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PLAYERS OF THE WEEKOffensiveAshley Anderson, a sophomore from Lucas, Texas, led Rice in points for the week with four, highlighted by a goal in both of the Owls wins. Anderson scored the only goal in Rices 1-0 win over Alabama, its first win of the season. She also posted the teams first goal in the 5-1 win over Northwestern State. The five goals are a new Rice record.
DefensiveAmber Mack, a junior from El Paso, Texas, led the UTEP defensive unit that help post two shutouts over the weekend. Mack helped the Miners in limiting their opponents to just 13 shots, while UTEP managed 88. All five of the Miners wins this season have been via the shutout.
OTHER NOMINEESOffensiveLauren Mussallem, SMU and Kate Stevens, UTEP
DefensiveSusanna Collins, SMU and Lauren Shockley, Rice
THIS WEEK IN THE WAC - The WAC opens conference play this week with six matches. Fresno State and travel partner San Jose State make their way east to Texas for matches with UTEP and SMU. Hawaii leaves the island for conference matches with Rice and Tulsa. The Hurricane and Owls play non-conference matches as well, taking on SW Missouri State and No. 22 Auburn, respectively. Nevada travels to southern California for a battle with San Diego State, while Boise State hosts the Soccer Etc., Nike Invitational, and will face Northern Arizona and Northern Colorado.
WAC VS. THE TOP 25 - The Western Athletic Conference is 0-10 against the NSCAA/adidas top 25 this season. Last week, Fresno State fell to No. 14 Washington, 3-0 and No. 20 Portland, 1-0. San Jose State squared off with No. 19 Denver, falling 2-1, and No. 16 Colorado, losing 3-0. Rice is the lone WAC team to face a ranked opponent, taking on No. 22 Auburn, Sept. 28.
UTEP NOTCHES ANOTHER DOZEN - UTEP hung 12 goals on Prairie View A&M for the second time in two seasons. The Miners notched a dozen last season at home, helping them to a number of WAC offensive records. This season, Barbara Butts managed four goals to lead the Miners to another 12-0 win over the Panthers.
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, HARVEY, MCCARTNEY AMONG NATIONS BEST - Hawaiis Natasha Kai is among the best in 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. Her goals mark is the top mark in the nation so far this season, while her 26 points are second. Her 11-point, five-goal performance is the most goals and points in this short NCAA season. Her goals per game average of 1.50 is third in the country. Fellow WAC member, Kim Harvey of SMU and Christine McCartney of UTEP are currently ranked tied for 13th at 1.00. Kai also ranks second in the NCAA with a 3.25 points per game average. Harvey and McCartney are 12th and 25th with averages of 2.44 and 2.17, respectivley.
TOPPING THE 250 MARK - SMU eclipsed the 250-win mark for the program since is inception in 1986 on Sept. 19 witha 2-1 win over Colorado College.
AROUND THE WACBoise State returns home to the Boas Tennis & Soccer Complex to close out the non-conference schedule when it host the SoccerEtc.-Nike Invitational with Northern Arizona, Northern Colorado and Utah State. The Broncos are 1-2-0 at their new facility that opened with a record home crowd of 811 versus Idaho State on Sept. 5th.
With its non-conference season now in the books, Fresno State (3-4-2) is set to begin league play. The Bulldogs will begin the 2003 WAC regular season with a pair of road matches this weekend, beginning with Friday night's contest against UTEP (5-3-0). The trip concludes on Sunday afternoon when the Bulldogs head to Dallas for a matchup with SMU (7-2), the defending conference champion. Fresno State currently stands one game under the .500 mark, but the Bulldogs have also battled five top-25 teams during the first nine matches.
Cornell snapped Hawaii's six match unbeaten streak with a 2-0 win Sept. 19 in the OHANA Hotels and Resorts Soccer Shootout. The Rainbow Wahine dropped to 5-2-1 with the lossand look to rebound on the road as they travel to Houston, Texas and face Rice in their WAC opener on Friday, September 26.
Nevadas Lauren Kinneman scored her first collegiate goal against Sacramento State. The Wolf Pack have scored just one goal during their current four-match losing streak. Nevada's 646 fans on Sept. 19 versus UNLV was the second-largest crowd in school history.
Rice posted its first wins over the weekend, defeating Alabama, 1-0, Sept. 19. Rice then set a school record for goals scored on the way to a 5-1 victory over visiting Northwestern State on Sunday (Sept. 21). The scoring barrage comes on the heals of four, close 1-0 losses in its first five games of the season. Rice's four assists on the day also tied a school record. Rice improved its record to 2-4-1 overall. The team has back-to-back wins heading into next week's WAC regular season opener at home against Hawaii on Friday, Sept. 26.
San Jose State opened the season wit a win, but has suffered seven-straight losses. The Spartans faced five top-25 opponents in three weeks, losing to likes of 2002 and 2001 NCAA Champions Portland and Santa Clara, respetivley. The road doesntt get any easier for San Jose State as they face off with defending WAC Champ, SMU, Sept. 26 to open conference play.
SMU eclipsed the 250-win mark for the program since its inception in 1986, Sept. 19 with the 2-1 victory over Colorado College. Senior Kim Harvey is fifth on SMU's all-time list for career goals with 48. She needs four more goals to move into fourth. Through nine games last season, the Mustangs were 4-4-1, including five overtime games. SMU is in the midst of a five-game homestand. The Mustangs are 6-0 in WAC openers and post an overall 40-4-3 league record since 1996 (SMU's first year in the WAC). SMU has won four WAC titles in that span.
UTEP has recorded five shutouts in its five victories this season and is currently on pace to break the school record of seven shutouts in a season set in 1997 and 2002. Senior Kate Stevens continues to move up the charts for career points, goals and assists. Stevens now ranks fourth with 13 career assists, fifth with 19 goals and fifth with 51 points. Through eight games, UTEP has scored 27 goals and is on pace to score 61 for the season. Freshman Christine McCartney is the team leader with six goals, while other freshmen Barbara Butts has four and Sarah Graef has three. UTEPs freshmen class has accounted for 14 of UTEPs 27 goals and 30 of the teams 69 points.
Since beginning the season with three straight home wins, Tulsa has lost four out of its last five contests and is 0-4-1 away from home this season. TU will conclude its current six-game stanza this Friday at Southwest Missouri State in Springfield, Mo. Freshman midfielder Katie Ward posted her first collegiate goal against Oklahoma State Sept. 19. Ward, who has started seven of eight games this season, has one goal and two assists for four points this season. Ward joins classmate Kristie Keirsey as the only two freshmen who have found the back of the net this season. Keirsey has two goals, both game-winners, and one assist for five points this season.
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 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 BEST Seventeen 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.