Kajiwara and Haigh Sweep SCAC Men's Soccer Player of the Week Awards
LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. – Nat Kajiwara (Southlake, Texas) and Eric Haigh (Frisco, Texas) swept the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) Men's Soccer Player of the Week awards after picking up a pair of road wins last weekend.
Kajiwara posted two goals that helped the Crusaders extend a commanding lead at Austin College on Sunday. He added an assist on the fourth goal to finish with a personal-best five points. The freshman forward continued his impressive campaign after his second multiple goal match gave him a team-high eight. That total also leaves him in sole possession of second in the SCAC. His first helper on the season kept him atop the UD leaderboard in points (17).
Haigh played a huge role in both victories this weekend as the junior defender provided two huge assists. At Centenary, he took a free kick that was in the right spot for Nate Riddle (Millsboro, Del.) to head in the eventual game-winning goal at the 48:02 minute mark. On Sunday, Haigh did his signature flip throw-in that landed in the penalty box and set up Hunter Haugland (Bixby, Okla.) for an early goal that swung the momentum entirely in Dallas' favor. Finally, Haigh has supported a strong defensive backline that only allowed opponents a combined five shots on goal in the pair of shutouts.
The University of Dallas men's soccer team now has three players that earned the conference weekly awards this fall. Chima Ogueri (Garland, Texas) notched the honor in the middle of September. Haigh earned the first SCAC Defensive Player of the Week since Tino Gamueda ('16) was tabbed for games through November 1st, 2015.
It has been a great season for the Crusaders, who enter the week in second place in the SCAC with an 8-1-2 record (26 points). Sunday's triumph marked the most in conference play since Dallas joined in 2012.
A four-game home stand concludes the regular season for the Crusaders before they host the SCAC Tournament Nov. 3-5. At 9-2-2, Dallas welcomes Southwestern Adventist University on Wednesday with a 4:30 p.m. kickoff.