ST. PAUL -- The University of Minnesota Morris made their mark in this week's UMAC Player of the Week awards, claiming seven of the 13 individual accolades that were distributed Many of the Cougars fall sports teams are having successful runs in the nonconference portion of their schedules thus far. Join us in congratulating this week's player of the week award winners who are listed below.
FOOTBALL OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
QB Joe Lindloff, Martin Luther College
In his first-ever start at quarterback on Saturday, Lindloff set a Martin Luther record with five rushing touchdowns. Lindloff also passed for a touchdown in the Knights' 40-44 loss to Minnesota Morris while carrying his team's offense on the ground for much of the day, picking up multiple first downs with his legs.
FOOTBALL DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
LB Gus Lyles, Westminster College
In Westminster's 36-26 defeat of Northwestern on Saturday, junior Gus Lyles had 11 tackles, four of which were for a loss, to go with a sack. Lyles also forced three fumbles in the game while earning three quarterback hurries.
FOOTBALL SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE WEEK
KR Brian Lecheler, Northwestern College
Brian Lecheler returned four kicks for 213 yards on Saturday. Two of Lecheler's returns were for touchdowns from 84 and 90 yards. Lecheler amassed 256 all-purpose yards in the Eagles' loss.
MEN'S CROSS COUNTRY RUNNER OF THE WEEK
Martin Zias, University of Minnesota Morris
Martin Zias led the way for the Cougars at the Saint John's Invitational, as Minnesota Morris posted its best team finish. Zias's mark of 28:59 breaks the Cougars freshman record and is the sixth fastest time in school history.
WOMEN'S CROSS COUNTRY RUNNER OF THE WEEK
Laura Anderson, Bethany Lutheran College
Laura Anderson led the Bethany Lutheran squad to a fourth place finish in the Northland Invitational, running a time of 21:13, which was good for 25th place amongst all participants in the six team race.
MEN'S GOLFER OF THE WEEK
Derek Dionne, University of Minnesota Morris
Derek Dionne paced the field at the Presentation Invitation on September 5, shooting a seven-over-par 79 to take medalist honors. A multiple winner in 2010, Dionne wasted little time in getting back to the top this season. He led the Cougars to a 55-stroke win, as their 323 bettered Presentation’s 378
MEN'S SOCCER OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
M Greg Borchers, University of Minnesota Morris
Greg Borchers put the Cougars on his back in their 1-0 win over Concordia-Moorhead on September 7. Borchers went unassisted in scoring the game’s only goal, taking control of a ball near in the top of the box and dribbling through tree defenders before firing off his shot inside the far post. The senior made good on his only shot on goal of the week, giving the Cougars their first win of 2011.
MEN'S SOCCER DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
GK Tyler Webber, University of Minnesota Morris
Tyler Weber was his usually consistent self in the Cougars' three matches last week, allowing just one goal in 290 minutes of action. Weber led the Cougars to a 1-1-1 record, recording a pair of shutouts along the way. His goals against average was 0.31 while his save percentage was a near perfect .917 as he tallied 11 saves in the three matches.
WOMEN'S SOCCER OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
M Christina Mollan, University of Minnesota Morris
Christina Mollan was Minnesota Morris' catalyst in the Cougars' 4-1 win over UW-Superior on September 10. The freshman scored the first two goals of her career, including the game-winner. To round out the day she also added an assist for five total points. On the week, Mollan fired off seven total shots, with three going on goal.
WOMEN'S SOCCER DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
GK RiAnne Metz, University of Minnesota Morris
RiAnne Metz played 185:26 over the Coguars' two games last week, allowing just two goals while charting five saves. Metz finished with a 0.97 goals against average to go along with a .714 save percentage.
VOLLEYBALL OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
OH Kaylie Clark, University of Minnesota Morris
Kaylie Clark led the way on offense for Minnesota Morris as they ripped off their fourth and fifth straight wins. In the Cougars' first match against Mayville State, Clark had seven kills against just one error in the three-sweep. Then against Mount Marty she was even better, posting 12 kills, to finish with 19 on the week. She made just five errors in 54 total attempts and swung for a .259 percentage over the two games.
VOLLEYBALL DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
L Lexi Bertsch, Northwestern College
Lexi Bertsch kept Northwestern in many sets this week with her strong defense and passing from the back row. Bertsch led the team with 84 digs and a .944 passing rate on the week, twice surpassing the 20-digs mark.
VOLLEYBALL SETTER OF THE WEEK
S Krista Stoltz, Northwestern College
Krista Stoltz set the pace for Northwestern all week as the Eagles took on St. Bens twice while competing at the Augsburg Tournament, which featured four teams who were either in the AVCA Top 25 or received votes in the latest poll. Krista had 221 of NWC's 229 assists on the week, earning more than 50 assists in two matches.