UC Irvine junior Gor Kirakosyan and UC Davis junior Omar Zeenni were named Big West Men's Soccer Offensive and Defensive Players of the Week as their respective teams remained unbeaten on the season.
Kirakosyan Gores Opponent With Pair Of Goals
Junior Gor Kirakosyan (Burbank, Calif./Burbank HS) notched both goals in UC Irvine's victory against LIU Brooklyn to garner Big West Men's Soccer Offensive Player of the Week honors.
Kirakosyan struck for goals in the 19th and 51st minutes to give the Anteaters all the scoring they would need in the 2-0 triumph over the Blackbirds. The midfielder put all three of shots on frame, and might have done more damage had he not sustained a shin injury on a hard foul by a Blackbird. Kirakosyan left the remainder of the match and did not return for Sunday's UCI Invitational finale against Detroit.
The Anteaters are 3-0-0 on the year and Kirakosyan has scored three times in the two matches he has played.
Others nominated: Chris Gaschen (Cal Poly); Jonathan Birt (Cal State Fullerton); Pat Reese (UC Davis); Otis Earle (UC Riverside); Dion Acoff (UC Santa Barbara)
Stalwart Zeenni Protects Net For UC Davis
UC Davis junior Omar Zeenni (Arcadia, Calif./Crespi Carmelite HS) allowed just one goal in 330 minutes in net for the Big West Men's Soccer Defensive Player of the Week award.
Zeenni faced a combined 51 shots in three road games against No. 17 Cal State Bakersfield, Air Force and Denver, and allowed just one of those attempts to slip through. The Aggies forced double overtime in all three contests, settling for scoreless ties against the Roadrunners and Falcons and forging a 1-1 draw versus the Pioneers.
It was Zeenni who kept the Aggies undefeated on the year at 1-0-3 despite the lack of punch on the offensive end. He had three saves against CSUB, five more versus Air Force and a career-high six against Denver.
Until Denver's 48th minute goal on Sunday, Zeenni and his defense had put together a streak of 358 scoreless minutes. Zeenni owns three shutouts in four games to start the 2012 campaign.
Others nominated: Chase Hauser (Cal Poly); Matt Linenberger (Sacramento State); Michael Breslin (UC Irvine); Ashkan Khosravi (UC Riverside); Daniel Welsh (UC Santa Barbara)