Bruins sweep NSAA Men's Soccer weekly awards
Rob Smith was honored for the second time this year and Ben Martin for the first
MADISON, S.D. -- A pair of Bellevue University soccer players have been named the North Star Athletic Association Men's Soccer Players of the Week, as announced by the conference.
Junior midfielder Rob Smith (Lincoln, England) has been named NSAA Offensive Player of the Week. Smith continued to showcase his playmaking skills for the Bruins last week as he scored four goals and registered three assists in a pair of Bruin victories. Smith notched his third hat trick of the year and added three assists in a win at Grace. He followed that performance up with a goal in a 2-0 victory over Waldorf that clinched the regular-season NSAA title for BU.
The award is the second of the year for Smith, who was previously honored on Oct. 25, and fourth of his career. Smith leads the conference with 15 goals and 38 points while ranking second with eight assists on the year. He is 13th nationally in points, 19th in goals, and 33rd in assists.
Senior goalkeeper Ben Martin (Lincolnshire, England) has been named the NSAA Defensive Player of the Week. Martin was stellar in goal for Bellevue last week, earning a pair of clean sheets including one against Waldorf on Saturday to clinch the NSAA regular-season title. He made eight saves in a 2-0 North Star victory over Waldorf, turning in a Man of the Match-worthy performance.
The award is Martin's first of the season and third of his career – the previous two coming last season. On the season he owns a 1.86 goals against average and sports a .696 save percentage. He leads the conference in saves (78) and ranks third in goals against average. Nationally, Martin is 39th in saves on the season.
Bellevue is hosting the NSAA Women's Soccer Championship from Thursday, Nov. 3 through Sunday, Nov. 6 at Omaha South High School's Collin Field.
The top-seeded Bruins (10-6-2) received a bye to the semi-final round after winning the league's regular-season title. They play Friday at 2:30 p.m. against the winner of Thursday's first round game between fourth-seeded Viterbo and fifth-seeded Presentation.