RUSSELVILLE, Ark. – No. 18 Rogers State men's soccer's Artur Carvalho and Declan Viljoen earned GAC/MIAA Player of the Week honors after the first week of the 2023 season, the conference announced on Wednesday.
 
A native of Faro, Portugal, Carvalho earned the first Defender of the Week honor of his career after anchoring a Hillcat defense that produced two shutouts to start the season. In the season opening 0-0 draw against Missouri S&T, the sophomore played all 90 minutes and led a defense that limited the Miners to just nine shots. In the 3-0 win against Drury, Carvalho played 75 minutes leading the defense as they held the Panthers to seven shots. He also assisted on the second goal of the match.
 
Junior Declan Viljoen earned his first Goalkeeper of the Week honor of the season totaling nine saves across the two shutouts last week. Against Missouri S&T, the Auckland, New Zealand product registered the 12th shutout of his career with five saves, playing the entire 90 minutes. In nearly 81 minutes played against Drury on Sunday, Viljoen came away with four saves.
 
RSU will begin a four-game road trip on Thursday, Sept. 7 as they travel to Wichita Falls, Texas to face off against rival No. 7 Midwestern State. Kickoff is set for 5:30 p.m.