ALISO VIEJO, Calif. - UC Merced’s Ezekiel Cruz has earned the FloCollege/CCAA Men’s Soccer Defensive Player of the Week award, for the week of Aug. 31-Sept. 6.

As a defender, Cruz assisted on both Bobcats goals last week in a pair of draws on the road. Cruz led the UC Merced backline to limit Westminster to just four shots and held Colorado Mesa to just three shots on goal.

The junior from Stockton, Calif., played 70-plus minutes in both games as an outside back. Cruz helped UCM get on the board first in Thursday’s match at Westminster in Salt Lake City, Utah. In Saturday’s contest at Colorado Mesa in Grand Junction, Colo., Cruz again assisted on a Christian Khanishian goal to put the Bobcats up 1-0.

UC Merced has now played in three 1-1 draws and is one of four CCAA teams to remain unbeaten. The Bobcats are one of four teams to allow three or less goals after three matches. Click here to see the complete CCAA stats leaders.

This is Cruz’s first career CCAA Athlete of the Week award, the second for UC Merced since the program became eligible for awards in 2025. Click here to see a complete list of past award winners. 

UC Merced (0-0-3) will travel to Rocklin, Calif., to take on Jessup on Saturday for its final preseason tune-up.

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