INDIANAPOLIS – Great Midwest Athletic Conference Men’s Soccer Players of the Week were announced on Tuesday after the conclusion of the regular season and the start of the playoffs with the conference tournament.
Ohio Valley won its quarterfinal matchup vs. No. 8 Walsh on Saturday, and as the highest seed, will host the semifinals and the championship game at nearby Muskingum University in New Concord, Ohio.
Joining the top-seeded Fighting Scots will be Findlay, Davis & Elkins, and Cedarville, with the latter two having respective student-athletes earn player of the week recognition.
Great Midwest Offensive Player of the Week
Tim Staerz
Davis & Elkins
Forward
Sophomore
Bad Nauheim, Germany (Sportgymnasium Magdeburg)
Staerz earned offensive honors for the second time this season after two strong performances to put the No. 2 seeded Senators in a position to succeed this week against Findlay in an intriguing semifinal matchup.
The sophomore scored three goals in two games, both resulting in game winners. Staerz leads Davis & Elkins with 28 points as well being tied for the team lead in goals with 12.
In a 1-0 victory over Alderson Broaddus, Staerz scored the only goal, an unassisted goal in the 67th minute to give the Senators the lead in the regular season finale.
In the quarterfinal contest against No. 7 Ohio Dominican, Staerz scored the first two goals of the game. He kicked off the scoring in the seventh minute after an assist from Abel Ameyaw.
He followed that up five minutes later with his second goal of the game, this one being a game winner since the Panthers were able to score in the second half.
Great Midwest Defensive Player of the Week
Graham Sachtleben
Cedarville
Goalkeeper
Senior
Manassas, VA (Evangel Christian)
Sachtleben played a major role in helping the Yellow Jackets advance in the postseason as a slight underdog following a victory against No. 4 Alderson Broaddus in the quarterfinals.
The quarterfinal upset combined with a 1-1 draw against No. 6 nationally ranked/No. 1 Midwest Region ranked Ohio Valley helped him gather defensive weekly honors for the first time in his career.
Against the Fighting Scots, Sachtleben made two saves and did not allow a goal in 65 minutes in the net. He was subbed out midway through the second half as Cedarville ended up salvaging the 110-minute tie to finish the regular season.
Versus the defending conference tournament champion Battlers in a rematch of last year’s 2016 final, Cedarville got on the board early and then Sachtleben went to work. The senior posted seven saves and did not allow a goal despite his team being outshot by a considerable margin.
He set up a rematch with top seeded Ohio Valley for the second time in two weeks with a chance to move on to the conference championship game once again.