MAC Men's Soccer Co-Player of the Week
Jan Maertins, NIU
Forward, Senior, Rheinfelden, Germany (Georg-Buechner Gym)
Jan Maertins scored a pair of goals, including the game-winner in the 76th minute, as NIU defeated Western Michigan, 3-2, in its lone game of the week. The senior forward opened the scoring in the 23rd minute with his fifth goal of the season off an assist from Anthony Markanich. NIU went in front 2-0 before Western Michigan pulled back even, but Maertins gave the Huskies the lead back for good with his team-high tying sixth goal of the season.
David Egbo, Akron
Forward, Junior, Enugu, Nigeria
Akron junior David Egbo turned in a stellar performance in sparking the Zips to a 3-0 victory over league-leading SIU Edwardsville on Oct. 25 in the squad’s lone match of the week. He directed the Zips' offensive performance with a game-high five shots, including two on frame, and finished the night with a goal and two assists.
Egbo earned the assist on what proved to be the game-winning tally by freshman Mani Austmann in the fourth minute (3:29). He extended Akron's margin to 2-0 in the 37th minute (36:27) delivering a shot from 10 yards out that found the corner of the net courtesy of an assist from freshman Henrique Cruz. The goal marked Egbo's team-leading fifth tally of the season. He capped his evening with an assist on Will Jackson’s goal in the 90th minute.
On the season, Egbo owns team-high marks in goals (5), assists (3), points (13), shots (34) and shots on goal (16).
Other Nominees
Anthony Mwembia, Bowling Green
Goalkeeper, Senior, Toulouse, France
Bowling Green senior goalkeeper Anthony Mwembia had a 2-0-0 record and a GAA of 0.00 last week, as the Falcons won a pair of matches by a combined 7-0 score. Mwembia made one save – a point-blank stop – in the Falcons’ 4-0 win over Purdue Fort Wayne on Tuesday night. Then, on a rainy Saturday night at Cochrane Stadium, Mwembia made three saves in BG’s three-goal win over West Virginia. He parried a hard shot back out of the box in the first half, and made a diving save to tip a low shot wide of the far post late in that half. In the second half, he went to the ground to grab another shot that was ticketed for the far post, and did not allow a rebound on the wet surface. The two clean sheets last week give him eight shutouts on the season and 27 in his BGSU career. He is now second in BGSU history in career shutouts, trailing only BGSU Hall-of-Famer Scott Vallow (42). With 224 career saves, he has moved into eighth place on that BGSU career list. Mwembia has lowered his GAA to 0.97. He and the Falcons are 9-5-1 on the year, heading into next weekend’s match at Western Michigan.
