UC Irvine senior Enrique Cardenas and UC Riverside junior KC John secured Big West Men's Soccer Offensive and Defensive Player of the Week accolades as both helped their teams achieve excellent results.
Cardenas Nets Game-Winner Against No. 11 UCLA
Enrique Cardenas (Coachella, Calif./Coachella Valley HS) converted two penalty kick goals, including one that clinched the game-winner, and UC Irvine stormed to a 3-1 win over No. 11 UCLA that netted the senior Big West Men's Soccer Offensive Player of the Week honors.
A Bruin foul and a hand ball in the penalty box on separate possessions gave UCI a pair of penalty kick chances in the 57th and 78th minutes, and Cardenas was up to the task as he collected his third and fourth goals of the season. The Anteaters also notched their second win over a ranked foe this season, adding to the 1-0 triumph against No. 16 Louisville on Sept. 13.
UCI tried for a undefeated week, but could not muster enough in a 2-1 setback to Santa Clara on Sunday. Cardenas attempted to deliver the goods in that game as well as he picked up an assist on UCI's only goal of the match at the 20:55 mark. Cardenas took a team-high tying three shots for the contest.
Others nominated: Chris Bernardi (Cal Poly); Beto Velasquez (Cal State Northridge); Matt Sheldon (UC Davis); Aaron Long (UC Riverside); Achille Campion (UC Santa Barbara)
John Helps UC Riverside Remain Unbeaten
UC Riverside junior net minder KC John (Harrisville, Utah/Fremont HS) captured Big West Men's Soccer Defensive Player of the Week as his 11 saves helped his team post a win and a tie.
John, who leads the Big West with a 0.54 goals against average, allowed just two goals in 200 minutes of action in UC Riverside's 1-1 draw at Cal State Bakersfield and 2-1 triumph at home against UNLV.
He made five saves against the Roadrunners and limited them to one goal, helping the Highlanders snap a five-game losing streak against their nemesis to the north. That streak had dated back to 2008.
John returned in net on Sunday and notched a season-high six saves to help the Highlanders defeat the Rebels to improve to 5-0-2 on the season. The Highlanders have started out unbeaten through seven games for the second straight year, following a 7-0-0 start in 2012.
For the week, John made 11 saves with a 0.90 GAA. He has yielded just four goals in 670 minutes played.
Others nominated: Wade Hamilton (Cal Poly); Robbie Hannon (Cal State Fullerton); Mynor Giron (Cal State Northridge); Marco Franco (UC Irvine)