Varnum, Schafer named IIAC Players of the Week

INDIANOLA, Iowa - A pair of Simpson men's soccer players swept Iowa Conference Player of the Week honors for the week ending Nov. 1, as announced by the league office.

Marcus Varnum earned IIAC Offensive Player of the Week honors and Austin Schafer took home IIAC Defensive Player of the Week accolades following a 2-0 week for the Storm. Simpson beat Buena Vista 7-0 in the regular season finale and advanced past Wartburg in penalty kicks in the first round of the conference tournament.

A senior midfielder from Ankeny, Iowa, Varnum had one assist in the win over Buena Vista but saved his heroics for the Wartburg game. Varnum scored the most important goal of the season when he connected on the equalizer with 15 seconds left in regulation, forcing overtime. After the game ended in a 1-1 draw, Varnum did his part by connecting on a penalty kick in Simpson's 6-5 shootout win.

While Varnum came through on the attacking end of the field, Schafer held up things on the defensive end. The junior goalkeeper from Lincoln, Neb. got the win in 45 minutes of action against Buena Vista before making eight saves in the 1-1 draw with Wartburg. Two of those saves came in the second overtime, helping preserve the tie. Schafer improved to 4-1-2 since taking over the full-time goalkeeping duties on Oct. 10.

The IIAC weekly accolades are the first for Simpson men's soccer players this season. Varnum's award is the first IIAC Offensive Player of the Week since 2013 and Schafer's IIAC Defensive Player of the Week is the first since 2014.

The No. 4 seed Storm travel to play No. 1 seed Loras in the IIAC Tournament Semifinals on Wednesday in Dubuque. Start time is set for 8 p.m.