INDIANAPOLIS -- UIC junior Jorge Alvarez (Oswego, Ill.) is the Horizon League Men’s Soccer Offensive Player of the Week while Wright State sophomore Tyler Blackmer (Boise, ID) is the Defensive Player of the Week for the week of Sept. 15-21.
The UIC (4-2-1) men’s soccer team took the pitch this past week against then No. 3 Creighton and DePaul. Last Tuesday, the Flames traveled to Nebraska and fell to Creighton 3-1. On Saturday, the squad went into double overtime against the Blue Demons and captured the victory 2-1 to tally their fourth win on the year.
Alvarez exploded on the offensive end against DePaul firing a team-high eight shots during the match. The junior’s two shots on goal found the back of the net including the game-winner. In the 56th minute, Alvarez netted his first goal of the match off of an assist by freshman Sergio Fuentes. He netted his second game-winner of the season in the 104th minute off of a field-length kick from sophomore goalkeeper Andrew Putna.
Wright State (5-1-1) played one match through the week, taking on Duquesne at home. The Raiders notched their fifth win of the season against the Dukes winning in overtime fashion, 1-0. Wright State is off to its best start through seven matches since going 6-1 in 2003.
Blackmer posted his third shutout of the year in his 96:27 minutes in goal for the Raiders. In the overtime victory, the sophomore made five saves off of the Dukes’ 13 shots, in which six of those were on goal.
Wright State faces Northern Kentucky on Tuesday, September 23, at 7:00 p.m. ET on the road and kicks-off Horizon League play on Saturday, September 27, in a 1:00 p.m. ET match at Detroit. UIC returns to the pitch for its first Horizon League match on Friday, September 26th when the team travels to Rochester, Mich. to take on Oakland in a 7:00 p.m. ET start time.
Top Offensive Players of the Week:
Gerald Ben, Oakland (F, Jr.): Ben scored the lone Oakland goal against Incarnate Word off of a penalty kick.
Wes Cain, Wright State (M, Jr.): Scored the game-winning goal in overtime against Duquesne.
Jordan James, Valparaiso (F, Fr.): Scored two goals against Western Illinois including the game-winner in double overtime.
Spiro Pliakos, Detroit (F, Fr.): Assisted on all three of Detroit’s goals over the weekend, including two against Buffalo and one versus Niagara.
Top Defensive Players of the Week:
Wes Mink, Oakland (GK, Fr.): Made two saves in the game against Incarnate Word.
Nathan Steinwascher, Detroit (GK, Sr.): Recorded his second shutout in the past three games against Niagara. He made four saves in the win while facing seven shots overall for the match.
Offensive Players of the Week
Aug. 25: Jesus Torres, UIC
Sept. 2: Eric Lynch, Wright State
Sept. 9: Audi Jepson, Green Bay
Sept. 16: Jorge Alvarez, UIC
Defensive Players of the Week
Aug. 25: Nico Campbell, Valparaiso
Sept. 2: Thomas Villamil, UIC
Sept. 9: Nathan Steinwascher, Detroit
Omar Lawrence, Valparaiso
Sept. 16: Tyler Blackmer, Wright State
Tags: Horizon League - Men's Soccer · UIC - Men's Soccer · Wright State - Men's Soccer
