Milwaukee's Bell, WSU's Bye Capture Horizon League Men's Soccer Weekly Honors

INDIANAPOLIS -- Milwaukee sophomore midfielder Laurie Bell (Poynton, England) is the Horizon League Men’s Soccer Offensive Player of the Week, while Wright State junior goalkeeper Jacob Bye (Greenfield, Wis.) has earned Defensive Player of the Week for the week of Aug. 27-Sept. 2. The award is the first of both players’ careers.

Milwaukee (3-1-0) captured the 38th Panther Invitational, knocking off IUPUI, 3-2, before clinching the title with a 2-0 victory against Eastern Illinois. Bell notched goals in both games, giving him three on the year. In the Panthers’ opening win, Bell tallied the first goal of the match before assisting on UWM’s second goal.

On Sunday, Bell added the game-winner for the Panthers in the fourth minute of play. Bell’s 10 shots led all players in the tournament. The sophomore is tied for the Horizon League lead in goals, while his 18 shots this year pace the conference.

Bye carried Wright State (1-3-0) to a 1-1 showing at the Wolstein Classic, hosted by Ohio State. In the tournament opener gainst Davidson, Bye recorded eight saves, helping the Raiders to a 3-1 victory. The junior saved his best performance for Sunday, when he stopped 10 shots against No. 16 Coastal Carolina. Bye’s effort kept the Chanticleers off the scoreboard for 105 minutes, until Wright State surrendered the game-winning goal in double overtime. The 10 saves were the most in the Horizon League this season.

Milwaukee will be in action just once this week, traveling to Cincinnati for a match against Xavier. The Panthers and Musketeers will meet on Sunday, Sept. 9, at 1 p.m. ET. After four matches at road or neutral sites to the start the year, Wright State will play its home opener on Saturday, Sept. 8, versus Robert Morris. The Horizon League Network will carry the match live, beginning at 7 p.m. ET.

Top Offensive Performers for the Week:
Aslinn Rodas, Cleveland State (Jr., M) - Controlled the midfield throughout Cleveland State’s 3-0 victory at Michigan, scoring the Vikings’ second goal before assisting on another just two minutes later.
Adam Bedell, Detroit (Jr., M) - Gave Detroit an early lead versus No. 12 UC Irvine, scoring eight minutes into the eventual 3-1 setback.
Alonso Flores, Green Bay(Sr., F) - Lifted Green Bay to a 2-1 victory against Northern Illinois, scoring on a header with less than two minutes to play in the second overtime.
Andy Lynn, Valparaiso(Sr., M) - Scored the first two of his career, leading Valparaiso to a 6-1 victory against St. Joseph’s (Ind.).
Derek Zuniga, Wright State(Jr., M) - Factored in all three goals in Wright State’s 3-1 win over Davidson, tallying a goal and two assists.

Top Defensive Performers for the Week:
Brad Stuver, Cleveland State (Sr., GK) - Made two saves in CSU’s win versus Michigan, two days after stopping six shots against Oakland. The lone goal against Stuver in the tournament came on a penalty kick.
John Shakon, Milwaukee (Sr., GK) - Played all 180 minutes of Milwaukee’s two wins in the Panther Invitational, recording 11 saves. Opponents were 0-for-2 on penalty kicks versus Shakon on the weekend.

Men’s Soccer Offensive Players of the Week:
August 20:     Ivan Stanisavljevic, UIC
August 27:     Laurie Bell, Milwaukee

Men’s Soccer Defensive Players of the Week:
August 20:     Ryan Wehking, Green Bay
August 27:     Jacob Bye, Wright State