EIGHT CONFERENCE MATCHES KICK OFF WAC PLAY ? This week the WAC kicks off conference action with teams in action Friday, Oct. 12 and Sunday, Oct. 14. Boise State and Nevada are on the road for both matches. The Broncos travel to Ruston to square off with the Lady Techsters, before heading to Logan to tango with the Aggies of Utah State. The Wolf Pack makes the trip to Honolulu to meet the Rainbow Wahine, then returns to the mainland to square off with San Jose State. Louisiana Tech and Hawai?i will each host both of their WAC matches, with Boise State and Idaho on tap for the Lady Techsters, and Nevada and Fresno State out to challenge the Rainbow Wahine. Fresno State, Idaho, San Jose State and Utah State each split a pair of matches, with one on the road and the other at home. On Friday, the Bulldogs will host the Spartans while Idaho will entertain Utah State. On Sunday, San Jose State plays host to Nevada, and the Aggies of Utah State host the Boise State Broncos.
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK ? San Jose State forward Jessica Scott and Nevada defender Whitney Gilson have been named the Western Athletic Conference Soccer Offensive and Defensive Players of the Week, respectively, for the week of Oct. 8.
Scott, a junior forward from San Ramon, Calif. (California), led San Jose State to a 1-1 record in matches this past week. She scored two goals within three minutes of one another in the final five minutes of the game to lift San Jose State to a 2-1 victory over UC Irvine. Scott broke a scoreless deadlock at 84:49, taking a headed through ball by senior teammate Nicole Irwin and chipping it over the UC Irvine goalkeeper and into the back of the net for the score. Scott then added what proved to be her second game-winning goal of the year at 87:27. Scott also took a game-high nine shots, which included three on goal and one that hit the post in the second half, in a narrow 1-0 home loss to Saint Mary’s. Overall, she registered two goals, 16 shots, and six shots on goal over two games.
Gilson, a native of Maple Valley, Wash. (Tahoma), anchored Nevada’s defense to a 3-0 shutout against Northern Arizona. Gilson played a full 90 minutes for Nevada in the win, clearing out numerous balls on the defensive end of the field. She also played well in the air, winning multiple headed balls. Gilson helped the Nevada defense limit NAU to just one shot on goal in the first half on the 3-0 win. Gilson has played in seven games this season, starting the past four contests. She also played a full 90 minutes in Nevada’s 4-1 win over UC Davis and the team’s 3-0 shutout over UNLV this season.
Other offensive nominees included: Fresno State’s Ali Sill scored the game-winning goal in a 1-0 win over San Francisco ... Nevada freshman forward Cristen Drummond put a pair of goals in the back of the net in a 3-0 win against Northern Arizona ... Candice Clark of Utah State registered a goal with four shots last week against No. 19 Brigham Young and Utah.
Other defensive nominees included: Boise State junior keeper Jen Burns recorded her third shutout of the season with the Broncos’ 0-0 draw with Northern Arizona ... Fresno State junior defender Selena Gill anchored the Bulldog defense to a 1-0 shutout win over San Francisco ... Freshman goalkeeper Nina Butera made a career-high 11 saves, including one on a first-half penalty kick, to help lead San Jose State to its second victory of 2007 ... Butera recorded 14 saves through two games last week.
NO PLACE LIKE HOME ? The Rainbow Wahine are undefeated at the Waipio Peninsula Soccer Stadium so far this year (7-0-1) and have won five straight at home, one win short of tying the school record of six consecutive home wins, set on two occasions (1997-98; 2004). UH is also one short of the record for consecutive home matches without a loss (9), set over the 1999 & 2000 seasons.
THREE IN A ROW ? Nevada’s three-game winning streak is its longest win streak of the 2007 season, with wins over UC Davis, UNLV and Northern Arizona. During those three games, the Wolf Pack has recorded two shutouts and outscored their opponents 10-1.
SAN JOSE STATE’S SCOTT MOVING UP THE SHOTS CHART ? San Jose State junior forward Jessica Scott provided her second two-goal game of the season and third multi-goal game of her career to lead the Spartans to their second victory of the season, with a 2-1 win over UC Irvine. Scott leads her team in shots taken for the third straight year and she is in second all-time at San Jose State with 157.
WAC PLAY UP TOUR STOPS IN MOSCOW ? New for this year, the Play Up Tour will be present at a handful of selected volleyball and soccer games throughout the season. Join the WAC this Friday, Oct. 12, to support the Vandal soccer team as they take on Utah State at Guy Wicks Field, and pick up a free WAC t-shirt. Kickoff is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. PT.
Boise State Broncos (4-5-2, 0-0 WAC)
Boise State comes off a road loss to the West Coast Conference foe Gonzaga Bulldogs, falling 3-0 then returning home for a double overtime draw with Northern Arizona in the Soccer Etc. Nike Classic in Boise ... as a team the Broncos continue to hang onto the second place spot in the WAC for points (67), goals (23) and assists (21), trailing Hawai?i in each of those offensive categories ... freshman Shannon Saxton still leads the conference in both points (26) and goals (11) ... this week, the Broncos will travel to Ruston, La. to take on the Lady Techsters (2-8) in their first WAC matchup of the season, before heading to Logan to meet the Aggies of Utah State (4-8).
Fresno State Bulldogs (5-5, 0-0 WAC)
Fresno State returns to action after using a strong defensive effort to beat the Dons of San Francisco 1-0 on Sunday at Bulldog Stadium ... the win came on Youth Soccer Day, as the Bulldogs played in front of 3,334 fans, the third-largest crowd in school history ... goalkeeper Kaity Revel registered the shutout, her fourth on the season, with the help of her defenders, who allowed just six shots and only one shot on goal ... this week, the Bulldogs open up conference play at home, hosting in-state WAC foe San Jose State (2-8-2) on Friday, before making the trip to Honolulu to square off with the Rainbow Wahine (7-3-2) on Sunday ... Fresno State looks for its fifth straight win over Hawai?i, dating back to 2004.
Hawai?i Rainbow Wahine (7-3-2, 0-0 WAC)
Hawai?i returns home to Honolulu following a 2-0 defeat at the hands of the Lions of Loyola Marymount and a 1-1 double overtime draw with the Waves of Pepperdine ... the Rainbow Wahine are undefeated at the Waipio Peninsula Soccer Stadium so far this year (7-0-1) and have won five straight at home, one win short of tying the school record win of six consecutive home wins ... this week, the Rainbow Wahine begin WAC play at home against the top two preseason favorites ... Hawai?i hosts Nevada (4-5-1), the 2006 WAC Tournament champion on Friday, and Fresno State (5-5), the defending regular-season champs, on Sunday ... UH enters WAC play with the conference’s top record.
Idaho Vandals (4-7, 0-0 WAC)
Idaho looks to rebound from a pair of home losses, a 4-0 defeat at the hands of No. 25 Washington State and a 2-1 loss to the Eagles of Eastern Washington ... in their tenth season, the Vandals are still in search of earning their program’s 50th victory ... sophomore goalkeeper Anna Sandman continues to lead the WAC in saves with 68 and is tied for first in the conference with Fresno State’s Kaity Revel in shutouts, with four ... the Vandals enter conference play with their best record since 2001 ... this week, Idaho will open WAC play hosting the Aggies of Utah State (4-8), before traveling to Ruston to take on the Lady Techsters of Louisiana Tech (2-8).
Louisiana Tech Lady Techsters (2-8, 0-0 WAC)
Louisiana Tech returns to action after a 1-0 loss to in-state foe Grambling State ... several freshmen continue to lead the way for the Lady Techsters, as first-year players have scored seven of the team’s eight goals on the season ... Kiva Greshman, only halfway through her freshman season, has already climbed the record book as her four goals scored ties her for fifth all-time in Lady Techster history ... juniors Emily Cleaveland and Denise Wilson rank first and second, respectively ... the Lady Techsters will close out their season-long five-game homestand as they kick off conference play on homecoming weekend with visits from both Boise State (4-5-2) and Idaho (4-7).
Nevada Wolf Pack (4-5-1, 0-0 WAC)
Nevada comes off an undefeated week, downing Northern Arizona 3-0 in the Soccer Etc. Nike Classic, extending its winning streak to three ... the win over the Lumberjacks tied the largest margin of victory this season, as Nevada also posted a 4-1 win at UC Davis and a 3-0 victory over UNLV earlier this season ... during their last three games, the Wolf Pack has recorded two shutouts and outscored their opponents 10-1 ... forward Cristen Drummond registered two goals against Northern Arizona, marking the first multiple-goal match of the freshman’s career ... this week, the Wolf Pack open up WAC play on the road, first taking on the Hawai?i (7-3-2), followed by the Spartans of San Jose State (2-8-2).
San Jose State Spartans (2-8-2, 0-0 WAC)
San Jose State comes off a weekend of split matches, first falling in a narrow 1-0 loss to Saint Mary’s on Friday, before rebounding to take down UC Irvine 2-1 on Sunday ... the Spartans were led by junior forward Jessica Scott, who tallied two goals on 16 shots (six shots on goal) ... Scott earned WAC Offensive Player of the Week honors for her efforts last week ... freshman goalie Nina Butera also added a career-high 11 saves to seal the victory over the Anteaters of UC Irvine ... this week, the Spartans open up WAC play at rival Fresno State (5-5) on Friday, Oct. 12, before returning home to host Nevada (4-5-1) on Sunday, Oct. 14.
Utah State Aggies (4-8, 0-0 WAC)
Utah State looks to bounce back from a pair of losses, the first a 2-1 defeat at the hands of No. 19 BYU followed by a 2-0 loss to in-state rival Utah ... on the weekend the Aggies were led by junior forward Candice Clark, who netted her first goal of the season and her fourth career goal ... this week, the Aggies kick off conference play with a road match against Idaho (4-7), before returning home to host the Broncos of Boise State (4-5-2) ... Utah State has a combined 13-2 record against the Vandals of Idaho and the Broncos of Boise State, as they were both former Big West foes.
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