INDIANAPOLIS – Unbeaten program starts for Walsh and Findlay translated into respective Great Midwest Athletic Conference Men’s Soccer Players of the Week awards as announced on Monday afternoon.
 
The league is continuing to flex its muscle among the nation’s and region’s best with seven programs currently with a .500 or better record.
 
Findlay and Lake Erie are currently tied at the top of the league standings with 3 conference points. UF toppled No. 7 Ohio Valley for the second year in a row and the Oilers dropped the Fighting Scots last year, also ranked in the top 10 when ranked sixth.
 
While the Oilers are proving to be OVU’s kryptonite, several programs are lurking in the background getting ready for the heart of the conference schedule.
 
In five games, Lake Erie has only been scored on once as the Storm carved out road victories at Davenport and Northern Michigan over the past week. LEC is putting together a very strong resume in the region on its way to a 5-0-0 start.
 
 
Offensive Player of the Week
Dwight Van Dyke
Walsh
Forward/Midfielder
Senior
Toronto, Ontario (Sir Robert Borden)
 
Van Dyke earned his first athlete of the week award this season with outstanding performances in games over regional opponents Ashland and Slippery Rock. 
 
The Cavaliers defeated GLIAC opponent and reigning league champ Ashland, 3-2, and followed that up with a 2-1 win over Slippery Rock, improving to 4-0-0 on the season. Walsh is off to its best start in program history dating back to 1993.  
 
Van Dyke contributed the star power as he contributed to all five goals scored by the team over the week. 
 
The senior scored a hat trick and provided the game winning goal in the Cavaliers win over Ashland. He also assisted the first goal against Slippery Rock and later scored the game-winning goal to beat the Rocks. 
 
Both of Van Dyke’s scoring strikes came within the final six minutes. He currently leads the conference in points, goals, game winners and shots.
 
Out of the 10 goals scored by the Cavaliers this year, Van Dyke has scored six and assisted one of them.
 
Walsh will start conference play by traveling to rival Malone on Wednesday this week.
 
Defensive Player of the Week
Andrew Boulton
Findlay
Goalkeeper
Freshman
Brownsburg, IN (Brownsburg HS)
 
Brownsburg has produced some standout Oilers (i.e. reigning men’s golf athlete of the week Luke Kelly) and Boulton, just a freshman, is showing more of the same promise hailing from the area.
 
The rookie keeper is showing he is more than up to the task and has been part of the program’s notable turnaround with a perfect start to the season.  
 
Boulton passed his latest tests with flying colors as the Oilers toppled newly-ranked No. 7 Ohio Valley in the Great Midwest opener and Daemen.
 
Boulton played every minute against the Fighting Scots and produced six saves out of seven shots on target while the defensive unit collaborated to slow down the high-powered OVU offense.
 
The double overtime victory for the Oilers was the second year in a row that Ohio Valley was nationally ranked before coming to Findlay and suffering a setback. OVU was ranked sixth nationally in the 2018 meeting between the two teams.
 
With similar results, Boulton blanked Daemen, making six more saves in the clean sheet. He is averaging five saves per game so far this fall.
 
Boulton and the Oilers welcome defending conference champion Tiffin to town on Wednesday before traveling to Kentucky Wesleyan to end the week in the league schedule.