WAC soccer championship tournament action ? On tap this week, the top six WAC teams head to Boise, Idaho to compete for the 2007 tournament championship. Hawai?i captured its third-ever regular season championship and clinched the No. 1 seed in the tournament. With a first-round bye, the Rainbow Wahine will await the winner of the first quarterfinal match between No. 4 Utah State and No. 5 San Jose State. Boise State earned the No. 2 seed in the tournament after a draw was conducted between the Broncos and Fresno State, and will face the winner of the second quarterfinal match which pits No. 3 Fresno State against No. 6 Nevada. The Wolf Pack will look to defend its 2006 WAC tournament title, while the Rainbow Wahine look to sweep both the regular season and tournament championships.
WAC soccer championship tournament to be streamed online ? On The Western Athletic Conference, in conjunction with its Web site partner JumpTV Sports, has announced it will stream all of the matches of both the 2007 WAC Soccer Tournament and 2007 WAC Volleyball Tournament. Viewers can sign up by visiting www.wac.tv. All five matches can be seen on WAC.tv by accessing the soccer tournament package for a one-time price of $9.95.
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK ? Hawai’i forward Ambree Ako 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. 29 ? Nov. 4. This is the second WAC Player of the Week honor this season for both Ako and Revel.
Ako, a sophomore forward from Aiea, Hawaii (Aiea), led Hawai’i to two league victories last weekend, tallying three goals and three assists to help the Rainbow Wahine clinch their third-ever WAC regular season title. Ako netted a goal and an assist in the 5-0 win over Boise State and added another two goals and two assists in the 7-0 shutout against Idaho. Ako has now tallied at least one point in eight-straight matches, including all seven WAC matches, and leads the WAC in points (20) and assists (6) in league matches and is tied for the lead in goals (7). The two Hawai’i victories last weekend guaranteed the Rainbow Wahine the No. 1 seed in the WAC Soccer Tournament in Boise, Idaho this weekend.
Revel, a native of San Mateo, Calif. (Aragon), recorded her league-leading eighth shutout of the season in the 2-0 blanking of non-conference foe Cal-Stake Bakersfield on Thursday. Revel also registered nine saves in two weekend matches, allowing just one goal in the match against Nevada, recording a narrow 0.90 GAA last weekend. She also registered an assist in the 3-1 win over the Wolf Pack on Sunday. Fresno State has secured the No. 3 spot in the WAC Tournament and will face Nevada in the first-round, looking to advance to take on the host No. 2 Boise State.
Other offensive nominees included: Shannon Saxton of Boise State led the Broncos to a road victory at San Jose State, recording both goals in the 2-0 victory, and extending her school records for goals and points to 17 and 39, respectively ... Amanda Reyes of Fresno State earned six points on three goals, including the game-winning goal against Nevada, and has netted five goals in the Bulldogs’ last three matches ... Erika Teixeira of Idaho notched one goal in last weekend’s match against San Jose State that kept the Vandals in the hunt for a conference tournament berth, also giving Idaho its first WAC win in over two years ... Lauren Hansen of Utah State tallied a hat trick in the 10-1 route of Louisiana Tech, adding to her team-leading nine goals and 18 points.
Other defensive nominees included: Chelsea Deptula of Hawai’i helped the Rainbow Wahine capture their third-ever WAC regular season title with back-to-back shutouts against Boise State and Idaho, and also netted the game-winning goal in the 5-0 win over Boise State ... Anna Sandman of Idaho broke the school record for saves in a season with 92, after recording six last weekend in matches against San Jose State and Hawai’i ... Sydne Porter of Utah State led the Aggies defensive charge in their victory over Louisiana Tech, and also tallied two down-field assists to set up two scores for her teammates.
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 (114) and goals in a season (40).
Bulldogs rack up goals in 2007 ? Fresno State has netted 31 goals already this season, giving the Bulldogs 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 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 (11-0-1) 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 has tallied four wins. No Idaho team since 2001 has 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 18 matches of the 2007 season, Idaho has shut out six 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 17 games, freshmen have combined for 10 of Tech’s 11 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 four times this season.
Boise State Broncos (9-6-3, 5-1-1 WAC)
Boise State closed out the regular season splitting matches on the road, first falling 5-0 to the eventual regular season champion Rainbow Wahine, before bouncing back to shut out San Jose State 2-0 ... freshman Shannon Saxton finished the regular season leading the league in points (39 points on 17 goals and five assists) and goals ... Boise State and Fresno State both finished league play with a 5-1-1 record, and also remained even on all other tie-breaking procedures, forcing a draw to determine final tournament seedings ... after the draw the Broncos gained the No. 2 seed and will face the winner of No. 3 Fresno State versus No. 6 Nevada on Friday, looking to advance to the tournament championship on Sunday.
Fresno State Bulldogs (11-6-1, 5-1-1 WAC)
Fresno State finished the regular season with a pair of back-to-back victories, beating non-conference foe Cal-State Bakersfield 2-0 in Fresno and a 3-1 road victory over Nevada in Reno ... the Bulldogs were led offensively by Amanda Reyes who netted three goals, including the game-winning goal against the Wolf Pack on Sunday, tallying her fifth goal in three matches ... freshman goalkeeper Kaity Revel recorded her league-leading eighth shutout of the season in the win over Cal-State Bakersfield ... Fresno State received the No. 3 seed after the draw with Boise State, and will challenge the No. 6 Nevada Wolf Pack in the second quarterfinal match on Thursday at 3:00 p.m.
Hawai?i Rainbow Wahine (13-4-2, 6-1-0 WAC)
Hawai?i closed out the regular season with two impressive performances, a 5-0 shutout over Boise State and a 7-0 route of Idaho ... the two wins earned the Rainbow Wahine their third-ever WAC regular season championship and clinched the No. 1 seed in the tournament ... sophomore forward Ambree Ako tallied three goals and three assists in last weekend’s matches, and has now registered a point in eight-straight matches, including all seven league matches ... Ako led the WAC in points (20) and assists (6) in conference matches and co-led in goals (7) ... the No. 1 Rainbow Wahine will take on the winner of the first quarter final match between No. 4 Utah State and No. 5 San Jose State.
Idaho Vandals (5-12-1, 1-5-1 WAC)
Idaho split a pair of road matches last weekend, first beating San Jose State 1-0, before falling to eventual regular season champion Hawai?i, 7-0 ... the Vandals were led offensively by Erika Teixeira, who scored the goal in the win against the Spartans, keeping Idaho in the hunt for a tournament berth, and also giving the Vandals their first conference victory in over two years ... sophomore goalkeeper Anna Sandman broke the Idaho school record for saves in a season (92) after tallying six saves last weekend ... the Vandals needed to upset the Rainbow Wahine in their final game of the season to qualify for the tournament, and have thus been eliminated from championship contention.
Louisiana Tech Lady Techsters (2-14-1, 0-6-1 WAC)
Louisiana Tech saw its season come to an end after falling to Utah State in its final league match of the season, 10-1 ... sophomore midfielder Kat McCullough netted her first goal in the season in the loss to the Aggies ... the Lady Techsters remains winless all-time in conference play ... under first-season head coach Kevin Sherry, the beginnings of a solid foundation were established for the young players to grow and learn from ... after recording a 0-6-1 record in conference matches, the Lady Techsters were eliminated from championship contention, and thus will not participate in this weekend’s WAC tournament championship.
Nevada Wolf Pack (6-10-1, 2-5-0 WAC)
Nevada closed out the regular season with a 3-1 loss at home to Fresno State on Sunday ... the Wolf Pack qualified for their third consecutive WAC tournament appearance, earning the No. 6 seed in this season’s tournament ... the Wolf Pack are led by Karen Zmirak, who scored her fifth goal of the season on Nov. 4 versus Fresno State, and leads the team in points with 15. ... Zmirak is also tied for the team lead in goals (5) and assists (5) and is second in the career record book in points (41) and is third in goals (16). Nevada, who won the 2006 WAC Tournament title last season in Reno, posting a 4-2 shootout victory over Fresno State, will face No. 3 Fresno State on Thursday at 3 p.m. in the second quarterfinal match.
San Jose State Spartans (4-14-2, 2-5-0 WAC)
San Jose finished the regular season with two home losses, the first a 1-0 loss to the Vandals of Idaho on Friday, before falling 2-0 to Boise State on Sunday ... the Spartans are led offensively by Jessica Scott, who leads the league in shots (62) and is tied for third in game-winning goals (3) ... goalkeeper Nina Butera leads the WAC in both saves (97) and save percentage (.822) ... the Spartans will compete in their third-straight WAC tournament after earning the No. 5 seed, and will take on the No. 4 seed Utah State Aggies in the first quarterfinal match on Thursday ... San Jose State is 1-1-1 against Utah State all-time, including a 4-0 loss in Logan, Utah earlier this season.
Utah State Aggies (9-10-0, 5-2-0 WAC)
Utah State closed out the regular season with an impressive 10-1 victory over Louisiana Tech in Logan ... the Aggies were led by freshman Lauren Hansen who recorded three goals in 15 minutes in the win against the Lady Techsters ... Hansen leads the team with nine goals and 18 points ... sophomore defender Sydne Porter is second in the league in assists (5) and also registered seven points on the season, including one goal and five assists ... the Aggies earned the No. 4 seed in this season’s tournament and will take on the No. 5 San Jose State Spartans in the first quarterfinal match of the championship on Thursday at 12:30 p.m.
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