UC Irvine teammates Christian Hernandez and Andrew Fontein were selected the Big West Men's Soccer Offensive and Defensive Players of the Week after playing key roles in non-conference victories against San Diego and Nebraska-Omaha.

Hernandez Strikes For Game-Winning Goals in Pair of UC Irvine Wins

Senior Christian Hernandez (Palmdale, Calif./Palmdale HS) collected both-game winning goals for UC Irvine to claim the first Big West Men's Soccer Offensive Player of the Week award for the 2011 season.

Hernandez scored his two goals on five shots for the week.  He connected in the 75th minute of a 1-0 season-opening win against San Diego, a team receiving votes in the preseason poll.

The Anteaters got another goal from Hernandez in the 20th minute of a 4-0 blanking of Nebraska-Omaha on the road.  The goal come courtesy of a penalty kick.

Others nominated: Ian Clark (Cal Poly); Ian Ramos (Cal State Fullerton); Christian Gonzalez Diaz (Cal State Northridge); David Opoku (UC Santa Barbara)

UC Irvine's Fontein Notches Back-To-Back Shutouts

Andrew Fontein (Las Vegas, Nev./Sierra Vista HS) posted shutouts in both UC Irvine victories to secure Big West Men's Soccer Defensive Player of the Week honors.

Fontein amassed the 21st and 22nd shutouts of his career as the Anteaters whitewashed San Diego (1-0) and Nebraska-Omaha (4-0).  He made two saves in each match while facing 15 total shots for the week.

Others nominated: Chris Smith (Cal State Northridge; Omar Zeenni (UC Davis); Peter Schmetz (UC Santa Barbara)