MAC Announces Men's Soccer Player of the Week
Sam Gainford, Akron
Forward
Senior
Liverpool, England
Akron senior Sam Gainford registered his first multi-goal game of the season and third of his career to spark the Zips to a 5-0 victory over nationally-ranked UMass Lowell on Sunday, Sept. 24. Gainford recorded his team-leading third and fourth goals of the season in the 33rd (32:50) and 52nd (51:32) minutes, respectively, en route to posting a game-high four shots for Akron. The victory enabled the Zips to extend their unbeaten streak to four games entering a home showdown with Michigan State on Wednesday (Sept. 27).
Other Nominees
Ryan Kellogg, West Virginia
Defender
Sophomore
Parkville, Mo. (Park Hill South HS)
Sophomore Ryan Kellogg scored his first career goal, the game-winning score, with just 28 seconds left in regulation on Saturday in a 1-0 win over Dayton. On his third shot of the match in the final 10 minutes, Kellogg connected on WVU's only shot on goal at 89:32 to propel the Mountaineers to their third consecutive win in the last week. In the 1-0 win, Kellogg led the team with three shots, one on goal. The defender played all 90 minutes as he recorded his first career point.
Jay McIntosh, Western Michigan University
Forward
Senior
Kalamazoo (Loy Norrix)
Western Michigan senior forward Jay McIntosh helped lead the No. 12 ranked Broncos to two more wins the week. McIntosh tallied his sixth assist of the season on Wednesday, recording the helper on the game-winner in a 1-0 victory over No. 22 Michigan. McIntosh then scored the game-winning goal on Saturday as WMU posted a 2-0 road win at UMBC. WMU is undefeated with a 9-0-1 record this season and for the first time in program history is ranked No. 1 in the Great Lakes Region and in the top 15 nationally.
