GREELEY, Colo. (November 2, 2022) - After a first-round BYE in the Big Sky soccer tournament, the Lumberjacks are set to take on the Weber State Wildcats in the semifinals on Friday at 1 p.m. MST.
NAU finished the regular season with an overall record of 8-5-4, closing out the season on a seven game win streak in Big Sky play. The Lumberjacks claimed the Big Sky regular season championship on Oct. 23 against Portland State in Flagstaff.
Associate Head Coach Alan Berrios was named the Big Sky Coach of the year on Monday, after leading the Jacks to one of the best conference records in program history. Also bringing in awards for NAU was Maddie Shafer, Abby Donathan, and Logan Maszton with all-conference first team accolades. Trinity Corcoran earned all-conference second team, followed by Rylie Curran, Allison Veloz, and Josie Novak earning honorable mention.
The Jacks scored five goals in the last weekend of the regular season, shutting out both Sacramento State and Portland State in Flagstaff. Shafer leads the team in points with five goals and six assists on the season, making up 16 points total. Veloz is right behind Shafer with 4 goals and 3 assists on the season, her most recent action coming at Montana, where the forward scored two goals for NAU to secure the win.
Defensively, the Lumberjacks have continued to build momentum throughout the season only allowing two goals total through conference matches. Trinity Corcoran is second in the conference in shutouts, with nine total, along with a program record of a goals against average of .49 to lead the Big Sky.
The Wildcats entered the conference tournament as the No. 5 seed overall, after closing out the regular season with an overall record of 6-11, going 4-4 in Big Sky play. Weber State advanced to Friday's semifinal match after a 1-1 (PK 4-2) win to the Sacramento State Hornets.
NAU's only conference loss came to Weber State, in the first Big Sky match of the season for the Jacks, falling 1-0 in Ogden. The Wildcats lone goal came in the 28th minute of the match from Grace Kirby. Kirby's only goal of the season was against the Lumberjacks.
Weber State's quarterfinal matchup was decided by penalty kicks against the Hornets as the two teams were tied 1-1 after regulation and two overtime periods. The Wildcats topped Sacramento in a 4-2 PK shootout decision. The Wildcats are led by Big Sky Co-offensive MVP and Co-Golden Boot winner Morgan Furmaniak who has scored 5 goals and 1 assist for WSU.
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