ON TAP IN THE WAC ? The schedule slows down a bit as teams prepare for conference play. This is the final non-conference weekend. Louisiana Tech hosts rival, Centenary on Sept. 27. Boise State returns to California, taking on Sacramento State, before returning home to face TCU. Nevada travels to Albuquerque for the New Mexico Tournament, taking on Northern Arizona and the Lobos. Utah State stays in Logan for its lone match of the week, taking on Eastern Washington. Hawai?i takes to the sky, as they travel to San Diego to take on the Toreros. San Jose State’s lone match is against in-state rival, UC Irvine. Fresno State and Idaho are both idle this week.
ATHLETES OF THE WEEK ? Nevada midfielder Lauren Kinneman and Hawai?i defender Kelly McCloskey have been named the Western Athletic Conference women’s soccer offensive and defensive Players of the Week, respectively.
Kinneman, a senior from Sammamish, Wash. (Skyline), scored the game-winning goal against Pac-10 opponent Oregon on the road. She also assisted on the game’s first goal. The goal against Oregon is Kinneman’s first of the season. The Wolf Pack remains unbeaten on the road this season with a 4-0-1 record.
McCloskey, a senior from Santa Cruz, Calif. (Aptos), scored the game-winning goal in Hawai?i’s 2-1 win over Detroit. It was her first goal of the season and second game-winner of her career. She is part of a defense that has allowed four goals in 10 matches.
Other offensive nominees included: Randi Baker, Boise State; Nicole Martinez, San Jose State and Erin Salmon, Utah State.
Other defensive nominees included: Jill Medigovich, Louisiana Tech; Jessica Wilcox, Nevada and Jessica Malaska, Utah State.
WAC IN THE NCAA ? The WAC boasts three teams that rank in the top 30 in three categories. Hawai?i and Fresno State are seventh and 24th respectively in goals against average at 0.369 and 0.526. The Bulldogs are 21st in the nation in shutout percentage at 0.64, while their 0.917save percentage is fifth. Hawaii ranks 23rd in shutout percentage at 0.60. Nevada comes in 28th this week in save percentage, posting a .864 mark. Hawai?i goalkeeper Kori Lu in 10th in the country in goals against average at 0.395, while Fresno State’s Angie Larsen is 24th at 0.526. Larsen is sixth in the NCAA in save percentage at 0.917, while Lu is 18th at 0.886.
BULLDOGS FALL FROM TOP 25 ? Fresno State falls from the top this week for the first time in four weeks. The Bulldogs suffered a pair of overtime losses, falling to UC Riverside and Cal Poly. The Bulldogs look to get back on track, taking a week off before WAC play begins.
NEVADA RETURNS TO THE TOP OF THE WAC ? Nevada posted two road wins, to up its season record to 4-0-1 away from Mackay Stadium. The Wolf Pack sit atop the WAC with a 6-2-1 mark. The 6-2-1 record continues Nevada’s best start in program history.
PUT ME IN COACH ? San Jose State’s Nicole Martinez came off the bench as a forward in three games last week, scoring twice and providing one assist. Martinez produced her first multi-goal game of her Spartan career in a 2-1 overtime win over Saint Mary’s. Utah State’s Erin Salmon made her first career start for the Aggies, netting both goals in a 2-1 overtime win over Southern Utah.
A YEAR AGO TODAY ? Fresno State has made the biggest improvement from last year to this, posting a 6-4-1 mark this season, compared to a 3-6 mark on Sept. 27 in 2005. Nevada has also made an improvement from a season ago, posting a 6-2-1 mark in 2006, after a 4-3-1 mark in 2005 at this time. Hawai?i has also turned things around, earning a 4-3-1 record in 2006, after a 3-4-2 mark in 2005.
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, 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 (4-4, 0-0 WAC)
Boise State lost a hard fought match at California ... the Broncos were without the services of three key starters in senior Brennan Lau, and juniors Alli Tsuchida and Katie Keller who are all listed as day-to-day ... the loss drops Boise State to 4-4 overall with two matches remaining next week before WAC action begins in two weeks ... the Broncos travel this week to Sacramento State for a match Sept. 29, before retuning home for the first time in three weeks when they host TCU on Oct. 1.
Fresno State Bulldogs (6-4-1, 0-0 WAC)
Fresno State suffered a pair of losses, falling to UC Riverside and Cal Poly in overtime ... goalkeeper Angie Larsen is leading a strong defensive front, ranking sixth in the nation in save percentage at 0.917 .... that mark also puts the Bulldogs fifth in the country as a team ... Fresno State is off this week, preparing for WAC play in two weeks ... the Bulldogs take on Nevada, which currently sits atop the WAC standings.
Hawai?i Rainbow Wahine (6-3-2, 0-0 WAC)
Hawai?i’s Kristy Krohn scored the game-winning goal in the 79th minute to lift CS Northridge to a 2-1 win over the Wahine in the championship match of the OHANA Hotels & Resorts Soccer Invitational ... the loss, UH’s first in more than two weeks, dropped the Rainbow Wahine to 6-3-2 on the season ... Tayrn Fukuroku, Tehane Higa, Kori Lu and Kelly McCloskey, were all named to the all-tournament team ... Hawai?i next heads for the road for four straight matches, starting with a meeting versus San Diego on Oct. 1.
Idaho Vandals (0-11, 0-0 WAC)
Idaho suffered a pair of losses over the weekend, falling to Gonzaga and Oregon ... the Vandals are off this week, before traveling to Eastern Washington on Oct. 3 ... the trip to Cheney will be the Vandals ninth road match of the season.
Louisiana Tech Lady Techsters (4-3-2, 0-0 WAC)
Louisiana Tech’s lone match of the the week is now at Centenary in Shreveport ... the Lady Techsters sit fourth in the WAC standings with a 4-3-2 record ... goalkeeper Jill Medigovich recorded her third shutout of the season in a 0-0 tie to Northwestern State ... she tallied six saves.
Nevada Wolf Pack (6-2-1, 0-0 WAC)
Nevada continues to improve on its best start in program history at 6-2-1 ... the Pack remain unbeaten on the road this season (4-0-1) ... Nevada’s two road wins over the weekend mark the first time in program history the Pack recorded back-to-back wins on the road ... Nevada went 1-0-1 earlier this season, traveling to Washington State and Eastern Washington ... Jessica Wilcox Helped helped Nevada record its fourth shutout of the season and helped lead Nevada to its second road victory over a Pac-10 opponent this season.
San Jose State Spartans (3-6-1, 0-0 WAC)
San Jose State posted an overtime win over area rival Saint Mary’s College for a second consecutive season, winning 2-1 in Moraga ... the Spartans then dropped a 3-2 decision late at Pacific and fell 2-1 at home to UC Riverside ... San Jose State plays just once in the week ahead, travelling to Irvine, Calif., to take on its third straight Big West Conference opponent in UC Irvine on Sunday, October 1.
Utah State State Aggies (3-6, 0-0 WAC)
Utah State’s Erin Salmon made her first career start against Southern Utah and netted both goals, for her first goal and points as an Aggie ... she netted the game-winner in the ninth minute of the first OT period ... the Aggies are now 12-17-2 against in-state opponents, remaining unbeaten versus Southern Utah with a 3-0-1 all-time record ... the loss to Utah was Utah State’s fourth one-goal loss ... the Southern Utah win was the Aggies’ first win after the opponent scored first (1-5-0) and being behind at the half (1-4-0), but USU improved to 3-0-0 when tallying more corner kicks than the opposition.