TEAMS CLOSE REGULAR SEASON LOOKING TO CLINCH TOURNAMENT BERTHS AND TOP SEEDS ? On tap this week, the WAC closes out regular season action as some teams look to clinch WAC Tournament berths while others look to improve their seeds. Boise State, Hawai?i, San Jose State and Idaho all have two games remaining, while Fresno State, Utah State, Nevada and Louisiana Tech have lone matches this week. The Broncos and the Rainbow Wahine square off in Honolulu on Friday, in which the winner will likely determine the regular-season champion. Boise State will then travel to San Jose State, while Hawai?i entertains the Vandals on Sunday. Idaho makes the trip to San Jose to challenge the Spartans on Friday, and the Vandals must win against both San Jose State and Hawai?i to qualify for the WAC Tournament. Louisiana Tech has already been eliminated from tournament contention and plays its final match of the season on Saturday, when the Lady Techsters travel to Logan to meet Utah State. Fresno State hosts non-conference foe Cal State Bakersfield on Thursday before closing out the season on Sunday when the Bulldogs travel to Reno to tango with Nevada.
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK ? Utah State midfielder Abby Hunt and Fresno State goalkeeper Kaity Revel have been named the Western Athletic Conference Soccer Offensive and Defensive Players of the Week, respectively, for the week of Oct. 22-29. This is the first career WAC Player of the Week honor for both Hunt and Revel.
Hunt, a senior midfielder from Salt Lake City, Utah (Cottonwood), led Utah State to two league victories last weekend, including a thrilling 3-2 win over previously undefeated Hawai’i and a 4-0 route of San Jose State. Hunt scored two goals in the match against the Rainbow Wahine, the first on a penalty kick early in the match, and then netted the game-winning goal in the 76th minute to seal the victory. With the two-goal match, Hunt becomes the second Aggie this season to score two goals in a match. Hunt also added an assist in the 4-0 shutout against San Jose State on Sunday. The two Utah State victories last weekend helped guarantee a conference tournament bid for the Aggies.
Revel, a native of San Mateo, Calif. (Aragon), recorded her league-leading eighth shutout of the season in the 3-0 shutout of Idaho on Sunday. Revel also registered seven saves in two weekend matches, allowing just one goal in the hard-fought 1-1 double overtime draw against league-leading Boise State, recording a narrow 0.46 GAA last weekend. Fresno State has already secured a spot in the conference tournament, and will look to move up in the ranks when they take on the Nevada Wolf Pack in its last league action of the regular season.
Other offensive nominees included: Shannon Saxton of Boise State led the Broncos rally in the come-from-behind victory over Nevada, as she dished out the match-tying assist to teammate Cheyenne Jones and then netted the game-winning goal in the 83rd minute to seal the victory ... Nicole Gutierrez of Fresno State earned five points on two goals and one assist, including the game-winning goal against Idaho, moving her into seventh place for most career points (41) and fifth place for most career goals (17) at Fresno State ... Ambree Ako of Hawai’i notched one goal and one assist in last weekend’s matches, marking the sixth match in a row that she has scored a point for the Rainbow Wahine, good for the second-longest streak in school history.
Other defensive nominees included: Katie Keller of Boise State anchored the Broncos defense as she repeatedly stopped attacks down the left side of the field, helping deny several scoring opportunities by both Fresno State and Nevada ... Tehane Higa of Hawai’i helped the Rainbow Wahine post its league-leading eighth shutout, including the third in conference play, against the Lady Techsters ... Sydne Porter of Utah State led the Aggies’ defensive charge in their two victories over Hawai’i and San Jose State, and also tallied two down-field assists on free kicks to set up two scores.
BRONCOS OFF TO BEST LEAGUE START IN HISTORY ? Boise State is off to a 4-0-1 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 NABS TWO MORE TEAM RECORDS ? The Broncos have set 29 school records this season and tied three others. Boise State most recently set the school record for points in a season (108) and tied the school record for goals in a season (38).
BULLDOGS RACK UP GOALS IN 2007 ? As of Oct. 28, the Bulldogs have netted 26 goals already this season, which tallies more goals this year than the past two seasons. In 2006, the Bulldogs tallied 22 goals and in 2005 they had 21 goals.
FRESNO STATE LEADS LEAGUE IN ATTENDANCE ? In seven home matches, the Bulldogs have averaged 1,194 fans in seven home matches this season. Fresno State attendance is up by an average of 257 fans per match from last year, when the Bulldogs finished ranked No. 18 in the nation and brought in an average of 937 fans.
NO PLACE LIKE HOME ? Hawai?i is undefeated so far this season at home (9-0-1) and has tied a school record for most home wins in a season.
VANDALS SHATTER RESULTS FROM SEASONS PAST ? After the first seven matches of 2007, Idaho had tallied four wins. No Idaho team since 2001 had won more than three. It took the Vandals just five games to score as many goals (7) as it did in all 19 matches last season. Through 16 matches of the 2007 season, Idaho has shut out five of its opponents. In the 94 games prior to this year, the Vandals recorded only five shutouts.
LOUISIANA TECH OFFENSE LED BY FRESHMEN CHARGE ? Through 16 games, freshmen have combined for nine of Tech’s 10 goals on the season. Kiva Gresham has four, Brooke Lanie has three, and Erika Rautio and Jillian Pinder have one apiece.
NEVADA’S MONTEJO ON POINT ? Junior Miranda Montejo became Nevada’s all-time leader in points this season, breaking the record of 39 set by Kaula Rowe (2000-03). Montejo broke the record with her goal against Sacramento State on Sept. 14, and increased her career point total to 41 with an assist versus San Francisco on Sept. 16.
SPARTANS KRALE AND ZABEK FACTOR INTO EVERY MATCH ? San Jose State’s Kristin Krale and fellow senior tri-captain Jackie Zabek have not missed a single match throughout their college careers, appearing in all 79 through Oct. 28. Krale has started every match, breaking the all-time school record for matches started on Oct. 28.
FOUR IS THE AGGIE NUMBER ? For the first time since 2004, Utah State has recorded four or more goals three times this season.
Boise State Broncos (8-5-3, 4-0-1 WAC)
Boise State remains at the top of the WAC standings after a 1-1 double overtime draw with Fresno State on Oct. 26, and then rallying from behind to overcome the Nevada Wolf Pack 3-2 on Oct. 28 ... the Broncos are currently on a six-match undefeated streak heading into the final week of the regular season ... freshman Shannon Saxton continues to lead the league in points (35 points on 15 goals and five assists) and goals (15) ... Boise State has already clinched a WAC Tournament berth ... the Broncos close out the regular season with two crucial road matches to determine the league’s regular season champion with a game at Hawai?i (11-4-2, 4-1-0) on Friday, before heading to San Jose to take on the Spartans (4-12-2, 2-3-0) on Sunday.
Fresno State Bulldogs (9-6-1, 4-1-1 WAC)
Fresno State is coming off a 1-1 double overtime draw with league-leading Boise State on Oct. 26 and a blanking of Idaho, 3-0, on Oct. 28 ... the Bulldogs were led by freshman goalkeeper Kaity Revel, who recorded her league-leading eighth shutout in the win over Idaho ... junior forward Nicole Gutierrez moved into fifth place for most career goals (17) and seventh place for most career points (41) in Bulldog history ... Fresno State has netted 26 goals this season, totaling more goals than the Bulldogs have tallied in the previous two seasons ... the Bulldogs have already secured a spot in the WAC Tournament, and will look to improve their seed with this weekend’s match as they close out the regular season on the road at Nevada.
Hawai?i Rainbow Wahine (11-4-2, 4-1-0 WAC)
Hawai?i returns to action after suffering its first WAC loss, a 3-2 battle with Utah State, before bouncing back to route Louisiana Tech, 5-0 ... the Rainbow Wahine were led by sophomore forward Ambree Ako who scored a goal and posted an assist in last weekend’s matches ... Ako has now scored a point in six straight matches, marking the second-longest streak in school history ... the Rainbow Wahine have already locked a spot in the WAC Tournament and look to become the regular-season champion when they take on Boise State at home on Friday ... Hawai?i is undefeated at home this season (9-0-1) and has won a school record seven-straight matches at Waipio Peninsula Soccer Stadium.
Idaho Vandals (4-11-1, 0-4-1 WAC)
Idaho suffered a pair of losses in matches last weekend, the first a narrow 2-1 loss to Nevada before falling 3-0 to Fresno State ... sophomore goalkeeper Anna Sandman is tied for the WAC lead in saves (86) and is third in the league in shutouts (5) ... the Vandals will close out the regular season on the road, first traveling to San Jose to take on the Spartans (4-12-2, 2-3-0) before heading to Honolulu to challenge the Rainbow Wahine (11-4-2, 4-1-0) ... Idaho must win both matches this weekend to garner enough points to earn a spot in the WAC Tournament.
Louisiana Tech Lady Techsters (2-13-1, 0-5-1 WAC)
Louisiana Tech remains winless all-time in conference play after an 0-2 weekend, including a narrow 1-0 loss to San Jose State on Oct. 26 and a 5-0 defeat at the hands of Hawai?i on Oct. 28 ... Lady Techster sophomore goalkeeper Tara Gavlak leads the league in saves (31) in WAC matches ... senior Laura Williamson competed in her final home match for Louisiana Tech in the loss to Hawai?i, becoming the first-ever four-year letterwinner in Lady Techsters history, and was the only member of the first-ever Lady Techsters soccer team which started in 2004 ... the Lady Techsters have already been eliminated from contention for the WAC Tournament, but will look to earn their first league win this weekend when they travel to Logan to tango with the Aggies of Utah State on Nov. 3.
Nevada Wolf Pack (6-9-1, 2-4-0 WAC)
Nevada comes off a weekend of split matches, first taking down the Vandals 2-1 on Friday, before falling to Fresno State 3-0 on Sunday ... the win over Idaho marked the first come-from-behind victory for Nevada this season ... the Wolf Pack was led by junior midfielder Miranda Montejo, who increased her career goal total to 17 and is one goal away from trying Kaula Rowe (2000-03) for first on the all-time goals list ... Nevada closes out the regular season on Nov. 4 at home, hosting Fresno State (9-6-1, 4-1-1) ... a win over the Bulldogs will guarantee the Wolf Pack a spot in the WAC Tournament, in which Nevada would look to defend its 2006 WAC Tournament Championship.
San Jose State Spartans (4-12-2, 2-3 WAC)
San Jose State split a pair of league matches last weekend, first topping Louisiana Tech 1-0 on Friday, before falling to the Aggies of Utah State 4-0 on Sunday ... the Spartans will close out their regular season with a pair of WAC home games at Spartan Stadium against Idaho on Nov. 2 and Boise State on Nov. 4 ... San Jose State is tied for fifth in the WAC with six points, and needs just a tie Friday night against the Vandals to clinch a spot in the six-team WAC Tournament ... eight seniors, all of whom were part of fourth-year San Jose State head coach Dave Siracusa’s first freshman class in 2004, will be honored this weekend ... senior Kristin Krale broke the all-time school record with her 79th career start at Utah State on Oct. 28.
Utah State Aggies (8-10-0, 4-2-0 WAC)
Utah State returns to action recording its first pair of back-to-back victories of the season, with a 3-2 win against previously undefeated Hawai?i and a 4-0 blanking of San Jose State ... the Aggies’ win over the Spartans marked their sixth shutout of the season and the third time the Aggies have scored four goals in a match this season ... the Aggies were led by senior midfielder Abby Hunt, who netted two goals in the match against the Rainbow Wahine, the first on a penalty kick early in the match and the second a game-winning goal in the 76th minute to seal the victory ... Utah State closes out its regular season at home on Nov. 3, hosting the Lady Techsters (2-13-1, 0-5-1).