The Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) has announced its weekly awards following Week 6 of the 2026 men's soccer season. Saginaw Valley State forward Matty Telfer was named GLIAC Offensive Player of the Week while Northern Michigan goalkeeper Asaf Kristal was selected as GLIAC Defensive Player of the Week.
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Matty Telfer, Saginaw Valley State
Matty Telfer scored two goals and tallied two assists over a pair of victories last weekend, contributing to four of the Cardinals’ five goals. The junior forward scored the game-winning goal in the final five minutes of a 1-0 victory over Roosevelt, finding the back of the net from the Cardinals’ half of the field on a nearly 200-foot shot. Telfer also assisted on the game-winning goal in a 4-0 victory over St. Cloud State before adding another assist and his second goal of the weekend. The Newcastle, England, native is tied for ninth in NCAA Division II with nine goals and tied for eighth with 22 points. This is the third GLIAC Player of the Week award for SVSU men’s soccer this season and the third of Telfer’s career.
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Asaf Kristal, Northern Michigan
Senior captain goalkeeper Asaf Kristal has been selected as the GLIAC Defensive Player of the Week. Kristal (Tel Aviv, Israel) had an excellent weekend in goal for the ‘Cats, posting back-to-back shutouts in a 2-0 win over Purdue Northwest and 1-0 win over Parkside. Kristal made three saves in the effort on Friday, and followed that up with five saves on Sunday, turning aside chance after chance. On the weekend, Kristal had 31 shot attempts fired his way, none of which got past him. With the clean sheet on Friday, Kristal broke the NMU career shutouts record, and adding another to the tally continues to solidify his place at the top of the record book. Kristal and the Wildcats have not allowed a goal against in three consecutive games and over 290 minutes of active playing time. After the weekend, the ‘Cats sit alone atop the GLIAC conference standings, three points clear of Roosevelt and Saginaw.
HONORABLE MENTION
Offense: Luca Rosen, Northern Michigan
Defense: Abe Freye, Saginaw Valley State
