SPARTANBURG, S.C. – ETSU forward Tarik Pannholzer and Belmont goalkeeper Drew Romig have been named the Southern Conference men’s soccer offensive and defensive players of the week, respectively, for all competition Oct. 5-11.
 
Pannholzer tallied two of ETSU’s three first-half goals to lead the Buccaneers to a 3-1 road win at Northern Kentucky on Tuesday, marking his second consecutive two-goal match. In the 17^th minute, the sophomore forward connected with Gabriel Ramos on a cross to execute a header shot, giving ETSU the early 2-0 advantage over the Norse. Pannholzer netted his second goal in the final minute of the first half, extending the Buccaneers’ lead to 3-1. With his brace, Pannholzer moved his season goal total to nine, which ranks sixth nationally, and his point total to 19, which ranks 14th in the country. The Flensburg, Germany, native is now two goals shy of tying the all-time single-season program record of 11.
 
Romig recorded eight saves and posted his fifth and sixth clean sheets of the season with Belmont’s 4-0 nonconference win over IUPUI on Tuesday and the Bruins’ 1-0 conference win over Wofford on Saturday. He made an impressive save on a would-be equalizer in the 86^th minute of Belmont’s match against the Terriers, leaping to his left to deflect a shot below the crossbar. Following his fully extended deflection, the senior goalkeeper quickly smothered the ball after it struck the post, preventing Wofford from tying the match. Romig became the first Bruin goalkeeper to record five shutouts in a single season since Grayson Rector in 2013 with Belmont’s victory over the Jaguars and his sixth clean sheet ties Ron Gravely (2007) and Matt Renfrow (2003) for the program’s single-season shutout record. The Midlothian, Virginia, native is ranked in the top 25 nationally in shutouts (6), save percentage (.837) and goals against average (0.66) and has now recorded 41 total saves this fall.
 
ETSU (3-4-3, 0-1-2 SoCon) returns to competition on Tuesday, as the Buccaneers travel to Atlanta, Georgia, for a match against Georgia State at 7 p.m. Belmont also returns to action on Tuesday, as the Bruins host Evansville in Nashville, Tennessee for a nonconference match at 7:30 p.m.
 
Also nominated for offensive player of the week: Liam O’Brien (Belmont), Dylan Gaither (Mercer), Daniel Mangarov (UNCG) and Mitchell Myers (Wofford).
 
Also nominated for defensive player of the week: Ousman Jabang (Mercer), Joey Skinner (UNCG), Broden Schull (VMI) and Joshua Old (Wofford).
 
2021 SoCon Men’s Soccer Offensive Players of the Week
Aug. 31       Dylan Gaither, Sr., F, Mercer
Sept. 7        Niccolo Dagnoni, Sr., F, Belmont
Sept. 14      Liam O’Brien, Sr., F, Belmont
Sept. 21      Kadeem Agard, Fr., F, Mercer        
Sept. 28      Theo Collomb, So., F, UNCG
Oct. 5         Tarik Pannholzer, So., F/M, ETSU
Oct. 12       Tarik Pannholzer, So., F/M, ETSU
 
2021 SoCon Men’s Soccer Defensive Players of the Week
Aug. 31       Brant Zulauf, R-So., GK, Mercer
Sept. 7        Drew Romig, Sr., GK, Belmont
Sept. 14     Joshua Old, Jr., GK, Wofford
Sept. 21     Trevor McMullen, So., GK, Mercer
Sept. 28      Emmanuel Hagan, Fr., D, UNCG
Oct. 5         Marco Milanese, Sr., D, UNCG  
Oct. 12       Drew Romig, Sr., GK, Belmont