UC Merced in position to play spoiler, Concordia holds advantage in the West
The West is now up for grabs with just over a week to go in the regular season.
That fact is thanks to Concordia's 14-9 win over previously undefeated Biola on Halloween Night in Irvine. The Golden Eagles, the defending West Region champion, scored the match's first six goals to avenge their previous loss to BU on Oct. 8.
CUI and BU are now tied at the top of the West with a 3-1 conference record with just two matches to play against UC Merced and Fresno Pacific.
The Bobcats, who are playing in their first WWPA season, can play spoiler to their California counterparts starting this Saturday in Fresno. A win by UC Merced over the Sunbirds would make Fresno Pacific the No. 3 West seed and eliminate FPU from second-place contention.
The following weekend, FPU and UC Merced could both come into play, as the two squads visit CUI and BU with everything left to play for.
If CUI and BU tie with identical conference records, the Golden Eagles currently hold the tiebreaker advantage due to winning percentage against common non-conference opponents.
West Region (all times local)
Sat., Nov. 8, 1pm | Watch | Live Stats
WWPA Network
WWPA matches hosted by conference schools are streamed live on thewwpa.com.
2025 WWPA Championship
Tournament Central
November 21-23
SPIRE Aquatics Center | Geneva, Ohio
Hosted by Gannon University
Ticket information to be announced.
Around the WWPA
Biola (7-18, 3-1 WWPA)
Last week: L at Concordia, 14-9.
Suffered its first conference loss at the hands of Concordia … Remains tied for first place in the West Region … Nick Murray, Caleb Hernandez and an Isaac Demski goal would pull BU within three in the second half, but the Eagles could not dig themselves out of a 6-0 hole to start the match … Hernandez paced the Eagles with two goals and an assist while Demski scored twice
Next up: Travels to #10 UC San Diego on Sat., Nov. 8.
Concordia (17-11, 3-1 WWPA)
Last week: 1-1; W vs Biola, 14-9; L at #14 Loyola Marymount, 16-8.
The two-time WWPA runner-up got its revenge on SoCal rival Biola, handling the Eagles on Halloween Night … Shares first place in the West Region with two conference matches remaining … Harry Bentham, recently back from injury, had a hat trick and an assist … Pablo de Souza turned in another stellar performance with 17 saves and an assist … Oscar Garcia Blomback and Hugo Wouters netted two goals apiece the following day in a loss to LMU.
Next up: Faces Cal State Fullerton on the road, Fri., Nov. 7 at 6pm.
Fresno Pacific (3-16, 1-2 WWPA)
Last week: Did not compete.
Last time out, faced stiff competition at the Julian Fraser Memorial Tournament … Forrest Gray registered team highs of 10 goals, five assists, six drawn exclusions and seven steals … Joey Brocar logged five field blocks … Christian Clark added seven scores and two assists.
Next up: Hosts UC Merced on Sat., Nov. 8 at 1pm.
Gannon (13-9, 3-1 WWPA)
Last week: 1-0; W at Penn State Behrend, 19-17.
Captain Alexandros Kotskar led the way with eight goals on 13 shots … GU went 4-for-7 with a man advantage … Nikiforos Liantziris scored four and Petar Markovic added three.
Next up: Faces the winner of No. 3 East seed and No. 2 West seed on Saturday, Nov. 22 in the semifinals of the 2025 WWPA Men's Championship.
McKendree (11-11, 2-2 WWPA)
Last week: Did not compete
Last time out, nearly nearly stole the East's top seed from Gannon by beating the Golden Knights Saturday morning … It slipped away Sunday against Salem … Went 3-1 over the weekend … Armand Le Goff led all players with 22 goals and 33 total points during the Salem Invite … Le Goff and James Ramey each scored five against GU … Brayden Ogle had a .556 save percentage during the tournament.
Next up: Has the No. 2 East seed for the 2025 WWPA Championship … They'll take on the No. 3 West seed in the quarterfinals on Fri., Nov. 21 at 12pm ET.
Salem (15-13, 1-3 WWPA)
Last week: Did not compete.
Played spoiler as host of the Salem Invite, beating McKendree 19-17 on day two to hand the East to Gannon … Marko Zivojinovic scored five in the Tigers' only conference win of the season … Salem will be the No. 3 East seed (1-3) … Danko Kesic led SU with 16 goals while Zivojinovic led the tournament with 14 assists … Nandor Voros led the tournament with nine steals.
Next up: Ends the regular season at Johns Hopkins on Nov. 15 … Will play the West No. 2 seed in the WWPA quarterfinals on Fri., Nov. 21 at 2pm ET.
UC Merced (4-16, 0-3 WWPA)
Last week: 0-4; L at #6 UC Davis, 21-5.
Played its third top-10 team in a little over a week on Sunday against No. 6 UC Davis … Matthew King and Mathias McCarthy scored the final two goals of the first quarter to pull the Bobcats within 3-2 at the first intermission … Andrew Jones then answered an Aggie goal to keep it at 4-3 in the second … UCD would hold UC Merced to just two scores the rest of the way … Jones had a goal and an assist.
Next up: Faces Fresno Pacific on the road on Sat., Nov. 8 at 1pm.
WWPA Offensive Player of the Week
Gannon's all-time leading scorer finished off the 2025 regular season in style with a game-high eight goals against crosstown foe Penn State Behrend. The senior from Voula, Greece shot 8-of-13 while adding an assist, two steals and a field block. It marked his third game of eight goals or more this season. Kotskar ranks in the WWPA top-4 in goals (3rd, 87), points (4th, 113) and goals per game (1st, 4.0).
Nominees: Oscar Garcia Blomback, Concordia; Andrew Jones, UC Merced; Alexandros Kotksar, Gannon
Aug. 25-31, 2025: Dimitrios Koritsas, Concordia
Sept. 1-7, 2025: Victor Volant, Gannon
Sept. 8-14: 2025: Andrew Jones, UC Merced
Sept. 15-21, 2025: Alexandros Kotskar, Gannon
Sept. 22-28, 2025: Armand Le Goff, McKendree
Sept. 29-Oct. 5, 2025: Hugo Wouters, Concordia
Oct. 6-12, 2025: Victor Volant, Gannon
Oct. 13-19, 2025: Kai Young, Concordia
Oct. 20-26, 2025: Armand Le Goff, McKendree
Oct. 27-Nov. 2, 2025: Alexandros Kotskar, Gannon
WWPA Defensive Player of the Week
Concordia's goalkeeper continued his stellar 2025 season with an immense defensive performance in a key conference match against Biola. The junior from Sao Paulo, Brazil stopped 17 shots, posted a .654 save percentage and limited BU to just .412 shooting on Halloween Night. de Souza, who has already set a single-season saves record, leads the WWPA in saves (278) and save percentage (.505).
Nominees: Petar Markovic, Gannon; Pablo de Souza, Concordia; Matthew Lloyd, UC Merced
Aug. 25-31, 2025: Mateja Cerovic, Salem
Sept. 1-7, 2025: Pablo de Souza, Concordia
Sept. 9-14, 2025: Pablo de Souza, Concordia
Sept. 15-21, 2025: Nandor Voros, Salem
Sept. 22-28, 2025: Bator Mohacsi, Gannon
Sept. 29-Oct. 5, 2025: Pablo de Souza, Concordia
Oct. 6-12, 2025: Chase Hammes, Fresno Pacific
Oct. 13-19, 2025: Joshua Dachenhausen, Biola
Oct. 20-26, 2025: Nandor Voros, Salem
Oct. 27-Nov. 2, 2025: Pablo de Souza, Concordia
2025 WWPA Preseason Poll
1. Salem 28 (4)
2. Concordia 27 (3)
3. Biola 20
4. Gannon 13
5. McKendree 9
6. Fresno Pacific 8
*UC Merced
*UC Merced will play a WWPA conference regular season schedule, but is ineligible for WWPA/NCAA postseason official competition due to NCAA Division II transition.