ON TAP IN THE WAC ? Fresno State, fresh off its upset of No. 18 Florida, lines up two more tough competitors. The Bulldogs travel to Utah to face Mountain West Conference foes, Utah and BYU. The pair of teams are both ranked in the top 30 in various polls. Nevada looks to keep its perfect record in tact, traveling north to Washington for matches with Washington State and Eastern Washington. Hawai?i leaves the island for the first time this season and takes on Pacific and Arizona in Tucson. Louisiana Tech travels to Fayetteville, Ark., for matches with Arkansas and Missouri State. Boise State looks to bounce back after a loss to Idaho State, hosting Utah Valley State before a match at Eastern Washington. Utah State travels to San Francisco to take on Long Beach State and Cal State Northridge. San Jose State makes the drive to Davis, Calif., for a mid-week match with UC Davis, then returns home to take on Idaho State. Idaho looks for its first win, hosting Sacramento State before taking to southern California for a match with San Diego.
ATHLETES OF THE WEEK ? Fresno State forward Cortney Sobrero and Nevada defender Randee Robinson have been named the Western Athletic Conference women’s soccer offensive and defensive Players of the Week, respectively.
Sobrero, a senior from Las Vegas, Nev. (Chaparral), scored the game-winning goal against No. 18 Florida. Sobrero scored the game-winner in the 16th minute. The unassisted goal was the lone score of the match and her second of the season.
Robinson, a sophomore from Port Orchard, Wash. (South Kitsap), anchored a defense that recorded two shutouts over the weekend. The Wolf Pack defense allowed only nine shots in two matches, including two halves where it held its opponents shot less.
Other offensive nominees included: Kelli-Anne Chang, Hawai?i; Brook Kelly, Louisiana Tech; Karen Zmirak, Nevada and Shannon Ross, Utah State.
Other defensive nominees included: Angie Larsen, Fresno State; Tehane Higa, Hawai?i and Lindsey Smart, Utah State.
BULLDOGS CRACK SOCCER AMERICA TOP 25 ? Fresno State becomes the WAC’s first top 25 team since the departure of SMU. The Bulldogs used a 1-0 win over No. 18 Florida in Gainseville to enter the Soccer America poll at 22. The Bulldogs look to up their ranking, taking on Soccer America’s 18th-ranked BYU and SoccerBuzzes 25th ranked Utah.
BULLDOGS KNOCK OFF NO. 18 FLORIDA ? Senior Cortney Sobrero put the Bulldogs’ first shot on goal into the net and the Fresno State defense held strong as the Bulldogs won their third consecutive game, upsetting No. 18 Florida, 1-0 in Gainseville. Florida came out with the early offense, taking three shots against Fresno State goaltender Angie Larsen, but she was up to the challenge by recording three saves, while Fresno State took one shot early that went high over the goal from Christina Gilbert.
NEVADA TOPS IN THE WAC ? Nevada sits atop the WAC standings for the first time in program history. The Wolf Pack, led by head coach Terri Patraw are 3-0 on the season. Nevada, which ammassed only 14 wins in its first five seasons, have posted 14 in just 2005 and 2006.
SHOUTOUTS A PLENTY ? In the WAC’s nine wins and one tie over the weekend, six came by way of shutout. In the 10 matches, the WAC outscored its opponents, 18-3. As a group, there have been 13 shutouts in the league so far this season.
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
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 (2-1, 0-0 WAC)
Boise State looks to bounce back after a loss to Idaho State in the Governer’s Cup ... the Broncos host Utah Valley State before going to Eastern Washington ... allowing just two goals in three games, Kim Parker is fourth in the WAC with a 0.80 goals against average.
Fresno State Bulldogs (3-0-1, 0-0 WAC)
Fresno State goalkeeper Angie Larsen continued her shutout streak, having not allowed a goal all season ... a streak that runs for 380 minutes .... the Bulldogs knocked off No. 18 Florida, 1-0 ... it was head coach Steve Springthorpe’s return to Florida, having been an assistant before going to Fresno ... the Bulldogs managed a 0-0 draw against Central Florida, giving them a 3-0-1 record to start the season ... its their best start in program history ... the Bulldogs entered Soccer America’s top 25, coming in at No. 22.
Hawai?i Rainbow Wahine (3-1, 0-0 WAC)
Hawai?i has posted three straight shutout wins and has allowed just one goal in four matches this season ... the Wahine have a balanced attack with five different players scoring their seven goals thus far this season ... Jessica Domingo, Alexis Choi, Taryn Fukuroku, Tehane Higa and Kelli-Anne Chang were all named to the Outrigger Hotels Soccer Classic all-tournament team.
Idaho Vandals (0-4, 0-0 WAC)
Idaho was held scoreless for its fourth consecutive match in a 4-0 loss to Montana ... the Vandals host their first home match of the season, taking on Sacramento State, then are on the road again at San Diego.
Louisiana Tech Lady Techsters (3-1, 0-0 WAC)
Louisiana Tech travels to Fayetteville, Ark., for matches with tournament-host Arkansas and Missouri State ... Emily Cleaveland leads the WAC in shots per match at 5.75 a contest ... Brook Kelly is second in the conference with eight points this young season on three goals and two assists.
Nevada Wolf Pack (3-0, 0-0 WAC)
For the first time in program history, Nevada has started the season 3-0 ... the Wolf Pack ran its home unbeaten streak to 11 games dating back to last season ... Nevada travels north this week for matches with Washington State and Eastern Washington ... the Wolf Pack stand alone in first for the first time in their program’s history.
San Jose State Spartans (0-2-1, 0-0 WAC)
San Jose State concludes a season-long four-game road stretch to open the 2006 campaign on Sept. 6, as the Spartans travel to Davis, Calif., to take on the UC Davis Aggies ... Nicole Martinez and Jessica Scott have scored the two goals for the Spartans this season ... SJSU hosts Idaho State for its first home match on Sept. 8 ... Idaho State is 2-0 this season against the WAC.
Utah State State Aggies (2-2, 0-0 WAC)
The Aggies were shutout for the second match in a row, marking the first time since 2004 that Utah State failed to score in consecutive matches ... Utah State is now 0-2 against Washington State all-time, as well as 1-5 versus Pac-10 teams all-time ... the Aggies travel west this week to San Francisco and will take on Long Beach State and Cal State Northridge.