CONFERENCE PLAY SET TO START THIS WEEK ? Utah State started out the week with a win over San Francisco at home. On Tuesday, Oct. 3 Hawai’i will travel to Loyola Marymount, while Idaho will look for its first win at Eastern Washington. Conference play will begin on Friday, Oct. 6. Idaho will host Hawai?i, while Boise State will host San Jose State. Fresno State will host Nevada in a battle of two of the top teams in the WAC during the non-conference season. On Sunday, Oct. 8, Louisiana Tech will host Utah State, while Hawai?i travels to Boise State. Idaho will host San Jose State.
ATHLETES OF THE WEEK ? Boise State forward Annie Tom and Nevada defender Jessica Wilcox have been named the Western Athletic Conference women’s soccer offensive and defensive Players of the Week, respectively.
Tom, a senior from Mililani, Hawaii (Mililani), played in both matches during the week, helping Boise State to a 1-0-1 record. She came in off the bench to score the sudden victory game-winning goal 19 seconds into the second overtime at Sacramento State on Sept. 29 to give Boise State a 4-3 win. The victory snapped a three-match losing streak for the Broncos. It was Tom’s second goal of the season moving her point total to five.
Wilcox, a junior from Phoenix, Ariz. (Cactus), helped Nevada record two shutouts against Northern Arizona and New Mexico. The Wolf Pack defeated Northern Arizona, 3-0, and tied New Mexico in double overtime, 0-0. She anchored a defense that did not allow a goal last week. She also recorded an assist, her first of the season, in the victory over NAU.
Other offensive nominees included: Karen Zmirak, Nevada and Charity Weston, Utah State.
Other defensive nominees included: Melanie Bohnet, Boise State and Ali Griffin, Utah State.
WAC IN THE NCAA ? The WAC boasts two teams that rank in the top 30 in three categories. Nevada and Fresno State are 19th and 20th respectively in goals against average at 0.517 and 0.526. The Bulldogs are 18th in the nation in shutout percentage at 0.64, while their 0.917 save percentage is fifth. Nevada comes in ninth this week in save percentage, posting a .885 mark. Fresno State’s Angie Larsen is 23rd in goals against average (0.526 GAA). Larsen is seventh in the NCAA in save percentage at 0.917, while Nevada’s Caitlin’s Holmes is 14th at 0.886.
DILIGENT DEFENSE ? Fresno State has held seven opponents scoreless in 2006. Senior defender Rochelle Jagdeo has picked up where she left off in 2005, living up to her reputation as the 2005 WAC Defensive Player of the Year and the Preseason WAC Defensive Player of the Year. Also playing a key role in the run has been senior goaltender Angie Larsen. Larsen has posted seven shutouts in eleven games and has made 66 saves over that period, moving her into fourth all-time in saves among Fresno State goalies in just over one year. Larsen now leads the conference in saves and shutouts this season.
AGGIES STRONG AT HOME ? With a win on Oct. 2 against San Francisco, Utah State improves to 2-1 all-time versus USF, including 2-0 in Logan. The Aggies are now 3-1 at home this season, and unbeaten in 10 of their last 12 home matches. Monday was Utah State’s second 1-0 win in a row and fourth 1-0 victory of the season, as well as ninth match this season decided by one goal, including six in a row. Sophomore goalkeeper Ali Griffin posted her second straight shutout and fourth of season, climbing to No. 2 on USU’s single-season mark and third on Aggies’ career list.
SAN JOSE STATE TO PLAY RIVAL ? San Jose State plays three matches this week, beginning with their annual “Rivalry Series” meeting with third-ranked South Bay rival Santa Clara University on the road on Wednesday, October 4. SJSU will then open the 2006 Western Athletic Conference season at home to Boise State on Friday before travelling to play Idaho on Sunday afternoon, October 8.
TECHSTERS SET SHOTS RECORD ? Louisiana Tech set a new WAC record with 68 shots against Prairie View A&M. The old record was held by UTEP with 61 against Youngstown State in 2000.
SOCCER FORMAT ? The WAC will continue its regular-season play as a single round-robin format for a total of seven conference matches, but will add in a points system. Each team will receive three points for a win and one point for a tie. The six teams with the most points at the end of the regular season will advance to the WAC Tournament which is being held Nov. 2-3, 5 in Reno, Nev.
NCAA OPPONENTS ? Of the 92 non-conference matchups, 15 are against teams that played in the NCAA Tournament last year and five are at WAC home sites. Three teams in the WAC play at least three non-conference opponents that competed in the NCAA Tournament last year.
Pepperdine def. Idaho, 5-0
Cal State Fullerton def. Idaho, 4-0
Utah State def. Weber State, 1-0
Fresno State def. Florida, 1-0
Arizona def. Utah State, 3-0
Utah def. Fresno State, 2-0
Fresno State def. BYU, 1-0
Arizona def. Hawai?i, 1-0 (OT)
BYU def. Utah State, 1-0 (OT)
California def. Boise State, 2-1
Gonzaga def. Idaho, 3-0
UC Riverside def. Fresno State (2OT), 1-0
UC Riverside def. San Jose State, 2-1
Utah def. Utah State, 1-0
San Jose State at Santa Clara, Oct. 4
COLLEGE CUP ? The 25th Annual Women’s College Cup will be held December 1 and 3, in Cary, N.C. Last season, the WAC had one team compete in postseason play with Fresno State falling in the first round to Santa Clara. The following is a list of sites and dates for the 2006 NCAA Tournament:
First/Second Rounds (16)
November 10 and 12, 2006
On campus sites TBD
Third Rounds (8)
November 17, 18 or 19, 2006
On campus sites TBD
Quarterfinals (4)
November 24, 25 or 26, 2006
On campus sites TBD
Women’s College Cup
December 1 and 3, 2006
Cary, N.C.
Host: North Carolina State
TIE-BREAKING PROCEDURE ? 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.