HILLSBORO, Ore. – Following a 2020-21 athletic season and academic year like no other, men’s soccer returns to the Northwest Conference (NWC) beginning Wednesday, September 1. All eight teams are set to return to the pitch in 2021 after the official NWC men’s soccer season was cancelled for the Fall of 2020.
Pacific Lutheran has been selected as the Northwest Conference frontrunner for the 2021 season, as voted on by conference head coaches. The Lutes earned 47 points and five first-place votes. Whitman and Willamette tied for second in the poll with 39 points and one first place vote respectively.
Whitworth received 33 points and one first-place vote to rank fourth. Puget Sound earned 25 points to rank fifth followed by Linfield’s 19 points to land them at sixth. George Fox (14 pts) and Pacific (8 pts) round out the poll.
Conference play kicks off on Saturday, September 18
th.
Below are key returners and players to watch from each team as well as statistical highlights and NWC accolades from 2019.
KEY RETURNERS/PLAYERS TO WATCH
George Fox
Solek Ashkinos | JR | F | 2019: Played in 16 games as a freshman reserve… Tied for the team lead with three goals scored… Scored game-winners against La Verne (Calif.) and Linfield
Cole Benton | SR | GK | 2019: Played in seven games as a junior, all as a starter in goal… Logged nearly 600 minutes in cage with one shutout… Notched a 2-4-1 record in goal… Second in saves on team with 36
Jackson Keller | SR | M/F | 2019: Played in 18 games as a sophomore, including 16 starts… Tied for the team lead with three goals… Led his team with seven points (three goals, one assist)… Put 18 of his 35 shots on frame… Scored a game-winner against California Lutheran on Sept. 15
Linfield
Cesar Cruz-Espindola | JR | F | 2019: Appeared in 19 games, starting 11… Scored five goals and two assists… Recorded season-best three goals against Multnomah.
Connor Heintz | JR | F | 2019: Appeared in 16 games, starting 12… Recorded two goals and two assists… Scored one goal against Multnomah… Scored one goal against Pacific Lutheran
Ronan Krutzikowsky | JR | D | 2019: Appeared in all 19 games, starting 13… Recorded three assists
Pacific
Nico Allen | JR | F | 2019: Played in 18 games, started in 5 games
… Recorded 3 Goals
… Took 18 shots, placed 8 on frame… Leads Pacific in number of goals all season
Lucas Muller | SR | M | 2019: Played in 13 games, started in 8… Scored a goal this season… Had 3 shots with 2 shots on goal
Alex Pasmann | SR | D | 2019: Played in all 18 games and started in all 18… Had 2 shots with 1 shot on goal
Pacific Lutheran
Ryan Griffith | SR | D | 2019: Appeared in 20 games for the Lutes, starting in all 20 of them… Recorded eight assists this season and helped the defense record nine shutouts |
2019 First-Team All-NWC
Keeton Heggerness | SR | F | 2019: Appeared in 20 games for the Lutes starting in 19 of them… Scored 15 goals and three assists |
2019 First-Team All-NWC
Rainier Schlekewey | SR | M | 2019: Appeared in 20 games for the Lutes, starting in all 20 of them… Recorded one goal against Whitworth and had four assists |
2019 All-NWC Honorable Mention
Puget Sound
Marko Babiak | JR | M | 2019: Made an assist during the Logger shut out over Cal Lutheran (Sept. 1) ... In another shut out, scored one of eight goals against Multnomah (Sept. 7)... Made one assist during the game against George Fox (Sept. 22)... Scored one goal for the Loggers in the 1-0 win over George Fox (Nov. 1)
Lincoln Schell | SR | D | 2019: Scored one of three goals for the Loggers during the Cal Lutheran shut out (Sept. 1)... In another shut out over Multnomah, Schell scored one of eight goals for the Loggers (Sept. 7)
Cale Spence | SR | F | 2019: Scored 1 of the 8 Logger goals in the shut out over Multnomah (Sept. 7)... Scored 1 goal during the game against George Fox... Spence assisted 1 of the 2 goals during the 2-0 win over Willamette (Oct. 5)... In the win over Linfield Spence scored 1 of the 4 goals, and assisted 2 others for the Loggers (Oct. 19)... Scored 1 goal for Puget Sound during the game vs. Willamette (Oct. 20) |
2019 Second-Team All-NWC
Whitman
Jacob Barsher | SR | M | 2019: Saw action in 18 games with 18 starts… Overall registered four assists and two goals in Whitman’s 3-1 win over George Fox and 2-0 win over Pacific Lutheran |
2019 All-NWC Honorable Mention
Oscar Harding | SR | F | 2019: Saw action in 18 games with 15 starts… Scored five goals and had five assists... Overall scored three winning goals in 3-1 win against George Fox, 2-0 win against Pacific (Ore.), and 2-0 win against Pacific Lutheran |
2019 Second-Team All-NWC
Adam Joss | SR | M | 2019: Saw action in 16 games with 11 starts... Registered 19 shots on goal and one assist… Scored one goal in a 4-1 loss against Willamette University and the winning goal in 2-0 win over Pacific (Ore.)
Whitworth
Bo Broyles | JR | GK | 2019: Bo started all 13 matches in which he played at goalkeeper… He posted a 1.44 goals-against average and stopped 65% of the shots he faced
Johnathan Guglielmetti | JR | M | 2019: Played in all 19 matches as a first-year Pirate, including ten starts… Totaled three goals and three assists
Eric Shaporda | JR | F | 2019 Stats: Eric started 12 of Whitworth's matches in his first year and appeared in 18 contests… He scored two goals and had two assists
Willamette
Max Brenner-Hayes | SR | D | 2019: Played in 18 games (all starts) in 2019 and provided WU with 2 goals and 1 assist |
2019 First-Team All-NWC
Ryan Sato | SR | M | 2019: Led Willamette with 19 points on 6 goals and 7 assists ... Competed in 19 games with 17 starts |
2019 First-Team All-NWC
Mack van der Velde | SR | D | 2019: Saw action in 18 games (16 starts), and contributed 3 goals and 2 assists... Helped WU shut out nine opponents and hold six others to a single goal... Two of his goals were game-winners against Pacific and Puget Sound... The winner against Puget Sound was scored with six seconds left in regulation |
2019 Second-Team All-NWC
(Points awarded on an 8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis. Coaches could not vote for their own teams; numbers in parentheses indicate first place votes)
| Team |
Pts. |
2019 NWC Finish |
| PLU (5) |
47 |
1st |
| Whitman (1) |
39 |
2nd |
| Willamette (1) |
39 |
2nd |
| Whitworth (1) |
33 |
4th |
| Puget Sound |
25 |
5th |
| Linfield |
19 |
6th |
| GFU |
14 |
8th |
| Pacific (Ore.) |
8 |
7th |
For the complete 2021 NWC men’s soccer schedule, click
here.