BOISE STATE AND HAWAI?I STILL UNDEFEATED IN CONFERENCE PLAY ? On tap this week, the WAC continues conference action with both Hawai?i (3-0) and Boise State (3-0) looking to remain undefeated in league matches. The Broncos will entertain the Bulldogs of Fresno State on Friday and the Wolf Pack on Sunday, while the Rainbow Wahine remain in the states to continue their three-match WAC road trip with matchups at Utah State and Louisiana Tech. Idaho, Louisiana Tech and Utah State will each entertain a pair of opponents on their home fields, while Fresno State, Nevada and San Jose State are all on the road. The Vandals welcome the Wolf Pack on Friday and the Bulldogs of Fresno State on Sunday. The Lady Techsters and Utah State will swap a pair of WAC opponents, hosting the Spartans and the Rainbow Wahine.
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK ? Boise State forward Shannon Saxton and Fresno State defender Andrea Alires have been named the Western Athletic Conference Soccer Offensive and Defensive Players of the Week, respectively, for the week of Oct. 15-21. This is the third career WAC Player of the Week honor for Saxton and the first honor for Alires.
Saxton, a freshman forward from Beaverton, Ore. (Beaverton), led Boise State to a 5-1 victory over Idaho in the Broncos’ lone match of the week, extending Boise State’s winning streak to three games as they remain undefeated in league action at 3-0. She scored two goals, including the game-winner in the 29th minute, and then netted an insurance goal seven minutes later to put the match out of reach. With the goals, Saxton extended her school records for both goals and points in a season to 14 and 32, respectively. She also continues to lead the WAC in both goals and points this season.
Alires, a native of Albuquerque, N.M. (Cibola), anchored the Bulldog defense that helped goalkeeper Kaitlyn Revel record two shutouts last weekend. She led the defensive charge in the 4-0 route over Louisiana Tech on Friday and the 1-0 victory over Utah State on Sunday, improving Fresno State’s league record to 3-1. Alires also registered two assists in the win over the Lady Techsters and also helped hold Louisiana Tech to just seven shot attempts. Alires has powered the Bulldog defense all season, helping lead Fresno State to seven shutouts on the season.
Other offensive nominees included: Stephanie Yoro of Fresno State came off the bench and posted the game-winning goal in the final 28 minutes of the second-half to defeat Utah State in a narrow 1-0 victory ... Taryn Fukuroku of Hawai’i scored the game-winning goal with less than five minutes left in regulation to lift the Rainbow Wahine to a 1-0 win at San Jose State, leading Hawai’i to its first road match win of the season ... Jessica Thompson of Nevada recorded her first goal of the season in the Wolf Pack’s 4-1 victory over Louisiana Tech, helping Nevada win its first WAC match of the season ... Candice Clark of Utah State tallied three points on one goal and one assist in the 2-0 defeat of Nevada on Friday.
Other defensive nominees included: Jen Burns of Boise State recorded five saves and made two stops on one-on-one opportunities by Idaho as she held the Vandals to just one goal in the 5-1 victory ... Vanessa Mann of Nevada anchored a Wolf Pack defense that held the Lady Techsters to just one shot in Nevada’s 4-1 win over Louisiana Tech ... Ali Griffin of Utah State recorded her fifth shutout of the season in the Aggies 2-0 win at Nevada and tallied five saves in the narrow 1-0 loss at Fresno State.
BRONCOS OFF TO BEST LEAGUE START IN HISTORY ? Boise State is off to a perfect 3-0 start in WAC play for the first time in program history. The previous best start to a conference season was 2-0-1 in 2004.
BOISE STATE SETS AIM ON TWO MORE TEAM RECORDS ? The Broncos have already set 28 school records this season and tied two others, but several other potential records are in close sight. School records for both goals and points in a season currently stand at 38 and 103, respectively. Entering this week, the Broncos have 34 goals and 96 points, and are quickly approaching both records.
FRESNO STATE LEADS LEAGUE IN ATTENDANCE ? In seven home matches, the Bulldogs have averaged 1,194 cheering fans at each match. Fresno State attendance is up by an average 257 fans per match from last year, as the Bulldogs finished ranked No. 18 in the nation last season, bringing in an average of 937 fans.
HAWAI?I MOVING UP IN RPI RATINGS ? The Rainbow Wahine have jumped 13 spots in the RPI ratings released by the NCAA. After being ranked No. 65 in the first set of RPI ratings on Oct. 9, Hawai?i has jumped to No. 52 in the Oct. 23 release.
NEVADA’S INTERIM COACH MAKING HER MARK ? Wolf Pack interim head coach Antoinette Marjanovic becomes the first coach in program history to record a WAC victory during her first season as head coach. Marjanovic has also recorded the most overall wins of any first-year head coach (5) at Nevada.
Boise State Broncos (7-5-2, 3-0 WAC)
Boise State moves to a perfect 3-0 start in WAC play, with a 5-1 win over arch-rival Idaho in its lone match of the week ... freshman forward Shannon Saxton continues to lead the WAC in scoring with 14 goals and four assists, for a total of 32 points ... Saxton’s 14 goals and 32 points are also Bronco school records ... despite only having played three league matches, Boise State leads the WAC in points (29) and goals (11) ... on tap this week, the Broncos close out the home portion of their schedule with a pair of matches beginning with Fresno State (8-6, 3-1) on Friday and ending with Nevada (5-8-1, 1-3) on Sunday, in hopes of keeping their conference record untarnished.
Fresno State Bulldogs (8-6, 3-1 WAC)
Fresno State comes off a perfect weekend in league play, blanking Louisiana Tech 4-0 on Oct. 19 and shutting out Utah State 1-0 on Oct. 21 ... the Bulldogs were led by Andrea Alires, who leads the WAC in assists (3) in conference matches, and who earned WAC Defensive Player of the Week for her efforts ... the Bulldogs have recorded shutouts in seven of their eight victories and have scored 22 goals already this season, tying last year’s mark for goals ... in league play, Fresno State leads the WAC in shots (54), assists (8) and shutouts (3) ... this week, the Bulldogs are on the road to challenge undefeated Boise State (7-5-2, 3-0) on Oct. 26 and tango with the Vandals of Idaho (4-9-1, 0-2-1) on Oct. 28.
Hawai?i Rainbow Wahine (10-3-2, 3-0 WAC)
Hawai?i continues its three-match WAC road trip after a 1-0 win at San Jose State on Oct. 21 ... the win over the Spartans was the first road win of the season for the Rainbow Wahine and snapped an eight-match road winless streak, dating back to last season ... in WAC play, the Rainbow Wahine lead the league in both goals allowed (1) and goals against average (0.33) with goalkeeper Kori Lu leading the defensive charge against WAC opponents ... Hawai?i is off to its second-ever 3-0 start in league play, and looks to go 4-0 for the first time ... on tap this week, the Rainbow Wahine take to the mainland to tango with Utah State (6-10, 2-2) on Oct. 26 and Louisiana Tech (2-11-1, 0-3-1) on Oct. 28.
Idaho Vandals (4-9-1, 0-2-1 WAC)
Idaho returns to action and looks to rebound after falling to in-state rival Boise State, 5-1, on Oct. 21 ... the Vandals are still in search of their first conference win of the season, and also their 50th win in program history ... the Vandals are led by goalkeeper Anna Sandman, who ranks second in the WAC in all matches in saves (75) and is tied for second in shutouts (5) with Utah State’s Ali Griffin ... Sandman’s 75 saves are tied for fifth all-time in Vandal soccer history ... up next, the Vandals stay in Moscow to entertain the Wolf Pack of Nevada (5-8-1, 1-3) on Friday and the Bulldogs of Fresno State (8-6, 3-1) on Sunday.
Louisiana Tech Lady Techsters (2-11-1, 0-3-1 WAC)
Louisiana Tech remains winless all-time in conference play after an 0-2 weekend, including a 4-0 loss to Fresno State on Oct. 19 and a 4-1 defeat at the hands of Nevada on Oct. 21 ... goalkeeper Tara Gavlak registered eight saves in each of Tech’s two games on the weekend ... the goal scored in Sunday’s contest against Nevada marked the third goal scored in conference play this season for Louisiana Tech, equaling its total from last season ... next, the Lady Techsters will stay in Ruston to entertain the Spartans of San Jose State (3-11-2, 1-2) on Friday and welcome the Hawai?i Rainbow Wahine (10-3-2, 3-0) on Sunday.
Nevada Wolf Pack (5-8-1, 1-2 WAC)
Nevada comes off a weekend of split matches, first falling 2-0 to Utah State on Friday, before rebounding to take down Louisiana Tech 4-1 on Sunday, earning its first WAC victory of the season ... junior midfielder Jessica Thompson recorded her first goal of the season in the win over the Lady Techsters, and also added an assist, making her the Wolf Pack’s all-time leader in assists (13) ... Nevada allowed just one shot in its match against Louisiana Tech, tying a program record for fewest shots allowed in a match ... this week, the Wolf Pack are on the road to face the Idaho Vandals (4-9-1, 0-2-1) on Oct. 26 and the Broncos of Boise State (7-5-2, 3-0) on Oct. 28.
San Jose State Spartans (3-11-2, 1-2 WAC)
San Jose State suffered a pair of 1-0 losses in matches last weekend, with the deciding goals coming in the final 12 minutes of the match... the Spartans first dropped their non-conference finale to UC Davis on a 79th-minute goal, and then fell to 1-2 in WAC play following an 86th-minute winner by Hawai?i on Sunday ... the Spartans earned a season-high nine corner kicks against the Rainbow Wahine, including eight in the first half ... Jessica Scott continues to lead the Spartans in goals (5), points (11), shots (50) and shots on goal (13) ... up next, the Spartans are on the road to take on Louisiana Tech (2-11-1, 0-3-1) on Friday and battle Utah State (6-10, 2-2) on Sunday.
Utah State Aggies (6-10, 2-2 WAC)
Utah State returns to action after notching a 1-1 record in the second week of WAC play, blanking Nevada 2-0 in Reno before falling to Fresno State, 1-0 on Oct. 21 ... goalkeeper Ali Griffin recorded her fifth shutout of the season in the Aggies 2-0 win over the Wolf Pack, and is tied for second in the WAC in shutouts ... Aggie freshman forward Lauren Hansen is tied for first in league play in goals (3) and tied for second in the WAC in points (6) ... on tap this week, the Aggies are at home in Logan as they entertain the Hawai?i Rainbow Wahine on Friday and welcome the Spartans of San Jose State on Sunday.
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