Kononenko, Parakilas Receive MASCAC Weekly Honors
Kononenko was named the MASCAC Defensive Player of the Week while Parakilas earned the league’s Offensive Player of the Week honors.
WESTFIELD, Mass. – Westfield State sophomore goalkeeper Marko Kononenko (Kyiv, Ukraine) and senior forward Nick Parakilas (Broad Brook, Conn.) both earned conference recognition this past week as Kononenko was named the MASCAC Defensive Player of the Week while Parakilas secured the MASCAC Offensive Player of the Week honors.
Parakilas obtained offensive player of the week honors for the second straight week and fourth time this season after powering the Owls to a 2-1 win over Anna Maria on Saturday as part of Homecoming weekend. He scored twice, both in the second half to lead the comeback effort and push his goal total to 20 on the season which leads the MASCAC and was second in Division III entering the weekend. The go-ahead marker served as Parakilas' fourth game-winning goal of the season.
The 20 goals scored by Parakilas are the eighth most in a single season in program history and he has now recorded two or more goals in three of his last four matches. His 44 points tops the conference ranks and began Saturday's contest tied for third nationally in that category.
Kononenko earned defensive player of the week honors for the third time this year after logging eight saves with an .889 save percentage in the Owls 2-1 win. He made a spectacular diving save to his left in the opening minutes of the match, then after Westfield rallied to take the lead in the second half, Kononenko made another match-defining stop, laying out to his left again to stop a shot that came from the top of the penalty area.
On the season, the sophomore keeper leads the MASCAC with a .909 save percentage and a 0.56 goals against average. He has allowed the fewest goals in the league as well, surrendering just five goals in 11 games played.
Westfield State currently sits in third place in the MASCAC regular season standings at a mark of 4-1-2 (8-3-4 overall) with one game remaining as the Owls travel to MCLA for a late afternoon match on Friday at 4:00 P.M. before preparing to defend their title in the conference tournament next week.