Wisconsin Soccer Central

This week's Horizon League soccer awards have a strong Wisconsin flavor.

UW-Green Bay senior forwards Sabastian Xiong (Monona Grove) and Hekla Palmadottir swept the men's and women's Offensive Player of the Week honors, respectively, while UW-Milwaukee freshman goalkeeper Liam Anderson was the men's defensive honoree.

Xiong scored twice as the Phoenix went on the road and pulled out a 3-3 draw with then-No. 12 Marquette on Sunday at Valley Fields in Milwaukee – the two goals matched his total scoring output in 27 previous career appearances. He gave Green Bay the lead in the 24th minute, then finished off his brace with an 85th-minute equalizer.

Anderson preserved UW-Milwaukee's 2-1 victory over rival Marquette in front of a record crowd of 3,312 last Friday night at Engelmann Stadium. The New Zealand youth international made six saves in his college debut, including a huge stop on a volley by Golden Eagles midfielder Sebastian Jansson from close range in the 83rd minute.

Palmadottir, meanwhile, had a goal and two assists on the weekend to help the Phoenix women beat Western Illinois 3-1 and Eastern Illinois 2-0 to win their own tournament. The native of Iceland was named the tournament's Offensive MVP. 

Two more state players were listed among the league's other top performers for the week: UWM sophomore midfielder Declan Rodriguez on the men's side for offense, and Green Bay junior defender Jenna Harrington (Madison La Follette) for defense on the women's side.

• Sarah Eck (Lake Mills), who played a role in four of UW-Platteville's seven goals on the weekend, was named the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference women's Offensive Player of the Week. Eck had two goals and an assist as the Pioneers opened the season with a 3-0 win over host Cornell (Iowa) on Friday and set up another goal in a 4-0 victory over visiting St. Mary's (Minn.) a day later. UW-Whitewater junior midfielder Kaitlyn Fritsch (Monona Grove) was the defensive honoree after helping the Warhawks rally for a 2-2 draw with St. Benedict (Minn.) – she scored the home side's second equalizer in the season opener, heading in a corner kick in the 49th minute.
• The WIAC men's Defensive Player of the Week was UW-Superior junior goalkeeper Matt Elder, who was named the MVP of the Advantage Emblem Cup as the Yellowjackets won the tournament in Duluth, Minn. Elder made five saves in a 3-0 shutout of Concordia-Moorhead (Minn.) and matched that total in a 1-1 draw with second-ranked Loras (Iowa), one coming on a penalty kick.
• Sophomore keeper Sidney Blodgett (Eau Claire North), who allowed two goals and made 12 saves as Ripon split its opening matches last weekend, was named the women's Midwest Conference Defensive Performer of the Week. Blodgett stopped 10 shots in a 2-0 loss to Marian, then turned aside both shots she faced to earn the clean sheet in a 4-0 win over Lakeland.
• Loras (Iowa) senior defender Kinsey Campbell (Greendale) was the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference women's Defensive Player of the Week – and the conference's female athlete of the week for all sports. Campbell was named the MVP of the Advantage Emblem Cup in Duluth as the Duhawks blanked host St. Scholastica 1-0 and UW-Superior 7-0.
• Northland freshman defender Nick Brunswick was the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Week after helping the Lumberjacks blank MacMurray (Ill.) 2-0 in their season opener.
• Northern Illinois junior defender Dusty Page (Germantown/Kettle Moraine Lutheran) was named the Mid-American Conference's representative on the NCAA Division I Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. The SAAC aims to enhance the student-athlete experience by promoting opportunity, protecting student-athlete well being and fostering a positive student-athlete image. Page's term on the SAAC started July 1 and runs through July 1, 2015.

POLLING PLACE

The University of Wisconsin and Marquette women's teams are both in this week's National Soccer Coaches Association of America poll.

The Badgers (3-0-1) made their debut in the rankings at No. 23 after receiving votes in last week's poll, while the Golden Eagles (2-2-0) slipped five spots to No. 25 after splitting their matches for the second straight weekend.

UW checks in at No. 3 in the Great Lakes Region rankings, while Marquette is fifth in the Northeast Region.

• In Division III, UW-Whitewater (0-0-1) received votes in the national poll and is ranked third in the North Region, two spots ahead of Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference rival UW-Eau Claire (1-0-0).
• Marquette (0-1-1) fell out of the NSCAA Division I men's rankings, but still received votes. UW-Milwaukee (1-0-0) is ninth in the Great Lakes Region poll and Marquette received votes.
• UW-Oshkosh (2-0-0) moved into the Division III poll at No. 21 after going on the road and beating California sides Chapman and Pomona-Pitzer on the season's opening weekend. The Titans are third in the North Region rankings, which also feature fellow WIAC team UW-Superior (1-0-1) at No. 7. Milwaukee School of Engineering (1-0-1) checked in at No. 6 in the Central Region poll.
• UW-Milwaukee moved into the Soccer America men's Top 25 at No. 24, and UW earned the last spot in the women's Top 25.
• Marquette dropped three places to 23rd in the women's Soccer Times Top 25, while the Badgers received votes from the panel of coaches who vote on the poll. The Golden Eagles and UW-Milwaukee received votes in the men's Top 25 – Marquette's Louis Bennett and Maryland's Sasho Cirovski (UW-Milwaukee) are among the 15 coaches on the voting panel.
• In the TopDrawerSoccer.com rankings, the Marquette women slipped four spots to No. 18 and UW was among the other teams considered. On the men's side, Marquette fell from No. 9 in the preseason poll to 16th.
• Three state teams are in the first NSCAA National Christian College Athletic Association Division II rankings of the year: Northland International is second and Maranatha Baptist is 10th in the men's poll, while the Maranatha women are ranked fourth – both Crusaders sides are in their first season as an independent after leaving the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference.

ON THE SIDELINES

Jamie Lieberman (Racine Prairie School/UW-Parkside) is serving as the goalkeeper coach for the Dayton men's program this season.

Lieberman played with the Milwaukee Wave Reserves, the Norfolk SharX of the Major Indoor Soccer League in the 2011-12 season and the Cincinnati Kings of the Professional Arena Soccer League last winter, and has coached at Parkside and in the Wright State women's program. He also is the founder and CEO of PEGLIYL, a company that makes goalkeeper gloves.