IRVINE, Calif. — After anchoring UC Santa Barbara Men's Soccer's defensive line in back-to-back shutouts, Andrew Kamienski has been named The Big West Defensive Player of the Week, the conference announced on Monday.
 
Kamienski was essentially unbeatable in the Gauchos' 1-0 win at Pacific and 0-0 draw with New Hampshire, seemingly always in the right place at the right time to win possession back with either a well-timed tackle or a strong header in the air. While current NCAA statistical software does not track tackles or aerial duels, two figures that quantify Kamienski's impact are the paltry number of shots taken by Santa Barbara's opponents: just 13 combined across the two contests, and the even smaller number of those that were actually on target: only four in 180 minutes of play.
 
Kamienski has been nearly ever-present in the Gaucho defense this season, playing all but seven minutes of Santa Barbara's action so far. Calle Mollerberg has been his center back partner for almost all of those minutes, and the Swedish rookie was just as crucial to the Gauchos' consecutive clean sheets last week and was a candidate for The Big West Freshman of the Week award.
 
Kamienski, Mollerberg and Santa Barbara will bring their shutout streak to the Beehive State this week, traveling to Orem, Utah for a Thursday night clash with the Utah Valley Wolverines on Sept. 19. The Gauchos are back at home on Sunday, Sept. 22, when they will host Portland.