KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Massive team performances lead to massive team awards and there falls the plunder beyond the six points on the weekend as Andre Ferreira and Bernardo Juca swept the PrestoSports NAIA National Player of the Week awards. The honors mark the third and fourth times that Faulkner has won a Men's Soccer National Player of the Week award and first time ever that the Eagles have swept at the national level. 

Ferreira picked up his second National Player of the Week award after claiming it last season for a pair of clean sheets over Mobile and William Carey. This week, the goalkeeper from Maia, Portugal picked up the honor after saving 10 shots in two clean sheets over national tournament sides last year in (RV) Xavier and No. 5 William Carey. In the win over the Gold Rush, Ferreira stopped both shots faced including a leaping save in the top corner to keep the lead. Saturday, he stopped eight shots from the third highest scoring team in the NAIA to hold the Crusaders off the scoreboard highlighted by a fast reaction save 30 seconds after taking the lead and a kick save on a point-blank chance early in the second half. 

"It's special for me," Ferreira said. He did not want the spotlight on himself though. "I think this award means so much to the team. It represents the week that we had. The hard work that we put it in this week, and that we needed to perform. And we got away with two wins, two clean sheets, and that means a lot. That pushes our confidence up, and we'll keep building on that, and going forward. We'll keep going." The senior was honored to get to share the moment with his teammate this time. "It's really special, really special. It shows really how hard we've been working on these past two months and it is special because it puts our team name high, and it gives confidence to the team as well, that we've been doing the right things, and that's really awesome and special."

Juca scored three goals on the weekend with two game winners to earn his first national award. The pace of the freshman winger from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil gave nightmares to defenders on the weekend as he blazed past the Xavier backline six minutes into the match Thursday night and finished the chance to score his fourth goal of the year. Against William Carey, he scored eight minutes in on a cross to take the early lead again before racing past the Crusader backline in the 32nd minute and completing his first brace of the season against a team that had allowed just three goals and held six clean sheets in eight matches this season. 

Juca echoed similar selfless, team first sentiments to his teammate. "It's a very good thing. I think it is a big thing for Faulkner, not just me. I think my group, my team, helped me every day. We create a family here and we have each other every day. The environment is so good, and I think this is a prize for the whole team. I'm so proud of this. I'm very happy."

Ferreira's two awards and Juca's first join Sam Kelly in March 2021 as the four National Players of the Week under Head Coach Gabriel de Queiroz.