By: Cody Bush, Associate Commissioner / Strategic Communications
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The nationally-ranked Colorado State University Pueblo men’s soccer team opened its season with back-to-back shutout wins and swept the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference’s Week 1 individual awards.
CSU Pueblo midfielder Caio Oliveira, defender Shjon Andrews, and goalkeeper Ruben Volkert won the league’s respective awards after the ThunderWolves defeated Western Oregon 3-0 on Thursday before shutting out Northwest Nazarene 2-0 on Saturday.
Offensive Player of the Week: Caio Oliveira, CSU Pueblo (Sr., MF, Espigão d'Oeste, Brazil)
Oliveira scored eight points and had three of CSU Pueblo’s five goals during the opening week. He had two goals and an assist in the ThunderWolves’ season-opening win against Western Oregon, scoring in the 13th minute and adding a penalty conversion in the 87th minute. Oliveira tacked on his season’s third goal on another penalty kick in the 38th minute against Northwest Nazarene.
Honorable Mention: Lucca Casci, Colorado Christian; Matheus Lazzuri, Colorado Mesa; Luke Hanna, Colorado School of Mines; David Citron, Fort Lewis; Brendan O’Toole, MSU Denver; Elias Taubo, Regis; Jayden Roque, South Dakota Mines; Nick Walker, University of Colorado Colorado Springs; Landon Ward, Westminster University.
Defensive Player of the Week: Shjon Andrews, CSU Pueblo (Grad., D, Longmont, Colorado)
Andrews played 157 minutes and led a CSU Pueblo defense that posted back-to-back shutouts to start the 2024 season. He scored his first goal of the season against Northwest Nazarene, heading in a corner kick, in the ThunderWolves’ 2-0 victory. Opponents managed only eight shots against the CSU Pueblo defense in two games.
Honorable Mention: Daniel Elher, Colorado Mesa; Jakob Larson, Fort Lewis; Nicco Schiappa, MSU Denver; Matthew Bared, Regis; Trent Ripley, South Dakota Mines; Rory Scott, University of Colorado Colorado Springs; Walker Schwendiman, Westminster University.
Goalkeeper of the Week: Ruben Volkert, CSU Pueblo (Grad., GK, Baden-Württemberg, Germany)
Volkert provided 135 shutout minutes in net as CSU Pueblo opened the season with two victories. He notched a shutout win against Western Oregon in the season-opener, making three saves on six shots faced. Volkert then started and provided a first-half shutout against Northwest Nazarene, making one save before being substituted to start the second half.
Honorable Mention: Diego Chavez, Colorado Mesa; Lucas Martin, Fort Lewis; Nick McNeil, MSU Denver; Greg Squire, Regis; Daniel Freitas, South Dakota Mines; Soren Russell, University of Colorado Colorado Springs.
About the RMAC
The RMAC is a premier NCAA Division II conference located in Colorado Springs, Colorado, with 15 member schools. The RMAC sponsors 22 varsity NCAA sports and has produced 65 NCAA Division II national champions and 52 national runners-up since 1992.
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