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PLAYERS OF THE WEEKOffensiveLeisha Makinano, a senior from Honolulu, Hawaii, scored two goals in the Wolf Packs two conference matches last weekend. She registered the game winner against Tulsa, helping Nevada to snap its 10-match losing streak. Makinano now has five career goals for the Wolf Pack.
DefensiveMahie Atay, a sophomore from Wailuku, Hawaii, did not give up a goal in more than 200 minutes of action. She recorded a season high nine saves in a 3-0 win over Fresno State, helping her to a school record, fifth solo shutout of the season. On the week, she posted three shutout wins, recording 11 saves in 210:49 minutes of action.
OTHER NOMINEESOffensiveNatasha Kai, Hawaii; Maria Fadool, Rice; Kim Harvey, SMU and Kia Sams, UTEP
DefensiveErin Droeger, Rice; Amanda Clark, SMU and Kaletia Roberts, UTEP
THIS WEEK IN THE WAC - There are two weeks remaining in conference play before the WAC Championship, Nov. 6-8 in Dallas. SMU (6-0), the lone undefeated team in the WAC, looks to match its 2001 WAC record of 8-0, as the Mustangs travel west to face Nevada (1-4) and Boise State (1-4). The Mustangs need just one win to secure their fourth-straight regular season title. Hawaii finished conference play guaranteed to finish no lower than second, as the Wahine posted their best conference mark ever at 7-1. The Wahine have the weekend off, but host BYU Oct. 27. Rice (4-2) makes its way to the Golden State, looking for at least one win in two conference matches to secure its third-straight WAC Tournament appearance. UTEP (3-3) travels to Boise and Reno for its final conference matches of the season, needing at least one win to advance to post-season. Fresno State (3-3) and San Jose State (1-5) play host to Rice and Tulsa (1-5).
WAC VS. THE TOP 25/NATION - The Western Athletic Conference is 0-11 against the NSCAA/adidas top 25 this season. Against the rest of the nations, the WAC is 35-46-6 (.437), with a few more non-conference matches to be played. As a conference, the teams have their best records against the Southland, posting a 6-1-1 record and the Big Sky with a 5-4-1 record.
TOURNAMENT SCENARIOS - Five of the eight WAC teams will conclude conference play this weekend. Hawaii, who finished 7-1 in the WAC, can finish no lower than second. SMU (6-0) needs just one win to secure its fourth-straight WAC regular-season title, and a pair to mark its second 8-0 WAC record in three seasons. Rice has clinched a spot in the tournament and is now playing to secure the third seed. With a win over Fresno State, the Owls will lock in the third spot. UTEP and Fresno State, who are both 3-3, need one win apiece to clinch two of the third through fifth spots. UTEP holds the edge over the Bulldogs with its 2-0 win in El Paso. Boise State and Nevada each have three matches left, and unfortunately for them, one is against each other and another is against conference leader SMU. There are four teams with just one conference win (BSU, UN, TU, SJSU), and all of them are lobbying for one of the final spots in this years tournament field.
TIE-BREAKING PROCEDURES - To determine championship seeding in the event of ties between two teams or ties among multiple teams, the following criteria are applied:
In the event of a two-way tie:1. Head-to-head competition
2. Compare the teams' records to that of the next highest finishing team (if tie for first). If tie is for position other than first, comparison will begin at the top of the standings.
3. In the unlikely event that teams are still tied, the conference conducts a draw.
For a three or more-way tie:1. Head-to-head competition among the teams involved in the tie. The team(s) with the best record against the other teams receives the higher seed or advances to the next tie-breaker.
2. Same procedures as above.
HARVEY, KAI, MCCARTNEY AMONG NATIONS BEST - Hawaiis Natasha Kai, SMUs Kim Harvey and UTEP freshman Christine McCartney are among the best in the nation in both goals and points this season. Kai, a sophomore forward, continues to dominate her opponents, as she leads the nation in both goals (27) and points (58). She is only one of two athletes with over 50 points. Harvey, a senior forward, is third in goals (20) and points (48). Kai and Harvey are second and third in goals per game, at 1.59 and 1.33, respectively. McCartney ranks 20th in the nation with 0.88 goals per game. In points per game, Kai and Harvey are also second and third at 3.41 and 3.20, respectively.
KAI SETS NEW WAC SEASON RECORDS; RACE WITH HARVEY FOR TOP SCORER - Natasha Kai, a native of Kahuku, Oahu, set the new WAC play record for both points and goals. With her five goals over her final weekend of conference play, she moved her total to 14. Kai set the record last season with 10, the first ever to mark double-digit goals in conference play. The sophomore also has two assists, giving her 30 points, topping her mark of 23 set in 2002. SMUs senior, Kim Harvey, who still has two conference matches (BSU, UN), currently has 26 points, registering 11 goals and four assists, looks to take over the conference lead this weekend.
CLARK TIES WAC RECORD FOR WINS - Amanda Clark, a native of Londonberry, Vt., posted a win in each of her first six WAC matches this season, tying her with fellow Mustangs, who also own the conference mark. SMUs Erin McLeod and Becca Leif both tallied six wins in 2001 and 2000, respectively, to share the record. SMU still has two conference matches left, giving her a shot to become the first goalie win all of her conference matches.
KAI TIES CONFERENCE RECORD - Natasha Kai, Hawaiis sophomore forward, posted five goals against Morehead State (9/14). She tied the mark set by Ashlee Richmond of TCU in 1996 against McNeese State. Kai also tallied one assist, giving her 11 points for the match. She also posted a hat trick against Utah Valley State, giving her eight goals for the two Wahine matches ... Kai continues to dominate her opponents, tying the conference single-game record with goals against Nevada (10/10). She registered four goals to tie UTEPs Miranda Cutherbertson and Kaletia Roberts, who each tallied four goals in the 2002 season.
HARVEY REACHING CAREER MARKS - Kim Harvey currently ranks in the top 10 in four of the WACs career offensive categories. The senior is second all-time in the WAC in both shots with 264, and goals at 59. She also has 136 points throughout her career, landing her second behind Shauna Rohbuck of BYU (216). Harvey has eight assists on the season, moving her career total to 19, good for a tie for 10th.
1-0, AGAIN - The Rice Owls have competed in 15 matches this season, battling to scores of 1-0, nine times. Rice has gone 4-5 in those matches. The schedule also includes a 1-1 tie, two 2-0 losses, and a 2-1 overtime-win. Goalkeeper Lauren Shockley is currently posting a season goals against average of 0.80, tops in the conference. The Owls started off the season 0-4-1, but have come on late to win seven of 10, four of those, 1-0 wins.
TOPPING THE 250 MARK - SMU eclipsed the 250-win mark for the program since its inception in 1986 on Sept. 19 with a 2-1 win over Colorado College.
AROUND THE WACBoise State is one of two (Nev.) WAC teams with three conference matches left. The Broncos need a pair of wins (one over Nevada) and a Tulsa loss to secure a spot in the conference tournament. Senior Brittany Zoellner will finish her career as the all-time leader in career goals and points currently at 30 and 69 respectively. Senior Abbe Roche concludes her career as the all-time leader in career assists with 11 and will rank in the top five for career goals and points at 13 and 37, respectively.
Fresno State suffered, 3-0, shutout road loss to Hawaii last week that snapped a three-game winning streak for the Bulldogs. A berth in this years WAC Tournament remains on the line for the Bulldogs, who have participated in the conference postseason event every year since the inception of the program. A win over Rice this weekend will automatically place the Bulldogs in the WAC Tournament, while a pair of wins and a UTEP loss, moves the Bulldogs into third. In addition, two more wins will give Fresno State a total of eight on the year, matching last seasons final total.
Hawaii won its final two conference matches of the season, giving the Wahine a 7-1 WAC record, the best in school history. The Rainbow Wahine have clinched berth to this years WAC Championship as at least the tournaments second seed. The 13 wins by Hawaii this season are the teams most in UH history. Sophomore Natasha Kai broke her 2002 mark of 10 conference goals, netting 14 this season.
Nevada snapped a 10-match losing streak against Tulsa, winning its first-ever road WAC match. The Wolf Pack has tied its most wins in a season (1) in WAC games. Dang Pibulvech needs three wins to reach 200 in his career. One more victory would tie the school record for wins in a season with four, 2000 and 2002.
With its fifth win in the last six games, Rice moved to an even 7-7-1 for the season and into sole possession of third place in the conference standings with a 4-2 league record. They have also won seven of their last 10. The Owls tied the school record for wins in a season (seven in 2001) and won as many home games this year (six) as they did in the first two years of the program combined. The Owls completed their regular season slate of home games with a 6-1-1 ledger, the best in the young three-year history of the program. The Owls came from behind to claim a, 2-1, overtime win over Boise State Oct. 19. It was only the second come from behind win in school history and the teams first since 2001. Junior goalkeeper Lauren Shockley has allowed only 12 goals as a starter in all 15 games for a WAC-leading goals-against average of 0.80. Rices defensive unit has allowed an average of only 3.8 shots on goal per game.
San Jose State newcomers Andrea Puljiz and Cori Borja lead the Spartans in scoring this season with five points each. Puljiz leads the team with two goals scored and one assist, while Borja has a team-high three assists and one goal scored. Ten different players have scored a goal this season for San Jose State. Five players have recorded assists for the Spartans.
SMUs Kim Harvey scored one of SMUs two goals this past weekend. She posts seven game-winning goals this season and has scored 11 goals in conference play. The forward is third on SMUs all-time career list for goals scored with 59, while she is now third on SMUs all-time career list with 137 points. Her 20 goals this season is the most she has scored in her collegiate career. Harvey is second in the nation in points scored per game, fourth in the nation in goals per game and 10th in the nation in assists per game. Its been eight years since a Mustang player has scored 20 or more goals in a season. Danielle Garrett was the last, when she posted 32 goals during the 1995 season. SMU has won its last eight games and its last 10 straight WAC regular season games and currently sports a 46-4-3 WAC record.
UTEP needs just one win to lock a second-straight appearance at the WAC Tournament. The Miners are 1-3 in three appearances at the WAC Tournament. The Miners won their first contest last season, defeating Rice, 6-2, before falling to SMU in the championship game 3-1.
Over the last three games, Tulsa junior Susan Day has emerged as a scoring threat for the Golden Hurricane. She has registered one goal and two assists for four points in matches against SMU, Boise State and Nevada. She collected assists against the Mustangs and Broncos, and tallied her first collegiate goal against Nevada. Previously, she played sparingly in her first 10 games. Sophomore Carrie Schnarre has scored both of her collegiate goals in games against Boise State. Last season, she notched her first goal, and led the Golden Hurricane to a 2-1 victory. Last weekend against Boise State, she scored the game-winning goal against the Broncos, and posted the second goal of her career.
SMU FAVORED TO WIN 2003 CROWN - SMU is coming off a 13-6-4 season in 2002 that saw the Mustangs fall just short of the NCAA Round of 16, losing to Texas A&M in the penalty kick session at the NCAA Tournament. The Mustangs are returning seven starters including junior defender Amanda Jordan, a 2002 first team all-WAC selection. Kim Harvey, a second-team member also returns for her senior season. The Mustangs entered the 2003 season under the helm of new head coach John Cossaboon, the former head coach of San Diego. He replaced George Van Linder who ran the Mustang program for four years before leaving for Baylor.