NEW JERSEY ATHLETIC CONFERENCE
MEN'S SOCCER
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
FALL 2007
WEEK ENDING 11/4/07

OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Jonathan Bilbao, New Jersey City University Junior, Midfielder Carteret, NJ/St. Benedict's Prep
Bilbao becomes the third different Gothic Knight to earn NJAC Offensive Player of the Week honors after notching four points in a 1-1 week of NJAC Tournament play for the Gothic Knights. In top-seeded NJCU’s 3-0 semifinal win over fifth-seeded Ramapo, he tallied two goals to send the Knights to their second consecutive NJAC Championship Game. Bilbao and the Gothic Knights have earned an at-large selection to the NCAA Division III National Championship Tournament and will face Castleton State in a first round match at NJIT on November 9. Bilbao currently ranks third in the NJAC in points with 29 on the season.
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Nick Mele, Montclair State University Senior, Goalkeeper Delran, NJ/Delran
Mele earns NJAC Defensive Player of the Week honors for the third time this season after leading the Red Hawks to their second consecutive NJAC Championship with a pair of tournament shutouts. He first needed only one save to guide Montclair to a 2-0 semifinal win over sixth-seeded Rowan. Three days later, he collected eight saves while tying a school record with his 17th win of the season in the Red Hawk’s 1-0 Championship Game victory over top-seeded NJCU. The Red Hawks, who received a first round bye in the NCAA Tournament, will host a second round match on November 10 against an opponent yet to be determined. Mele currently leads the NJAC in goals against average (0.47).
ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
Aytac Malta, Montclair State University Freshman, Forward Lake Hiawatha, NJ/Parsippany
Malta earns NJAC Rookie of the Week honors for the second consecutive week after connecting on the goal that clinched the second consecutive NJAC Championship for Montclair. His game-winning goal came in the 56th minute of the Championship Match for the second-seeded Red Hawks and marked his second game-winning score in a span of 10 days. In 17 games played for MSU on the season, Malta has tallied six goals and one assist for 13 points.


PREVIOUS PLAYERS OF THE WEEK - FALL 2007
	Offensive Player	Defensive Player	Rookie
Week 1	Dave Marin Ramapo	Nick Mele Montclair State	Rafael Duarte Richard Stockton
Week 2	Edison Bilbao NJCU	*Nick Mele Montclair State	Rafael Duarte Richard Stockton
Week 3	*Cristhian Acuna NJCU	Brian Miles Montclair State	Turgut Kilicoglu Rutgers-Camden
Week 4	*Cristhian Acuna NJCU	James Fiorani Rutgers-Camden	Gary Barrell William Paterson
Week 5	*Pat Tolomeo Richard Stockton	*Ian Tighe Ramapo	Daniel Coviello Rowan
Week 6	Kevin Luber TCNJ	*Chris Amato Rutgers-Camden	Chris Edelschein Montclair State
Week 7	*Tom Gannon Rowan	*Andre Viola NJCU	Giuseppe Trani Ramapo
Week 8	Andrew Dorsey Rutgers-Camden	*Ian Tighe Ramapo	Chris Edelschein Montclair State
Week 9	*Ken Hussey Ramapo	*Kevin Nuss Rowan	Aytac Malta Montclair State
Week 10	Jonathan Bilbao NJCU	Nick Mele Montclair State	Aytac Malta Montclair State