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PLAYERS OF THE WEEKOffensiveNatasha Kai, a sophomore from Kahuku, Oahu, broke the schools single-match record with five goals against Morehead State. She also broke the points record in that match with 11. The five goals ties a conference record for goals in a single match (Ashlee Richmond, TCU). She followed up her performance with a hat trick against Utah Valley State. Kai now has 12 goals through seven matches this season, and 28 in her 24 career matches at Hawaii.
DefensiveLauren Shockley, a junior from Indianapolis, Ind., recorded another solid outing last week, logging over 102 minutes in a 1-0, over time loss to Georgia. For the match, she posted six saves for an .857 save percentage. She has kept the Owls in each match they have played this season, not allowing more than one goal in a match all season.
OTHER NOMINEESOffensiveJill Heinemann, SMU
DefensiveJessica Uecker, Hawaii and Ashley Watson, SMU
THIS WEEK IN THE WACFresno State continues its road trip, traveling to Seattle for match ups with No. 14 Washington and No. 20 Portland at the Husky/Nike Invitational. San Jose State has three matches this week, two against NSCAA/adidas top 20 teams at the Colorado Soccer Classic. Boise State looks for its second win of the season, taking on Eastern Washington, UC Irvine and Fullerton. Hawaii is hosting the OHANA Hotels and Resorts Shootout, while Tulsa faces instate rivals, Oklahoma State and Oklahoma. SMU is hosting the Mi Cocina Soccer Cup. UTEP travels deeper into Texas for matches with Prairie View A&M and Texas State. The Owls of Rice look for win number one, hosting Alabama and Northwestern State.
WAC VS. THE TOP 25The Western Athletic Conference is 0-6 against the NSCAA/adidas top 25 this season. Last week, Fresno State fell to No. 13 California, 2-0. This week, Fresno State and San Jose State continue their tough road to conference play, as they each take on two top 20 teams this week. The Spartans square off with No. 19 Denver and No. 16 Colorado at the Colorado Soccer Classic. The Bulldogs will face No. 14 Washington and No. 20 Portland at the Husky/Nike Invitational.
KAI TIES CONFERENCE RECORDNatasha 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 on the weekend (Utah Valley State), giving her eight goals for the two Wahine matches.
KAI, HARVEY AMONG NATIONS BESTHawaiis Natasha Kai leads the nation in two categories and has the top offensive single-game perfomance in the NCAA this season. The sophomore forward posted five goals and an assist against Morehead State (9/14) to up her season points and goals totals to 26 and 12, respectivley. Both are the top marks in the nation so far this season. Her 11-point, five-goal performace included the most goals and points in this short NCAA season. Her goals per game average of 1.71 is third in the country. Fellow WAC member, Kim Harvey of SMU is currently ranked 14th at 1.14. Kai also ranks third in the NCAA with a 3.71 points per game average. Harvey just behind with an average of 2.71, placing her 10th.
LOOKING TO TOP 250SMU needs just one more win to eclipse the 250-win mark for the program since its inception in 1986. The Mustangs best season came in 1995 when they went 23-1-1, advancing to the third round of the NCAA Playoffs.
AROUND THE WACBoise State senior Brittany Zoellner extended her school records for career goals and points to 22 and 53, respectively. Boise State takes on pacific northwest rival Eastern Washington Sept. 16, before traveling to southern California for two games against former Big West rivals UC Irvine on Sept. 19 and Cal State Fullerton on Sept. 21.
After playing three road matches in a span of six days last week, Fresno State is slated to play another three contests this week. The Bulldogs begin the week by hosting a non-conference match against UC Riverside on Sept. 17, just their second home game of the year. Fresno State then makes an appearance at the Husky/Nike Invitational in Seattle, where the it will face off with No. 14 Washington on Sept. 19, and No. 20 Portland on Sept. 21. When Fresno State faces UTEP in El Paso on Sept. 26, it will have already played five top-25 schools before entering conference play.
Hawaii is off to its best start since the 1998 team started 6-0. The Rainbow Wahine also broke the school record for goals in a match (8), points in a match (23), and tied the assists in a match record (7) against Morehead State. Mahia Atay (GK), Liz Lusk (D), Jessica Ueker (D), Natalie Groenwoud (M), Natasha Kai (F), and Robyn deHay (F) were all named to the all-tournament team.
After winning two straight matches at home, Nevada lost a pair of matches on the road last week to Utah State (L, 4-0) and Weber State (L, 1-0). The Wolf Pack failed to score a goal in either match and its three losses this season have all been via the shutout. Nevada's sophomore goalkeeper Megan Tarpenning registered a season-high 13 saves in the match versus the Wildcats. Tarpenning posted 19 saves on the week. Against Utah State, the Wolf Pack managed just three shots on goal and were outshot 22-4 by the Aggies.
For the fourth time in five games this season, Rice was defeated in a 1-0 defensive struggle. The Owls dropped an overtime decision to Georgia at the Challenge College Classic in its lone game of the week. Rice, who is still looking for a scoring punch to go along with its steady defensive play, fell to 0-4-1. In every game this season the Rice defense has put the team in a position to win. Lack of scoring however has resulted in identical 1-0 losses to San Francisco and Oregon to start the season and then North Texas. Goalkeeper Lauren Shockley was again solid, forcing the team's second overtime game this season. Shockley recorded six saves as the Bulldogs outshot Rice 14-5. Rice faces another SEC team in its next game on Friday, Sept. 19. The Owls host Alabama at the Rice Track/Soccer Stadium at 7 p.m. The team will then host Northwestern State at 1 pm on Sunday, Sept. 21.
Molly Flanagan scored San Jose States only goal in the second half, but the Spartans fell to UC Riverside, 3-1, in a non-conference match at the Spartan Soccer Field on Sept. 15. San Jose State now travels to the Colorado Soccer Challenge this weekend. The team will play No. 19 Denver on Sept. 19 and No. 16 Colorado on Sept. 21.
SMU ran its winning streak to four games before falling to Oklahoma in overtime. Last season, SMU was involved in 10 overtime games. As a team, SMU is shooting 56.3% in shots-on-goal percentage. Four of SMU's first seven opponents were vs. Big 12 schools. The Mustangs need one more victory to eclipse the 250-win mark for the program since its inception in 1986. Senior Kim Harvey is fifth on SMU's all-time list for career goals with 47 and moved up to fifth on the all-time list for career points, now posting 108 points. SMU hosts the Mi Cocina Soccer Cup this weekend, with Texas A&M, Colorado College and Oregon coming to town.
UTEP freshmen Christine McCartney, Sarah Graef and Kelli Yeamans have stepped up to become UTEP's top offensive threats this season. Thre trio has scored six out of UTEP's 13 goals. McCartney has three goals and one assist in four games. Graef has three goals, while Yeamans has an assist in just two games played. McCartney and Graef have accounted for all three of UTEP's game winning goals. McCartney has two, while Graef has the other. Junior Katie Gilmore has done a fine job in relief of the injured Kyla Clark. Gilmore has a 1.36 goals against average in over 463 minutes of action. Senior Kate Stevens continues to climb the UTEP career charts with her two goals and two assists this season. Stevens now ranks fourth with 11 career assists and fifth in points (43) and goals (16).
Tulsa is 3-2-1 overall this season and joins the 1990, 1991, 1997, 2000 and 2001 squads that have had the same record after the first six games of the season. With two assists last weekend, Jamie German has 11 for her career and is just two assists shy of moving into 10th place among TU's career assist leaders. After opening the season with three consecutive home games, Tulsa has played its last three games on the road and will face three more opponents away from Tulsa before opening WAC play against Hawaii on Sept. 28 in its next home game.
SMU FAVORED TO WIN 2003 CROWNSMU 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 penatly 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 will enter the 2003 season under the helm of new head coach John Cossaboon, the former head coach of San Diego. He replaces George Van Linder who ran the Mustang program for four years before leaving for Baylor.
FACING THE NATIONS BESTSeventeen teams that participated in the 2002 NCAA Tournament will be opponents of WAC teams this season. The list includes the likes of 2002 National Champion Portland, 2001 NCAA champion, Santa Clara and Pepperdine.