The NCAA men's soccer season is starting to reach an important time of the season as teams are getting into conference play with conference tournaments and potential berths in the NCAA Tournament starting to come more into focus. As teams look to get off to a good start against conference opponents, several Timbers Academy alumni are playing a big role for their respective squads.
Utah Valley University goalkeeper Collin Partee has made 34 saves for the Wolverines during their inaugural season, helping Utah Valley to a 4-3-1 overall record, including a 1-1-1 mark against ranked opponents. Partee, a member of the Timbers Academy for two seasons, made six saves in a 1-1 draw with No. 24 Seattle University on Oct. 4 and currently ranks second in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) with a .850 saves percentage and third in goals-against average (0.88). Utah Valley will host back-to-back home matches over the weekend, facing Grand Canyon on Friday before taking on UNLV on Sunday.
Timbers Academy alumni Jesse Garcia-Aguilar and Anthony Macchione (above) continue to get valuable field time for the University of Akron as freshman. Garcia-Aguilar earned back-to-back starts for the Zips in a 1-0 win over University of Alabama at Birmingham on Oct. 4 and a 1-0 loss against Michigan State on Tuesday, while Macchione featured off the bench in both games. Garcia-Aguilar and Macchione have appeared in all 10 games for the Zips, helping the team to a 5-4-1 overall record as conference play begins Saturday on the road against Bowling Green.
Stanford freshman forward Foster Langsdorf, who netted his first career goal on Sept. 26, featured off the bench in a 1-0 win over Oregon State on Oct. 2, Stanford’s seventh consecutive victory. Langsdorf also came off the bench in a 3-1 loss to Washington, making his third appearance this season. Stanford hosts San Diego State Thursday night in the first of three straight home matches.
Concordia sophomore Timur Zhividze scored his team-leading third goal of the season for the Cavaliers in a 3-1 win over Northwest Christian on Saturday in Cascade Collegiate Conference (CCC) action. Zhividze, who tallied five goals in 15 appearances as a member of the inaugural Timbers U-18 squad during the 2012-13 U.S. Soccer Development Academy season, has made three consecutive starts for Concordia, including Tuesday in a 3-1 loss against Evergreen State. Currently in first place in the CCC, Concordia will face Warner Pacific College this Saturday.
At the junior college level, former Timbers Academy player David Mack has helped Yavapai Community College to a 16-0-1 record, making 10 starts and registering two assists as a sophomore defender. The Roughriders are currently ranked No. 1 in the nation, according to the NJCAA DI poll.
Clark College ran out 6-0 winners against Southwestern Oregon on Oct. 4 for their third consecutive victory. Octavio Hermosillo, who played 15 matches for the Timbers U-18s last season, has scored three goals and two assists for the Penguins, while Abdiel Morfin has tallied one goal this season.
A pair of former Timbers U-23s players earned accolades recently as Creighton midfielder Lucas Stauffer was named BIG EAST Rookie of the Week for his two-goal performance, including a dramatic winner in the final minute, in a 3-2 win over Seton Hall on Oct. 4. Stauffer, who played with the Timbers U-23s in 2014, is Creighton’s leading goal scorer with three goals. Forward Kharlton Belmar, the leading scorer for the Timbers U-23s this season, was named Atlantic-10 Co-Player of the Week after scoring a brace in a 3-0 win over George Mason on Oct. 4. Belmar was also named VCU’s Student Athlete of the Week.
