Concordia hunts West crown, Biola lurks for any slip-up
The phrase "back-to-back" might be a sensitive subject for the Golden Eagles.
Twice in a row, Concordia has been in the WWPA Championship game to no avail.
This week, CUI doesn't have a problem going back-to-back. If they beat UC Merced and Fresno Pacific at home this weekend, they'll be back-to-back WWPA West Region champs and earn a first-round bye for the 2025 WWPA Championship.
Coming to town first will be a plucky UC Merced squad coming off its first-ever WWPA victory - a road win on Senior Day over Central California rival Fresno Pacific at that.
Biola, which saw its first-place spot taken from their Eagle talons by Concordia on Halloween, will be ready for any slip-up from CUI. They'll need to finish with a better West Region record than CUI due to the Golden Eagles' tiebreaker advantage.
By Saturday night, the field and schedule will be set for Nov. 21-23's WWPA Championship in Geneva, Ohio.
West Region (all times local)
Fri., Nov. 14, 6pm: Fresno Pacific at Biola | Watch | Live Stats
Fri., Nov. 14, 7pm: UC Merced at Concordia | Watch | Live Stats
Sat., Nov. 15, 1pm: Fresno Pacific at Concordia | Watch | Live Stats
Sat., Nov. 15, 1pm: UC Merced at Biola | Watch | Live Stats
WWPA Network
WWPA matches hosted by conference schools are streamed live on thewwpa.com.
2025 WWPA Championship
Tickets now on sale!
November 21-23
SPIRE Aquatics Center | Geneva, Ohio
Hosted by Gannon University
Around the WWPA
Biola (7-19, 3-1 WWPA)
Last week: L at #10 UC San Diego, 13-7.
Outscored the 10th-ranked Tritons in the second half, 6-5, but an early deficit was too much to dig out of … Joshua Dachenhausen made eight saves … Gavin McKenzie and Nick Murray each scored two goals while Noah Ryznar and Caden Digby tacked on one apiece.
Next up: Hosts Fresno Pacific (Nov. 14) and UC Merced (Nov. 15) in critical WWPA West Region matches.
Concordia (17-12, 3-1 WWPA)
Last week: L at Cal State Fullerton, 14-11.
Five players scored multiple goals but the Golden Eagles fell to the Titans of Fullerton … CUI collected six steals and drew 15 exclusions … Pablo de Souza made nine saves with an assist … Kai Young, Hugo Wouters, Harry Bentham and Kaliq Khan scored twice … Sam Diamond and Porter Rosenlof had two assists each.
Next up: Hosts UC Merced (Nov. 14) and Fresno Pacific (Nov. 15) in key WWPA matchups.
Fresno Pacific (3-17, 1-3 WWPA)
Last week: L vs UC Merced, 14-10.
On Senior Day, Forrest Gray erupted for a first quarter hat trick as a part of a five-goal, two assist performance … Chris Sandino added two goals, an assist and two steals … Blake Johnson registered a goal and an assist … Will be the West No. 3 seed for the WWPA Championship.
Next up: Travels in the hope to play spoiler at Biola (Nov. 14) and Concordia (Nov. 15).
Gannon (13-9, 3-1 WWPA)
Last week: Did not compete.
Will be the East No. 1 seed as host of the 2025 WWPA Championship by virtue of winning the East for the first time in program history … Has a first-round bye and will play UC Merced in an exhibition to kick things off on Friday, Nov. 21 … All-time leading scorer Alexandros Kotskar ranks third in goals (87) and fourth in points (113) in the WWPA … Nikiforos Liantziris' 46 assists are third-most … Victor Volant's .865 sprint-win percentage, 32 sprint wins and 47 steals are highest in the conference.
Next up: Faces the winner of No. 3 East seed and No. 2 West seed on Sat., Nov. 22 in the semifinals of the 2025 WWPA Men's Championship.
McKendree (11-11, 2-2 WWPA)
Last week: Did not compete
The No. 2 East seed for the WWPA Championship … Armand Le Goff ranks top-five in points (3rd, 116), goals (4th, 78) and assists (5th, 38) … Yannick Robertson's 62 goals are fifth … Have won seven of last nine matches heading into postseason.
Next up: Opens the 2025 WWPA Championship against No. 3 West seed Fresno Pacific in the quarterfinals on Fri., Nov. 21 at 12pm ET.
Salem (15-13, 1-3 WWPA)
Last week: Did not compete.
Last time out, 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 (5-16, 1-3 WWPA)
Last week: 1-0; W at Fresno Pacific, 14-10.
Outscored FPU 5-1 in the second quarter to take control of the game in its first-ever WWPA win … Andrew Jones' six goals and Jakee Chacon's first career hat trick propelled the Bobcats … Five additional players scored … Bobcats led by as many as six … Weston Oliver has scored in eight straight games.
Next up: Taking winning momentum on the road to Concordia (Nov. 14) and Biola (Nov. 15).
WWPA Offensive Player of the Week
UC Merced's Andrew Jones tied his career high with six goals to lead the Bobcats to their inaugural WWPA win over Fresno Pacific. The junior from Temple City, Calif., hadn't scored a goal in conference play until he busted out a first-half hat trick against the Sunbirds. For good measure, he added another hat trick in the second half. He now leads the team with 43 goals this season and has 113 in his career.
Nominees: Kaliq Khan, Concordia; Forrest Gray, Fresno Pacific; Andrew Jones, UC Merced
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
Nov. 3-9, 2025: Andrew Jones, UC Merced
WWPA Defensive Player of the Week
The Bobcat goalkeeper has been very nearly an every-week nominee for the Defensive Award, and he finally broke through after anchoring UC Merced to its first-ever WWPA win. The Napa, Calif. native recorded 13 saves against Fresno Pacific and limited the 'Birds to .323 shooting. His performance marked his fourth straight WWPA match with double-digit stops.
Nominees: Matthew Lloyd, UC Merced; Pablo de Souza, Concordia
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
Nov. 3-9, 2025: Matthew Lloyd, UC Merced
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.