AMERICAN SOUTHWEST CONFERENCE MEN’S SOCCER PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Games: September 26-28, 2019

CO-OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Miguel Esteban Jr., M, Sr., McMurry
McMurry junior midfielder Miguel Esteban Jr. (Houston, Texas) scored his first career hat trick last Thursday against No. 25 Belhaven, helping his team open conference play with a 4-1 victory against the Blazers. For an encore, he went on to score the second goal of a 5-0 victory against Louisiana College, tallying four goals for the week.

CO-OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Edgar Guerrero, M, So., Concordia Texas
Concordia Texas sophomore midfielder Edgar Guerrero (Alvarado, Texas) scored three goals, including both game-winners, and had a pair of assists, as the Tornados went 2-0 to open conference play. On Thursday, he scored twice and assisted two more in a 6-2 victory over East Texas Baptist. Guerrero followed with the first goal of the game in a 3-0 win against LeTourneau on Saturday.

DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – Mackenson Cadet, M, Jr., Hardin-Simmons
Hardin-Simmons junior midfielder Mackenson Cadet (Providenciales, Turks and Caicos) led the No. 8/17 Cowboys’ to a pair of 3-0 shutouts against Louisiana College and No. 25 Belhaven. He and the HSU defensed limited their opponents to just seven shots and three on goal in two games. Cadet also recorded a goal and an assist against Belhaven.

OTHER TOP PERFORMANCES
Offensive
East Texas Baptist freshman forward Isaiah Simien (San Antonio, Texas) scored the game-winning goal in the 72nd minute for the Tigers in a 2-1 win at Mary Hardin-Baylor.

Howard Payne freshman Alexander Paz (Texas City, Texas) scored the only goal in the 35th minute in the Yellow Jackets’ 1-0 win against Ozarks.

Hardin-Simmons senior forward Jacob Gonzales (Austin, Texas) recorded a goal and an assists in the No. 8/17 Cowboys’ 3-0 victory against No. 25 Belhaven.

Ozarks freshman forward Charleus Emmanuel Ritch (Carrefour, Haiti) scored the game-winning goal in a 1-0 win over Sul Ross State. Ritch took three shots against Sul Ross State and nine shots against Howard Payne.

Mary Hardin-Baylor freshman midfielder Brody Conley (Cypress, Texas) scored one goal and added two assists as the Cru went 1-1 on the weekend. Against LeTourneau, Conley assisted Seth Neveloff's game-winning goal before adding an insurance goal for the Cru. He followed that by assisting UMHB's lone goal against East Texas Baptist on Saturday. Conley put four of his five shots on frame and totaled four points on the weekend.

UT Dallas senior forward Alfredo Kaegi (Frisco, Texas) scored the game-winner in a 1-0 road win over Howard Payne on Thursday as the Comets kicked off ASC play. Kaegi took seven shots against the host Yellow Jackets, finishing with three shots on frame. He also took one shot Saturday in a scoreless tie at Sul Ross State.

Defensive
East Texas Baptist freshman goalkeeper Cristian Hernandez (Tatum, Texas) recorded eight saves in his first career start in the Tigers’ 2-1 victory at Mary Hardin-Baylor.

Howard Payne junior keeper Andrew Hackney (Bedford, Texas) posted seven saves in a 1-0 shutout against Ozarks. He also had four saves in a 1-0 loss to UT Dallas, for 11 saves and a 0.50 goals against average on the week.

Sul Ross State senior goalkeeper Frank Rodriguez (El Paso, Texas) totaled 13 saves, a .950 save percentage and 0.45 goals against average as the Lobos went 0-1-1. He posted four saves in a 0-0 double-overtime tie shutout against UT Dallas and had nine in a 1-0 loss to Ozarks.

Concordia Texas sophomore keeper Erik Rodriguez (San Antonio, Texas) recorded his second shutout of the season, picking up four saves in a 3-0 win against LeTourneau. He also had four saves in the Tornados’ 6-2 win against East Texas Baptist.

Ozarks junior goalkeeper Logan Valestin (Bryant, Ark.) held Sul Ross State scoreless with four saves to post a 1-0 shutout road win. He also had five saves in a 1-0 loss at Howard Payne.

Mary Hardin-Baylor freshman defender Diego Valadez (Austin, Texas) played two full 90-minute contests on the Cru’s backline. He led a UMHB defense that allowed 13 shots against LeTourneau in a 3-0 win and 10 against East Texas Baptist in a 2-1 loss. Valadez and the Cru allowed just 12 shots on frame over two matches. He also recorded a team save against the Tigers.

McMurry freshman keeper Mark Pelaez (Corpus Christi, Texas) allowed just one goal against No. 25 Belhaven, while recording a career best four saves in a 5-0 shutout of Louisiana College in his first two collegiate starts. The shutout against the Wildcats was the first of his career. He also assisted the final goal of the 4-1 victory against Belhaven. For the week, he posted six saves with a 0.50 goals against average.

UT Dallas junior goalkeeper John Nicknish (Spring, Texas) posted a pair of shutouts with five total saves as the Comets opened ASC play last week with a pair of road contests. Nicknish made four saves Saturday afternoon as the Comets battled Sul Ross State through double overtime for a scoreless draw. Earlier in the week, Nicknish needed to make just one save Thursday in a 1-0 win road win over Howard Payne in the squad's ASC opener.