ON TAP IN THE WAC ? Fresno State, after going 2-0 last week, looks to keep its WAC-best record in tact, taking on Pacific, UC Riverside and Cal Poly. San Jose State takes to the road for matches with Saint Mary’s and Pacific before taking on UC Riverside in San Jose. Louisiana Tech hosts Northwestern State in its lone match of the week. Hawai?i hosts its final tournament of the season, the OHANA Hotels and Resorts Soccer Invitational, taking on Detroit and Cal State Northridge. Boise State travels to Berkeley for its only match of the week, taking on top 20 California. Idaho looks for its first win of the season, hosting Gonzaga, then taking on the Oregon Ducks in Eugene. Utah State looks to rebound after an overtime loss to BYU with a pair of in-state matches, taking on Southern Utah and Utah.
ATHLETES OF THE WEEK ? Hawai?i midfielder Kelli-Anne Chang and Fresno State goalkeeper Angie Larsen have been named the Western Athletic Conference women’s soccer offensive and defensive Players of the Week, respectively.
Chang, a sophomore from Aiea, Hawaii (Aiea), scored two goals as Hawai?i went 2-0-1 on the week. She helped UH to the Outrigger Hotels Soccer Shootout Co-Championship and was named to the all-tournament team. Chang scored the game-winning goal with two seconds left in the first overtime period over Cornell. She then led UH with seven shots in a 0-0 tie versus San Francisco as UH out-shot USF 27-7. She also scored the equalizing goal in the 82nd minute in UH’s come-from-behind, 2-1, double-overtime win at Northern Arizona.
Larsen, a senior San Jose, Calif. (West Valley College), tied a career high with her seventh shutout of the season, posting two over the weekend. She helped the Bulldogs defeat Portland State and Sacramento State, 2-0. Larsen turned away nine shots against Sacramento State, including a penalty kick. This is her second honor of the season.
Other offensive nominees included: Erika Sugano, Fresno State; Emily Cleaveland, Louisiana Tech and Jessica Scott, San Jose State.
Other defensive nominees included: Kori Lu, Hawai?i; Jill Medigovich, Louisiana Tech; Jackie Zabek, San Jose State and Ali Griffin, Utah State.
WAC IN THE NCAA ? The WAC boasts two teams that rank in the top 10 in three categories. Fresno State and Hawai?i are sixth and 10th respectively in goals against average at 0.243 and 0.305. The Bulldogs lead the nation in shutout percentage at 0.88, while their 0.964 save percentage is third. Fresno State goalkeeper Angie Larsen is ninth in the nation in goals against average at 0.243, while landing third this week in save percentage at 0.964. Hawai?i keeper Kori Lu is 14th in the country with a 0.329 goals against average.
FIVE MATCHES VS. ?05 NCAA TEAMS ? With the non-conference schedule coming to a close, there are five teams that face 2005 NCAA participants. On Friday, Sept. 22, Boise State travels to Berkeley to take on California, Idaho hosts Gonzaga, while Fresno State hosts UC Riverside. UC Riverside then makes its way north to take on San Jose on Sept. 24, while Utah State takes on Utah in Salt Lake City. The WAC is currently 3-6 against teams that competed in the NCAA tournament last season.
BULLDOGS IN THE TOP 25 ? Fresno State remains ranked in three of the national polls. Even with a pair of 2-0 wins, the Bulldogs fell from the NSCAA poll, but are still receiving votes. Fresno State is 22nd in the Soccer America poll, while coming in 24th and 23rd in the SoccerTimes.com and Soccer Buzz polls, respectively.
FRESNO STATE TOPS IN THE WAC ? Fresno State moves to the top of the WAC standings with a pair of 2-0 wins. The Bulldogs are in the midst of their best start in program history. They are led by a defense that has pitched seven shutouts. Fresno State ranks third in the NCAA with a 0.964 save percentage and first with a 0.88 shoutout percentage.
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)
Boise State at California, Sept. 22
Gonzaga at Idaho, Sept. 22
UC Riverside at Fresno 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 (4-3, 0-0 WAC)
Boise State plays its lone match in Berkeley, Calif., taking on No. 20 California ... the Broncos are led this season by Katie Keller who has three goals ... Brennan Lau leads the team in assists with three ... the Broncos suffered two losses last week, dropping them to 4-3 on the season ... they currently sit fourth in the WAC standings.
Fresno State Bulldogs (6-1-1, 0-0 WAC)
Fresno State looks to stay perfect at home with two more games this week in what is the longest homestand for the Bulldogs this year ... the Bulldogs won both of their games last week to improve to 4-0-0 at home on the year, but will be tested again with little rest this week ... first up this week is Pacific, a team that had a five-match unbeaten streak snapped with a loss to BYU last weekend ... following that match, the Bulldogs will finish up the run at home with a game against UC Riverside ... the Bulldogs are among the best in the nation in defense, ranking first in shutout percentage, third in save percentage and sixth in goals against average.
Hawai?i Rainbow Wahine (5-2-2, 0-0 WAC)
Hawai?i has played in five straight overtime matches and has gone 2-2-1 in that stretch ... UH and San Francisco shared the Outrigger Hotels & Resorts Soccer Shootout title ... named to all-tournament team were Jessica Domingo, Taryn Fukuroku, Tehane Higa, Kelli-Anne Chang and Kori Lu ... the Rainbow Wahine host their final tournament of the season, hosting Detroit and Cal State Northridge at the OHANA Hotels and Resorts Soccer Invitational.
Idaho Vandals (0-8, 0-0 WAC)
The 2006 season continued to be rough for Idaho after the Vandals suffered their eighth shutout in a 2-0 loss to Washington State ... the Vandals return home for their next game to take on Gonzaga ... the weekend will conclude with Idaho on the road at Oregon ... Britta Rustad’s two assists against CS Northridge, lead the conference as a single-match high.
Louisiana Tech Lady Techsters (4-3-1, 0-0 WAC)
Louisiana Tech takes on in-state rival Northwestern State at Joe Aillet Stadium for its lone match of the week ... a pair of Techsters lead the conference many offensive categories ... Sarah Chovanec leads in shots (33) and shots per match (4.12) ... Emily Cleaveland leads the league in points (11), goals (5), points per match (1.38) and goals per match (0.62).
Nevada Wolf Pack (4-2-1, 0-0 WAC)
Nevada makes another trip to the Pacific Northwest, traveling to Oregon for matches with Oregon and Portland State ... the Wolf Pack their first match of the season, falling to Wyoming, 1-0 ... Nevada then fell to 4-2-1 with another loss to UC Davis ... Nevada’s defense has anchored its play, allowing just five goals in its seven matches this season ... the Pack also boast a 0.68 goals against average.
San Jose State Spartans (2-4-1, 0-0 WAC)
San Jose State earned a split of its games this past week, wrapping up a season-long three-game homestand with a 2-1 record ... the Spartans lost to Sacramento State, 2-1, surrendering the game-winner with just 1:02 left in regulation ... they then rebounded for a 3-1 victory over Notre Dame de Namur ... the Spartans play three matches this week, visiting a pair of local foes in Saint Mary’s and Pacific before welcoming UC Riverside for their final non-conference home game ... sophomore forward and preseason all-WAC pick Jessica Scott leads the team in shots (22), shots on goal (11), goals (3) and points (7).
Utah State State Aggies (2-6, 0-0 WAC)
Utah State now has an 11-16-2 record vs. in-state opponents, facing two this week, at Southern Utah and Utah ... the Aggies took No. 18 BYU to overtime, battling not only the Cougars, but sleet and cold weather, before falling 1-0 in overtime ... Utah State is fourth in the WAC in goals against average at 1.24.