SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – For the second straight week, Denver and Oral Roberts split the TicketSmarter #SummitMSOC weekly awards as Golden Eagle forward Dante Brigida garnered the offensive award and Pioneer midfielder Liam Johnson earned the defensive one, league officials announced Monday.
Brigida recorded his first brace of the season, pushing his league-leading goal total to eight in a 3-2 victory on the road at Omaha. Brigida opened the scoring in the fifth minute, then provided his league-leading third game-winning goal of the season in the 70
th minute to break a 2-2 tie.
Brigida now has six career multiple-goal games and this marks the third time in his ORU career that he has earned offensive player of the week at least twice in a season (Aug. 30).
Johnson and the Pioneers went 1-0-1 against a pair of Power 5 opponents last week, knocking off Virginia 2-1 in overtime before earning a 1-1 draw with Stanford at home. Late in the match against the Cavaliers, Johnson blocked a shot with a diving header that kept the game square at 1-1 before teammate Destan Norman scored a golden goal in the opening overtime.
DU surrendered only five combined shots on goal in the two matches as the Pios pushed their unbeaten streak to five straight.
The Pioneers (3-0-0; nine points) visit Oral Roberts (3-0-1; 10 points) this Saturday for a pivotal match between the top two teams in the league standings.
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Dante Brigida, Oral Roberts
Gr. | F | Edmond, Okla.
- Recorded his first brace of the season, including game-winner in 3-2 victory over Omaha
- Leads League with eight goals and three game-winning goals
- Multiple-goal match was the sixth of his career
- This is the second weekly honor of the season for Brigida and seventh of his career
Also nominated: Destan Norman, Denver; Kazuki Kimura, Kansas City.
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Liam Johnson, Denver
Jr. | MF |
- Captained a Denver defense that allowed only five shots on goal in a 1-0-1 week against a pair of Power 5 opponents
- Blocked a shot with a diving header late in match against Virginia that kept the score level at 1-1 before Pioneers eventually won in overtime
- This is the second career Summit League weekly accolade for Johnson
Also nominated: Josselyn Petel, Oral Roberts; Seth Kacich, Kansas City
2021 Men’s Soccer Players of the Week
August 30
O: Dante Brigida, Oral Roberts
D: Cooper Clark, Kansas City
September 7
O: Felipe D’Agostini, Oral Roberts
D: Will DeSantis, Denver
September 13
O: Lukas Fisher, Denver
D: Josselyn Petel, Oral Roberts
September 20
O: Lukas Fisher, Denver
D: Cooper Clark, Kansas City
September 27
O: Brennan Rzewuski, Eastern Illinois
D: Jonathan Burke, Eastern Illinois
October 4
O: Lukas Fisher, Denver
D: Dominik Danis, Omaha
October 11
O: Stefan DeLeone, Denver
D: Logan Bellone, Oral Roberts
October 18
O: Dante Brigida, Oral Roberts
D: Liam Johnson, Denver
#SummitMSOC
