ST. PETER, Minn. – Gustavus senior women’s soccer forward Maddison Ackiss (Fairbanks, Alaska) and junior men’s soccer midfielder Matt Murakami (Eden Prairie, Minn.) have been selected as the Gustavus Adolphus College October Female and Male Student-Athletes-of-the-Month, presented by Thrivent Financial and voted on by the Gustavus Sports Information Department.
Maddison Ackiss
Women’s Soccer
Hometown: Fairbanks, Alaska
High School: West Valley
Major: Management
Parents: Robert and Colleen Ackiss of Fairbanks, Alaska
In the month of October, the Gustavus women’s soccer team owned a 5-4 record and was led by Ackiss who recorded six goals and three assists for 15 total points. Ackiss posted two multiple-goal games including the game-winners over Bethel University (Oct. 15) and UW-Stout (Oct. 19). She finished the regular season with three two-goal games to add to her total of six multi-goal games in her Black and Gold career. Ackiss also posted goals in three consecutive games Oct. 19-25, including a career-high 10 shots in a victory over Concordia to help guide Gustavus toward the No. 5 seed in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Playoffs. This is Ackiss’ second Gustavus Student-Athlete-of-the-Month honor after receiving the award in September of 2015. After all 18 games started this season, Ackiss leads the Gusties with nine goals (5th/MIAC) and 22 points (four assists). Ackiss and the Gusties enter today’s postseason play as defending MIAC Playoff champions.
Matt Murakami
Men’s Soccer
Hometown: Eden Prairie, Minn.
High School: Eden Prairie
Major: Economics
Parents: John and Susan Murakami of Eden Prairie, Minn.
A co-captain of the men’s soccer squad, Murakami and Gusties went 5-1 in the month of October and earned the No. 3 seed for the MIAC Playoffs. In six games last month, Murakami registered eight points with three goals and two assists. Gustavus tallied back-to-back shutouts over Bethel (Oct. 15) and Concordia (Oct. 25) in which Murakami posted goals in each win, including a two-goal game at Bethel. After playing in all 16 games this season, Murakami leads the Gusties with six goals and three assists for 15 points, including two game-winning goals. He also has taken the most shots at 28 with a .214 shot percentage. Murakami and the Gusties return to the MIAC Playoffs today against Augsburg after not qualifying last year. Gustavus’s last appearance in the league playoff was 2014 when it defeated Carleton 1-0 and Saint John’s 2-0 for the title.