ON TAP IN THE WAC ? Its a busy weekend in the WAC, with every team in competition on Friday and Sunday. Boise State, Hawai?i and Nevada all host tournaments. The Broncos host the Govenor’s Cup bringing Montana, Idaho State and Idaho to the capital city. Hawai?i invited Kent State and Winthrop to the Outrigger Hotels and Resorts Soccer Classic. Nevada plays the first of its two tournaments in Reno, taking on Wisconsin-Green Bay and Northern Iowa. Fresno State travels east to Florida, taking on Florida and Central Florida. Utah State travels to Salt Lake City, where the Aggies will take on Arizona and Washington State. San Jose State hits the road, taking on in-state rivals Cal Poly and San Francisco. Louisiana Tech looks to keep its hot streak alive, taking on Stephen F. Austin and Southern Miss.
ATHLETES OF THE WEEK ? Louisiana Tech forward Denise Wilson and Fresno State goalkeeper Angie Larsen have been named the Western Athletic Conference women’s soccer offensive and defensive Players of the Week, respectively.
Wilson, a sophomore from Miami, Fla. (Miramer), scored her first career hat trick in a 7-0 win over Nicholls State to help lead the Lady Techsters to their first-ever season opening victory. Her three goals tied a school record for goals in a single game at Louisiana Tech.
Larsen, a senior from San Jose, Calif. (West Valley College), started 2006 right where she left off from last year, posting two shutouts last weekend. In 180 minutes, Larsen tallied 11 saves, leading the Bulldogs to a 2-0 win over San Francisco and 1-0 win over Cal State Northridge.
Other offensive nominees included: Annie Tom, Boise State; Karen Zmirak, Nevada; Nicole Martinez, San Jose State and Andra Hansen, Utah State.
Other defensive nominees included: Kim Parker, Boise State; Caitlin Holmes, Nevada; Marissa Dayton San Jose State and Ali Griffin, Utah State.
WELCOME BACK ? Fresno State head coach Steve Springthorpe returns home this weekend, taking on Florida in Gainesville. Prior to being named head coach at Fresno State, Springthorpe served as an assistant coach at Florida. In five years at Florida, Springthorpe helped the Gators win three SEC regular season championships, three SEC Tournament Championships and reached the NCAA Tournament on four occasions.
ALL-TOURNAMENT WAHINES ? Hawai?i placed three members on the OHANA Hotel’s & Resorts No Ka Oi all-tournament team. Forward Ambree Ako, midfielder Jessica Domingo, defender Koren Takeyama and defender Lehua Wood were all selected.
TECHSTERS SET 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.
NON-CONFERENCE SCHEDULE ? The 2006 WAC schedule includes 92 non-conference matches:
Conference Matches Teams
Big 12............................. 1 Oklahoma
Big Sky......................... 20 Idaho State (4), Sacramento State (5), Weber State, Montana (2), Eastern Washington (4), Northern Arizona (2), Portland State (2)
Big South....................... 1 Winthrop
Big West...................... 15 CS Fullerton, CS Northridge (4), Cal Poly (2), Pacific (3), Long Beach State (2), UC Riverside (2), UC Irivine
Conference USA.......... 2 Central Florida, Southern Miss
Division II....................... 1 Notre Dame De Namur
Horizon........................... 2 Wiscosin-Green Bay, Detroit
Independent.................. 3 UC Davis
Ivy League..................... 1 Cornell
Mid-American................ 1 Kent State
Mid-Continent............... 3 Southern Utah, Centenary
Missouri Valley............. 2 Northern Iowa, Missouri State
Mountain West.............. 8 Utah (2), BYU (2), Wyoming (2), TCU, New Mexico
Pac-10............................ 9 Washington, Washington State (3), Arizona (2), California, Oregon (2)
Southeastern................ 2 Florida, Arkansas
Southland...................... 4 Nicholls State, Stephen F. Austin, SE Louisiana, Northwestern State
Southwest..................... 1 Prairie View A&M
Sun Belt......................... 1 Arkansas State
United Soccer............... 3 Utah Valley State
West Coast................. 12 Loyola Marymount (2), Pepperdine, San Francisco (4), San Diego (2), St. Mary’s, Gonzaga, Santa Clara
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
Weber State at Utah State, Aug. 29
Fresno State at Florida, Sept. 1
Utah State vs. Arizona, Sept. 3
Fresno State at Utah, Sept. 8
Fresno State at BYU, Sept. 9
Hawai?i at Arizona, Sept. 10
BYU at Utah State, Sept. 16
Boise State at California, Sept. 22
Gonzaga at Idaho, Sept. 22
UC Riverside at Boise State, Sept. 22
UC Riverside at San Jose State, Sept. 24
Utah State at Utah, Sept. 24
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, 2005
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.
Boise State Broncos (1-0, 0-0 WAC)
Boise State won its season opener at home 3-1 over Southern Utah of the Mid-Continent Conference in the Broncos lone match of the weekend ... senior forward led Boise State with three points against SUU on a goal and one assist ... this week the Broncos host the fourth Idaho Governor’s Cup featuring Idaho, Idaho State, and Montana ... Boise State will take on Montana Friday afternoon followed by a match against in-state rival Idaho State on Sunday.
Fresno State Bulldogs (2-0, 0-0 WAC)
Fresno State won its second game in as many tries as the Bulldog defense held their opponent scoreless again in a 1-0 win over Cal State Northridge, after a 2-0 win over San Francisco ... next up for Fresno State is the first road trip of the year, as the Bulldogs travel clear across the country to the nation’s southeast tip ... starting the action is a rematch with head coach Steve Springthorpe’s previous home at Florida on Sept. 1, followed by a Sept. 3 match against Central Florida in Orlando.
Hawai?i Rainbow Wahine (1-1, 0-0 WAC)
Hawai?i picked up its first win of the season with a 1-0 decision over Oklahoma in the consolation match of the OHANA Hotel’s & Resorts No Ka Oi ... freshman striker Ambree Ako scored the game-winner in the 68th minute off a UH free kick ... the Rainbow Wahine are back in action this weekend with the Outrigger Hotels & Resorts Soccer Classic, Sept. 1-3 ... UH kicks off the tournament on Friday, Sept.1 at 7:00 p.m. with a meeting versus Kent State at the Waipio Peninsula Soccer Stadium.
Idaho Vandals (0-2, 0-0 WAC)
Idaho was held scoreless for its second consecutive match in a 4-0 loss at Cal State Fullerton ... the Vandals opened the season with a 5-0 loss to Pepperdine ... next up for the Vandals is the Governor’s Cup Tournament in Boise, Idaho ... Idaho will take on Idaho State Friday (Sept. 1) at 1:30 p.m. and Montana (Sept. 3) at 10:30 p.m.
Louisiana Tech Lady Techsters (2-0, 0-0 WAC)
Louisiana Tech’s 7-0 victory over Nicholls State marks the first time the Lady Techsters won their season opener ... in the win, sophomore Denise Wilson’s recorded her first career hat trick and tied a school record held by sophomore Emily Cleaveland for most goals scored in a game with three ... the Techsters dominated their second match of the week, posting a 4-1 win over Prairie View A&M ... they fired 68 shots to set a new WAC record ... the Lady Techsters play their home opener at Friday against Stephen F. Austin at Joe Aillet Stadium.
Nevada Wolf Pack (1-0, 0-0 WAC)
Coming off a 2-0 victory at Sacramento State, Nevada returns home on Sept. 1 and 3 to face the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay and Northern Iowa ... the Wolf Pack will put its nine-game home unbeaten streak on the line when the team faces UW-Green Bay on Friday night and Northern Iowa on Sunday afternoon at Mackay Stadium ... the win against Sacramento State was the Wolf Pack’s first season-opener win.
San Jose State Spartans (0-0-1, 0-0 WAC)
San Jose State played to a 1-1 double-overtime tie at Loyola Marymount University in the 2006 season opener for both sides ... the Spartans continue a season-long four-game road stretch to open the 2006 campaign at Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo, Calif., on Friday, September 1 ... kick-off is set for 7:00 p.m.
Utah State State Aggies (1-0, 0-0 WAC)
Utah State soccer makes its regular-season home-opener on Tuesday, Aug. 29, when the Aggies host in-state rival Weber State at Chuck & Gloria Bell Soccer Field ... Utah State has a 4-6 record in regular-season home openers, and this is the third time in the last five seasons that Weber State has been the Aggies’ home-opening opponent ... Utah State has won both of the previous two occasions, winning 2-0 in 2002 and 4-0 in 2004 ... the Aggies enter Tuesday’s match with a 1-0 record, after a 1-0 win over Idaho State ... Utah State has a chance to open the season 2-0 for just the second time in the program’s 10-year history.