BIG EAST Offensive Player of the Week
Alfie Pope, Creighton, Gr., F (London, England)
Pope delivered his first multi-goal match as a Bluejay, scoring a pair in Creighton’s 3-1 win over Michigan on Friday. Pope touched in the first goal of the match from just outside the net, glancing a pass from fellow grad student Dominic Briggs to beat both a Wolverine defender and the goalkeeper in the ninth minute. In the 19th minute he took advantage of a decision to advance toward the ball by the Michigan goalie, lofting in his third goal of the season with a perfectly touched ball from 25 yards away.
BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Week
Lenny Cidolit, St. John’s, Gr., D (Montpellier, France)
Cidolit anchored the Red Storm defense to a 2-1 come-from-behind victory over St. Peter’s on Friday, locking down the Peacocks offensive attack in the second half. St. John’s limited St. Peter’s to just one shot in the final 45 minutes of action, and zero on goal. Offensively, Cidolit got the Red Storm on the board first after connecting with Max McNuilty in the 81
st minute to tie the game at 1-1.
BIG EAST Goalkeeper of the Week
Gandhi Cruz, DePaul, Jr., GK (Aurora, Ill.)
In a 0-0 draw on the road against Bowling Green, Cruz acted as a brick wall corralling seven saves in his second earned shut out of the year and 10
th of his career. Overall, Cruz leads the BIG EAST with 26 total saves and ranks fourth with a 0.867 save percentage.
BIG EAST Freshman of the Week
Andrija Savic, Creighton, Fr., D (Belgrade, Serbia)
Savic notched his first career goal as a Bluejay by settling a crossing pass from Jackson Castro to the center of the box. Savic quickly turned and pounded the ball into the back of the net with his left foot. Pressed into the starting lineup against Denver, Savic played the full 90 for the second straight contest in the Bluejay back line. He helped hold a strong Michigan attack to one goal on 12 shots, equaling the Wolverines lowest outing of the season.
BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll
Mitch Budler, Akron, R-So., GK (Lincoln, Neb.)
Budler turned in another stellar effort to help spark the Zips to a 2-1 victory over Long Island on Friday. He finished the game registering a season-high four saves en route to collecting his second straight victory in net.
Josef Paulus, Akron, Sr., M (Hinckley, Ohio)
Paulus turned in a strong week for the registering a pair of game-winning goals to lift the Zips to victories past Southern Indiana (1-0) and Long Island (2-1). In Friday’s win over the Sharks, he registered a team season-high seven shots, including three shots on goal.
Beto Soto, Marquette, Sr., F (Houston, Texas)
Leading the offensive attack in a 3-1 win over UTRGV on Friday, Soto tallied two of Marquette’s three goals in the opening minutes. The win was the fifth in a row for the Golden Eagles, who lead the conference with an unblemished 5-0-0 mark.
Macoumba Ba, St. John’s, Sr., F
(Dakar, Senegal)
Generating three shots and multiple scoring chances in a come-from-behind win against St. Peter’s on Friday, before stepping up to the penalty kick line in the 83
rd minute to notch the game-winning goal in a 2-1 victory.
Mats Roorda, Seton Hall, Gr., GK (Groningen, Netherlands)
A stalwart in net for the Pirates to start the year, Roorda corralled a season-high eight saves in a 1-1 tie against Harvard on Saturday night. Through five contests, he has 16 saves this season with a co-BIG EAST leading 0.889 save percentage.
Kent Dickey, Villanova, Gr., GK (Richmond, Va.)
Dickey collected his first clean sheet of the season with a four save performance in a 0-0 tie against Fairleigh Dickinson.