Sacramento State junior Isaac Ikyurav and senior Bryan Oliver created a rather powerful entrance to the Big West with two signature road victories as the duo was selected the Men's Soccer Offensive and Defensive Players of the Week.
Ikyurav Figures In Pair of Key Conference Road Wins
Junior Isaac Ikyurav (Benue, Nigeria/American University) helped Sacramento State to a 2-0 start in Big West action – involved in both game-winning goals – to claim Big West Men's Soccer Offensive Player of the Week honors.
The Hornets, competing in their first season as a Big West associate member in men's soccer, served notice to the rest of the league with road wins against the two clubs picked to finish one-two in the conference's South Division.
Ikyurav was a key cog in those successful results. The forward notched an unassisted goal in the 84th minute to break a 1-1 tie and lead the Hornets to a 2-1 triumph against UC Irvine Friday. Ikyurav beat a defender into the box and created a one-on-one situation with the keeper, finishing to the far post for his second game-winning goal of the season.
On Sunday, Ikyurav utilized his speed to create a scoring opportunity for his teammate against Cal State Northridge. In the 104th minute, Ikyurav again got past a defender and into the box, sliding a short pass to teammate Chris Sandoval when two other defenders collapsed on him. Ikyurav collected the game-winning assist when Sandoval buried a shot past the Matador goalkeeper for the 1-0 victory.
It is the first time since 2009 that Sacramento State started out conference action with back-to-back wins. That year the Hornets beat Air Force and Denver as then-members of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation. The Hornets entered this past weekend's games 0-3 on the road before turning their fortunes around against UCI and CSUN.
Others nominated: Mackenzie Pridham (Cal Poly); David Turcios (Cal State Northridge); Alex Aguiar (UC Davis); Hayden Leslie (UC Riverside); Charlie Miller (UC Santa Barbara)
Oliver Withstands Opponent Shot Barrage
Senior Bryan Oliver (Rocklin, Calif./Rocklin HS) notched two wins in net for Sacramento State to capture Big West Men's Soccer Defensive Player of the Week kudos.
The netminder succeeded despite heavy pressure from UC Irvine and Cal State Northridge. In a 2-1 win at UCI, Oliver faced 15 shots and made seven saves. Two of those stops came in the final three minutes as the Hornets held on in their first Big West game ever.
Oliver withstood a heavy dose against CSUN two days later in a 1-0 double overtime shutout. He earned his third shutout of the season, making four saves against the Matadors while facing 24 shots.
For the season, Oliver sports a 1.27 goals against average with 50 saves in nine starts for the Hornets. He is 5-3-1 in goal on the year.
Others nominated: Chase Hauser (Cal Poly); Robbie Hannon (Cal State Fullerton); Michael Abalos (Cal State Northridge); Fifi Baiden (UC Santa Barbara)