Detroit (Fr., F): Scored the game-winning goal over Cal State Fullerton to mark his first goal in his collegiate career. Led the Titans over the weekend with five shots overall in which two of those were on goal.
Austin Ricci, Oakland (Fr., MF): Scored the second goal for the Grizzlies against No. 25 Denver while recording four shots with three of those on goal.
Top Defensive Players of the Week:
Tyler Blackmer, Wright State (So., GK): Collected nine saves in the two matches for the Raiders. He tallied four against San Diego State and five saves versus Grand Canyon.
Nat Hubert, Belmont (So., D): Scored both goals in the Bruins’ victory over Gardner-Webb. His first goal was off of a free kick while he netted the second off of a penalty kick.
Wes Mink, Oakland (Fr., GK): In a close match against Air Force, only allowed one goal.
Offensive Players of the Week
Aug. 25: Jesus Torres, UIC
Sept. 2: Eric Lynch, Wright State
Sept. 9: Audi Jepson, Green Bay
Defensive Players of the Week
Aug. 25: Nico Campbell, Valparaiso
Sept. 2: Thomas Villamil, UIC
Sept. 9: Nathan Steinwascher, Detroit
Omar Lawrence, Valparaiso
Tags: Detroit Mercy - Men's Soccer · Green Bay - Men's Soccer · Horizon League - Men's Soccer · Valparaiso - Men's Soccer
