DENVER ? The 2007 women’s soccer All-WAC teams were announced today, as selected by the conference’s coaches. WAC regular season champion, Hawai’i, placed five on the conference’s first team. The 2007 Offensive Player of the Year went to Hawai’i forward, Ambree Ako. Junior defender, Tehane Higa, also of Hawai’i, was tabbed the Defensive Player of the Year. This is the first season both the Offensive and Defensive Players of the Year are members of the same team. Freshman of the Year was awarded to Boise State forward Shannon Saxton, while Coach of the Year went to Hawai’i’s Pinsoom Tenzing, whose team went 6-1-0 in conference play and pitched five shutouts against WAC teams.
Ako, a native of Aiea, Hawaii (Aiea), earned her first Player of the Year honor, scoring seven goals in seven WAC matches. Including her league-leading six assists, she tallied 20 points in conference matches. Ako leads the WAC in points (20), points per game (2.86), assists (6) and assists per game (0.86). She is also tied for the WAC lead in goals.
Higa, a native of Aiea, O`ahu (Aiea), anchored a defense that allowed only four goals in WAC play and also pitched a league-leading five shutouts. Hawai’i won its third WAC regular season title, after also taking home the conference title in 2003 and 2005. Higa, who played in six WAC matches this season, helped goalkeeper Kori Lu to a 0.59 goals against average. The Rainbow Wahine netted 25 goals in league play, while only allowing four, and had a WAC-best +3.00 margin of victory in conference matches.
Saxton, a native of Beaverton, Ore. (Beaverton), led the Broncos to a 5-1-1 conference record and a second-seed in the WAC Tournament. The freshman led the WAC in all matches in points (39), goals (17) and tied for first in game-winning goals (4). Saxton’s scoring ways have already etched her name in the Bronco record books for both goals and points in a season.
Tenzing, who is in his fourteenth season as the head coach at Hawai’i, helped the Rainbow Wahine to their third WAC regular season title with a 6-1-0 WAC record. The Rainbow Wahine bounced back from last year’s below .500 record to go 13-4-2 this season, tying a single-season record for wins in a season. Hawai’i also concluded its first-ever undefeated season at home (11-0-1), including a school-record nine-straight home wins to end the season. Behind a stellar defense, the Rainbow Wahine allowed just four goals in WAC play and pitched five shutouts against conference opponents. Behind the offensive punch of senior Jessica Domingo, junior Taryn Fukuroku and sophomore Ambree Ako and the defensive power of Nicole Mikula and Tehane Higa, the Rainbow Wahine earned the top seed in the WAC Tournament.
Hawai’i led all teams with five student-athletes on the all-WAC first team and two on the second. Hawai’i forward Taryn Fukuroku earned her second first-team All-WAC honor. Fukuroku joins teammate Ambree Ako of Hawai?i and Shannon Saxton of Boise State as the league’s top forwards. Hawai’i’s Jessica Domingo leads the midfield corps, setting up one of the WAC’s top offenses. Joining Domingo are Fresno State’s Alison Sill, a three-time All-WAC honoree, Abby Hunt of Utah State and Amanda Reyes, also of Fresno State. There are three defenders on the first team, including Tehane Higa, who follows up her Defensive Player of the Year honor with a first-team selection. Higa’s teammate Nicole Mikula and Utah State’s Lindsey Smart round out the first-team defenders. The first-team goalkeeper belongs to Fresno State freshman Kaitlyn Revel who posted a league-leading 0.56 goals against average in 2007 and pitched three shutouts in WAC play.
The WAC Tournament begins Thursday, Nov. 8, with four teams playing in the quarterfinal round at Boas Soccer Complex in Boise, Idaho. Fourth-seeded Utah State takes on fifth-seeded San Jose State at 12:30 p.m. (MT), while third-seeded Fresno State and sixth-seeded Nevada face off at 3:00 p.m. The winners advance to the semifinals to play top-seeded Hawai’i and second-seeded Boise State, respectively, on Nov. 9. The championship match is set for 1:00 p.m. on Nov. 11.
The complete list of the all-WAC teams follows:
First Team
F Ambree Ako, So., Hawai?i
F Taryn Fukuroku, Jr., Hawai’i
F Shannon Saxton, Fr., Boise State
MF Jessica Domingo, Sr., Hawai’i
MF Abby Hunt, Sr., Utah State
MF Amanda Reyes, Sr., Fresno State
MF Alison Sill, Jr., Fresno State
D Tehane Higa, Jr., Hawai’i
D Nicole Mikula, Fr., Hawai’i
D Lindsey Smart, So., Utah State
GK Kaitlyn Revel, Fr., Fresno State
Second Team
F Candice Clark, Jr., Utah State
F Nicole Gutierrez, Jr., Fresno State
F Lauren Hansen, Fr., Utah State
MF Brittany Dugger, Sr., Boise State
MF Erin Wofford, Sr., Boise State
MF Jackie Zabek, Sr., San Jose State
D Andrea Alires, Sr., Fresno State
D Chelsea Deptula, Fr., Hawai’i
D Selena Gill, Jr., Fresno State
D Patrice Godwin, Jr., Nevada
GK Kori Lu, Jr., Hawai’i
Offensive Player of the Year: Ambree Ako, So., F, Hawai’i
Defensive Player of the Year: Tehane Higa, Jr., D, Hawai’i
Freshman of the Year: Shannon Saxton, Fr., F, Boise State
Coach of the Year: Pinsoom Tenzing, Hawai’i
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