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MIAMI, Fla. (June 4, 2012) — After recording seven saves and his fourth shutout of the season in North American Soccer League play, Minnesota Stars FC goalkeeper Matt earned NASL Defensive Player of the Week honors. The Stars drew 0-0 on the road against the San Antonio Scorpions to move level on points with the Puerto Rico Islanders atop the NASL standings.

“It is an honor and a privilege to receive this award, but I can’t do it by myself,” VanOekel said. “It was a great team effort in a hostile environment, and I hope to help my team by receiving more awards like this as the season moves forward.”

Stars defender and assistant coach Kevin Friedland summed up VanOekel’s performance succinctly on his Twitter account Saturday night. “He stood on his head for that shutout,” Freidland wrote.

The Stars largely dictated the pace of play in the first half and enjoyed the better scoring opportunities. San Antonio only threatened the Minnesota goal twice, hitting two shots right at VanOekel for easy saves. In the second half, the Scorpions turned up the heat, forcing VanOekel into five saves, including four against striker Pablo Campos in the game’s final 10 minutes. That four-save flurry saw VanOekel stop Campos on a breakaway, a near-post header, a point-blank shot at the back post and a 25-yard free kick in stoppage time.

“The way that game went, I think we deserved to be up a couple of goals until that last flurry of seven or eight minutes, but Matty really stepped up to get us a result when San Antonio came at us and upped the pressure in the second half,” Stars head coach Manny Lagos said.. The Stars drew 0-0 on the road against the San Antonio Scorpions to move level on points with the Puerto Rico Islanders atop the NASL standings.

“It is an honor and a privilege to receive this award, but I can’t do it by myself,” VanOekel said. “It was a great team effort in a hostile environment, and I hope to help my team by receiving more awards like this as the season moves forward.”

Stars defender and assistant coach Kevin Friedland summed up VanOekel’s performance succinctly on his Twitter account Saturday night. “He stood on his head for that shutout,” Freidland wrote.

In the second half of Saturday's game, the Scorpions created several chances, forcing VanOekel into five saves, including four against striker Pablo Campos in the game’s final 10 minutes. That four-save flurry saw VanOekel stop Campos on a breakaway, a near-post header, a point-blank shot at the back post and a 25-yard free kick in stoppage time.