Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Fort Lewis’ Anton Hjalmarsson and Adnan Elaqad join University of Colorado Colorado Springs’ Soren Russell as the final Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Men’s Soccer Players of the Week, the league announced Tuesday.
 
Offensive Player of the Week: Anton Hjalmarsson | Fort Lewis | Fr. | F | Smalandsstenar, Sweden
Hjalmarsson had a dominant final weekend of regular-season play and served a crucial role in the Skyhawks’ 3-0 shutout over No. 17 Colorado Mesa to capture the RMAC regular-season championship. In his first appearance of the weekend, the freshman tallied three shots, one on goal, in a draw against Westminster. Against the Mavs, Hjalmarsson stepped up early with a successful finish in the box on a pass from Loic Jean-Baptiste to give the Skyhawks a 1-0 lead in the 28th minute. He then cut through the CMU backline and beat the keeper to seal the match at 3-0 in the 68th minute. The Smalandsstenar, Sweden, native closed the weekend with six points on two goals and registered eight shots, five on goal, over 146 minutes on the pitch.
 
Honorable Mention: Joao Pedro Moraes, Colorado Mesa; Noah Hannula, MSU Denver; Kolby Raineri, UCCS; Zach Moss, Westminster.
 
Defensive Player of the Week: Adnan Elaqad | Fort Lewis | Jr. | D | Mesa, Ariz.
Elaqad played a pivotal role in the No. 23 Skyhawks 3-0 shutout victory over the Mavericks Sunday, tying a bow on the regular season and earning the RMAC title for Fort Lewis. Across 90 minutes of action, the junior defender manned the Skyhawks’ backline, which limited the Mavs to just five shots on goal. Additionally, he also found the net for his first goal of the season to put FLC up 2-0 in the 38th minute of play with a header on a corner kick from David Citron.
 
Honorable Mention: Dimitrios Leonoglou, Colorado Mesa; Jackson Vander Ven, MSU Denver; Martin Launay, UCCS; Jace Vance, Westminster.
 
Goalkeeper of the Week: Soren Russell | UCCS | So. | GK | Bellevue, Wash.
Russell put together an incredible final weekend of play and recorded two shutout performances that lifted the Mountain Lions to a pair of 1-0 victories and the No. 4 seed in the upcoming RMAC Men’s Soccer Tournament. Across 180 minutes between the sticks, Russell pulled down eight saves on 23 shots faced for his fourth and fifth shutouts of the season. His five shutouts now sit third in the league this season, while his 1.09 goals-against average stands fourth in the RMAC for the year.
 
Honorable Mention: Diego Chavez, Colorado Mesa; Lucas Martin, Fort Lewis; Ross Miller, MSU Denver; Roark Looney, Westminster.