OKLAHOMA CITY -- John Brown University sophomore Juan Almanza earned his first-career SAC Defensive Player of the Week recognition, the league office announced Monday morning (Sept. 15).
Almanza earned the honors after backstopping the Golden Eagles to an impressive 4-1 victory on Saturday afternoon (Sept. 13) at Williams Baptist (Ark.).
In the teams' first matchup ever in Walnut Ridge, Almanza posted a penalty kick saves in each half en route to a career-high, six-save effort as John Brown built a 4-0 lead just 11 minutes into the match.
After transferring to JBU from NCAA I Hofstra (N.Y.), the native Panamanian has quickly built up a 2-0-0 record and fantastic marks in both save percentage (.818) and goals-against average (.80), stopping nine of 11 shots fired on target in his four appearances so far in 2025.
The Blue and Gold return to action on Tuesday night (Sept. 16) when the Golden Eagles take on No. 15 LSU Shreveport (La.) in the sides' first-ever meeting. The match is slated for a 7 p.m. start at Alumni Field.
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