GLIAC -- The Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) has announced its weekly awards following Week 2 of the 2025 men's soccer season. Saginaw Valley State junior forward Evan Baker was honored as GLIAC Offensive Player of the Week while Northern Michigan junior defender Owen Rutledge was tabbed GLIAC Defensive Player of the Week.
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Evan Baker, Saginaw Valley State
Saginaw Valley State's Evan Baker scored two goals and added an assist as the Cardinals tied Tiffin 1-1 and defeated their rival from Midland, the Northwood Timberwolves, 5-0 on Saturday. The junior forward had the primary assist in the lone goal against the Dragons and scored a brace against NU, helping the offensive surge to the team’s first win of the season after three ties to start the year. This is Baker’s first GLIAC Player of the Week award of his career and the first for men’s soccer in 2025. SVSU has a week off before starting GLIAC play next Wednesday, September 24, at Davenport.
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Owen Rutledge, Northern Michigan
After a solid weekend on the road against a pair of tough regional opponents, Owen Rutledge has been honored as this week's GLIAC Defensive Player of the Week. In a weekend that featured matchups with the reigning GLVC Regular Season and Tournament Champion in Lewis, and a recent NCAA Final Four team in Lake Erie, Rutledge and the Wildcat defense played to a scoreless draw against the Flyers, the sixth-ranked team in the region, and a 1-1 draw against Lake Erie, the eighth-ranked team in the region. A consistent feature in the Wildcat starting eleven, Rutledge has started every match and has played all but seven minutes this season, including featuring the full 90 minutes in both matches this past weekend. In game one, Rutledge and the Wildcats held the reigning GLVC Champions scoreless for their first time in nine games, dating back to last season’s 1-0 loss to Maryville. Rutledge then helped his team hold Lake Erie to just two shot attempts through the first 84 minutes and four shot attempts in total after 90 minutes, the lowest mark for the Storm this season by seven, and their fewest shot attempts in eleven games dating back to last season.
HONORABLE MENTION
Offense: Drew Matyunas (Davenport), Landon Potts (Purdue Northwest), Teun Van Gansewinkel (Northern Michigan)
Defense: Beau Hudd (Davenport), Thomas Kolja (Saginaw Valley State)
