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PLAYERS OF THE WEEKOffensiveSarah Yoder, a junior from Helotes, Texas, posted five points over two conference matches, helping the Owls to secure third in the standings. She scored both goals in the 2-0 win over San Jose State, becoming just the fourth Rice athlete to score two goals in a single match. Yoder also assisted on one goal in the, 4-1, Owl win over Fresno State, helping them to one of their best offensive showings of the season.
DefensiveKim Parker, a freshman from Portland, Ore., recorded seven saves, facing 10 shots on goal in two matches. She helped the Broncos to their biggest win in program history, knocking off SMU, 2-1. The Mustangs had previously won 10-straight conference matches. Parker earned a 1.00 goals against average on the weekend, holding UTEP and SMU to nearly two goals below their per game average (UTEP, 2.73-SMU, 3.19). Against SMU, Parker faced five shots, four coming in the second half. The win helped the Broncos secure a spot in the 2003 WAC Tournament.
OTHER NOMINEESOffensiveKortney Lewis, Fresno State; BreeAnn Milligan, Boise State; Kim Harvey, SMU and Kate Stevens, UTEP.
DefensiveErin Droeger, Rice; Ashley Watson, SMU and Katie Rewalt, UTEP.
FINAL WEEK IN THE WAC - This is the final regular-season weekend for WAC soccer. There is one conference match between Boise State and Nevada in Boise. SMU, Hawaii, Rice, UTEP, Fresno State and Boise State have all clinched berths to this seasons WAC Championship. The final match of the year will determine seeds four through six at the conference tournament. A Boise State win will place it fourth, UTEP fifth and Fresno State sixth, while a loss drops the Broncos to sixth, the Miners to fourth and Bulldogs fifth. SMU and Hawaii are Co-Champions for the 2003 season, as they both earned 7-1 conference marks. SMU will be the tournaments top-seeded team, with its, 4-3, win over the Wahine earlier in the season. San Jose State, Tulsa and Nevada will all conclude their seasons this weekend.
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 36-46-7 (.444), with a few more non-conference matches to be played. As a conference, the teams have their best records against the Southland Conference, posting a 6-1-1 record and the Big Sky with a 5-4-1 record.
WAC TOURNAMENT HOSTED BY SMU IN DALLAS - The 2003 edition of the WAC Soccer Championship, will be held at Westcott Field on the campus of SMU in Dallas, Nov. 6-8. The opening round will match Rice with the six seed, followed by the fourth versus the fifth seed. These seeds will be determined after the Boise State, Nevada match, Nov. 2. The times for the opening round are 5:00 and 7:30 p.m. (CT), respectively. The semifinals are slated for second-seeded Hawaii to face the winner of the 3/6 match at 5:00 p.m., with top-seeded SMU to challenge the 4/5 winner at 7:30 p.m. The championship match is set for 7:30 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 8.
WAC TOURNAMENT SCENARIOS - With just one conference match left on the docket, the tournament field is set. All that needs to be determined are each teams seed. The tournaments 4-6 seeds have yet to be decided. SMU and Hawaii both finished the conference season, 7-1, giving them co-champion titles. With the WACs tie-breaker rules, SMU gains the No. 1 seed, with a 4-3 win over Hawaii earlier in the season. The tournaments three seed belongs to Rice, who came on strong, going 6-2 down the stretch. Boise State and Nevada compete in the final conference match of the year. If Boise State wins, they will jump to the fourth seed, with UTEP in the fifth and Fresno State sixth. Should the Broncos lose, they will remain in the six spot. UTEP would grab fourth, while the Bulldogs take fifth.
HARVEY, KAI LEAD THE NATION IN OFFENSE - Hawaiis Natasha Kai and SMUs Kim Harvey are in the top three in each major category in the NCAA statistics. Kai, who broke the WAC record for goals in conference play with 14, has netted 27 in 2003 to lead the nation (29 after NCAA stats were released). Harvey has posted 22 this season, placing her third. In goals per game, Kai is listed second with 1.59 per contest, with Harvey third at 1.22. The duo is one, two in the nation in points, with Kai registering 58 and Harvey, 55. They are only two of three student-athletes with more than 50. In points per game, Kai registers 3.41 (2nd), while Harvey posts 3.06 (3rd). Harvey is also ninth in the nation in assists per game at 0.61, while she is tied for fourth with 11 assists on the season. Nevadas Megan Tarpenning has come in 20th in the recent NCAA stats, registering 6.75 saves per contest.
HARVEY SETS NEW CONFERENCE POINTS RECORD - Kim Harvey, a senior at SMU, set the single-season mark for points in the conference year. Harvey tallied 31 points to edge, Hawaiis Natasha Kai, who registered 30. Harvey had 13 goals in eight conference matches, but pushed herself over the top with five assists. The Garland, Texas native averaged 3.88 points per WAC match.
KAI SETS NEW CONFERENCE GOALS RECORD - Natasha Kai set the single-season mark for goals in the conference year. Kai tallied 14 goals to edge SMUs Kim Harvey, who registered 13. Kai had two hat tricks in conference play, including four goals against Nevada, Oct. 10. Kai smashed her record-setting 10 goals from last season.
CLARK SETS NEW CONFERENCE WINS RECORD - Amanda Clark, a native of Londonberry, Vt., posted a win in each of her first seven WAC matches this season, passing fellow Mustangs, Erin McLeod and Becca Leif, who both tallied six wins in 2001 and 2000, respectively. Clark picked up a, 2-0, win over Nevada, Oct. 24. Clark posted four shutouts in those record-setting wins.
KAI TIES WAC SINGLE-MATCH RECORDS - Hawaii sophomore forward Natasha Kai, 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. Kai also tied 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 268, and goals at 61. She also has 143 points throughout her career, landing her second behind Shauna Rohbuck of BYU (216). Harvey has 11 assists on the season, moving her career total to 22, good for seventh.
RICE LOOKING FOR SINGLE-SEASON MARK - The Rice Owls are looking for allow the fewest goals in a season, since Hawaii allowed 18 in 1999. San Diego State in 1998 and SMU in 1997 own the WAC single-season record for goals allowed with 18. Rice has currently allowed 14 goals and have one match to play. The Owls face off with Baylor on Nov. 2. Hawaii, who has posted seven conference shutouts, has allowed only 16 goals all season. The Owls goals against average for the season of 0.80 and the Wahines 0.88, are just shy of the 1998 San Diego State team who posted a GAA of 0.739.
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.
KAI POSTS FOUR HAT TRICKS - Hawaii sophomore forward Natasha Kai, has posted four hat tricks in 2003. The 2003 WAC Preseason Player of the Year has two games with three goals, one with four and one with five. She tied the conference single-match mark with her five-goal effort against Morehead State. She also tied the conference-match record with her four goals against Nevada.
AROUND THE WACBoise State completed a sweep of UTEP and SMU in Boise last week and claiming a WAC Tournament berth in the process. Boise State became only the second school in WAC play to defeat the Mustangs in four years as the Broncos claimed their biggest win in program history. Boise State will close out the 2003 regular season when they host one match on Sunday against Nevada. Seniors Amy Dunn and Brittany Zoellner set a couple of records over the weekend as well. They both broke the previous school record for career games played with their 71st versus SMU. Zoellner also set a new record for career starts with 71 in four years.
Fresno State missed out on a chance to improve its WAC Tournament seeding, dropping a 4-1 decision to Rice in the final regular season match in front of 3,358 fans at Bulldog Stadium. The Bulldogs, who had already qualified for the conference postseason tourney with a win over Tulsa on Thursday, had an opportunity to clinch the No. 3 seed with a victory over the Owls. However, Rice held Fresno State to just nine shots and played tremendous defense to earn the No. 3 seed.
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 became co-champions of the regular season, when SMU fell, to Boise State. Hawaii will be the tournaments second seed because of the conference tie-breaker rule. The Wahine fell to SMU, 4-3 earlier in the season. 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. Hawaii finished the season at home against, BYU, netting a, 2-2, tie.
Nevada wraps up the 2003 season with two matches. The Wolf Pack take on Utah Valley State and conference foe, Boise State. The Wolf Pack did not qualify for the WAC Tournament, but have the opportunity to knock the Broncos back three spots. A Wolf Pack win puts makes Boise State a six seed, while a loss, make them a four.
Rice has won a school record five games in a row and seven of eight in the month of October. The Owls have also won the most games (9) in the young, three-year history of the program and have clinched at least a .500 record for the first time. Rices wins over league rivals San Jose State and Fresno State was the teams first road sweep of weekend games this season, and the Owls have now won three road games in a row dating back to Oct. 12. Rice has allowed the fewest goals in the WAC (14 in 17 games) and owns the best goals-against average in the league at 0.80. After scoring only seven goals and allowing 10 in the teams first nine games of the season, Rice has scored 14 goals and allowed only four in its last eight games (where the team is 7-1).
San Jose State concludes its season, Oct. 29 at home against Saint Marys. The Spartans finished the conference season with a record of 1-7, and currently own a record of 2-15. San Jose State played some of the toughest teams in the nation, taking on top-25 members Denver, Colorado, Portland, Pepperdine and Santa Clara.
SMU clinched a share of its fourth consecutive WAC regular-season title with a 2-0 victory at Nevada, but Boise State snapped SMUs 10-game winning streak and spoiled SMUs chance for a perfect 8-0 conference record, with 2-1 victory over the Mustangs. SMU will enter this years WAC Tournament as the top seed. Freshman Adria Campbell posted her first multiple-goal game of her career with two strikes versus North Texas. SMU closed out the WAC regular season, compiling a 47-5-3 WAC record, dating back to SMUs first year in the WAC. SMU closes out the regular season with a non-conference tilt at Kentucky, it will be the first meeting between the two teams.
UTEP has now clinched back-to-back 10-plus win seasons for the first time since the program's inception in 1996. The Miners are now 10-7-0 and finished the 2002 season 16-3-0. The Miners will also be advancing to the WAC Tournament for a second-consecutive year for the first time in program history. They have made WAC Tournament appearances in 1998, 2000 and 2002. UTEP has played in 10 games which have been decided by one goal this season. Of UTEPs seven losses, five of them have come by a single score.
Tulsa concluded the 2003 WAC race with a 2-6 record, which earned the Golden Hurricane a seventh place finish. TU narrowly missed out on qualifying for its seventh WAC Tournament appearance in its eight seasons as a WAC member. Tulsa also finished in seventh place in 1999 and missed the conference tournament for the first time. Tulsa junior goalkeeper Pam Devore started and played the entire 90 minutes against San Jose State, and picked up her first shutout of the season and the eighth of her career. She was forced to make just three saves on the day.
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.