THIS WEEK IN THE WAC ? This week several WAC teams host their first home matches of the season, while other teams continue competition away from their home fields. Utah State travels to Ogden to take on in-state rival Weber State for a mid-week game, then returns to Logan this weekend to host Oregon and Idaho State. Idaho plays host to Portland State this Thursday, before squaring off with Cal State Bakersfield this weekend in Moscow. Fresno State and San Jose State both hit the road for two games away from home. The Bulldogs meet up with Northern Colorado in Greeley before heading north to Laramie to take on Wyoming. The Spartans travel to Flagstaff to tango with Northern Arizona and Southern Utah. Hawai’i and Nevada both host two home games, with the Rainbow Wahine getting a double dose of Duquesne and the Wolf Pack taking on the Hornets of Sacramento State and the Dons of San Francisco. Boise State heads to Ogden to meet Weber State before returning home to host Eastern Washington. Louisiana Tech hosts the Razorbacks of Arkansas and then travels to Monroe to face off with in-state rival Louisiana-Monroe.
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK ? Boise State forward Shannon Saxton and Hawai?i defender Tehane Higa have been named the Western Athletic Conference Soccer Offensive and Defensive Players of the Week, respectively, for the week of Sept. 10.
Saxton, a freshman forward from Beaverton, Ore. (Beaverton), led Boise State in a record-shattering performance, tallying nine points for the Broncos to help BSU defeat Southern Utah, 9-0, in the final match of the Governor’s Cup in Pocatello. She scored four goals and registered one assist, setting seven new school single-match records and tying one additional record in the victory over the Thunderbirds. Saxton’s new individual records include: most points by an individual (9), most points in a half (7), and most goals in a half (3), while tying the record for most goals (4) in a match. All four of those records are also new freshman records. In addition, she recorded the first-ever hat trick by a freshman in Boise State program history, and the first since Sept. 17, 2000. Saxton’s role in the 9-0 route over Southern Utah also helped snap a two-game losing streak for the Broncos.
Higa, a junior defender and native of Aiea, O`ahu (Aiea), anchored the Rainbow Wahine defense and led Hawai?i to both the OHANA Hotels No Ka Oi and Outrigger Hotels & Resorts Soccer Classic tournament titles. She was named MVP of the Outrigger Hotels & Resorts Soccer Classic after UH tied Pacific 2-2 in double overtime and blanked Tennessee-Martin, 3-0. Higa was the commander of the defense that did not allow a single shot in the first half and only one shot on goal for the entire match against Tennessee-Martin. She also was a threat on the offensive side of the ball, scoring her second goal of the season in the tournament nightcap.
Other offensive nominees included: Ambree Ako of Hawai?i tallied six points on three goals in three matches and was named MVP of the Outrigger Hotels Soccer Classic ... Jennifer Hull of Idaho scored both of the Vandals’ goals in their 2-0 victory over Southern Utah ... Kiva Gresham of Louisiana Tech scored the Lady Techsters’ first goal of the season at Southeastern Louisiana ... Dana Peart of Utah State produced the most scoring chances for the Aggies with six shots, three being on goal.
Other defensive nominees included: Jennifer Burns of Boise State recorded a 9-0 shutout over Southern Utah and set two individual school match records for goalkeepers for most points (2) and most assists (2)... Anna Sandman of Idaho registered her second-straight shutout, tallying 16 saves on the weekend ... Lisa Willardson of Utah State slated three saves in the 0-1 double overtime loss against Northern Arizona.
RECORDS SHATTERED ? Boise State snapped a two-game losing streak and logged a record-shattering performance in its 9-0 route of Southern Utah in the final game of the of the Governor’s Cup in Pocatello. With that win, the Broncos set 14 new school records and tied two others. New team records include: most goals scored (9), most goals in a half (7), most assists (9), most assists in a half (7), most points (27), most points in a half (21), and largest margin of victory.
Boise State Broncos (2-2, 0-0 WAC)
Boise State snapped a two-game losing streak and comes off a record-shattering performance in its 9-0 route of Southern Utah in the final match of the Governor’s Cup in Pocatello ... led in both matches by freshman Shannon Saxton with ten points on four goals and two assists ... Saxton also recorded the first-ever hat trick by a freshman in program history ... the Broncos set 14 new school records and tied two others in their dismantling of the Thunderbirds ... this week, the Broncos open first on the road at Weber State before returning to Boise for their first home match of the season against Eastern Washington.
Fresno State Bulldogs (1-2, 0-0 WAC)
Fresno State returns to action and looks to rebound from a two-game losing streak, most recently falling to Sacramento State ... the goal the Bulldogs scored against Sacramento State was the first goal the Hornets have given up all season ... freshman goalkeeper Kaity Revel is currently second in the WAC in goals against average (0.78) and save percentage (.818) ... this week, the Bulldogs continue their six-game road swing, travleing first to Greeley, Colo. to square off with Northern Colorado and then on to Laramie, Wyo. to match up with the Cowgirls of Wyoming.
Hawai?i Rainbow Wahine (3-0-1, 0-0 WAC)
Hawai?i comes off its second straight tournament title, claiming the Outrigger Hotels & Resorts Classic championship with a 3-0 win over Tennessee-Martin and a 2-2 double overtime tie with Pacific ... led offensively by forward Ambree Ako with three goals in three matches ... anchored on defense by Tehane Higa, who commanded the defense that did not allow a single shot in the first half and only one shot on goal for the entire match against Tennessee-Martin ... Higa was named WAC Defensive Player of the Week for her weekend efforts ... Hawai?i is ranked No. 14 in the Soccer Buzz West Regional Poll, its highest mark since 2004 ... this week, UH receives a double dose of the Dukes from Duquesne.
Idaho Vandals (2-1, 0-0 WAC)
Idaho returns home from the Governor’s Cup in Pocatello after shutting out Southern Utah, 2-0, and then falling to Idaho State, 0-2 ... started 2-0 for the first time since 2002, before the loss to in-state rival Idaho State ... the Vandals have only given up two goals through three games to start the season, after being scored on 12 times through the first three games in 2006 ... sophomore goalkeeper Anna Sandman recorded her second-straight shutout ... this week, the Vandals return home to Moscow to face Portland State in a mid-week matchup and end the week hosting the ?Runners of Cal State Bakersfield.
Louisiana Tech Lady Techsters (0-4, 0-0 WAC)
Despite scoring its first goal of the season, Louisiana Tech is still looking for its first win of 2007 after falling 1-3 to Southeastern Louisiana ... freshman Kiva Gresham ended the Lady Techsters scoreless streak, dating back to the 2006 season finale against Boise State ... several key players are still missing significant action due to injuries, forcing many freshman to take on the majority of playing responsibilities ... Louisiana Tech will play its first home match of the season on Sept. 14 when the Lady Razorbacks of Arkansas travel to Ruston ... the Lady Techsters end the week when they head east to take on in-state foe Louisiana-Monroe.
Nevada Wolf Pack (0-3, 0-0 WAC)
After ending 2006 on a high-note, Nevada is still searching for its first victory of the 2007 season ... all three of Nevada’s losses this year have been one-goal losses ... with her goal against Portland State, junior midfielder Miranda Montejo has recorded 38 career points and is just two points away from becoming the Pack’s all-time leader in points ... defender Patrice Godwin recorded her first career points on an assist to teammate Karen Zmirak in the match against Arizona ... this week, the Pack return home to Mackay Stadium to host the Hornets of Sacramento State and the Dons of San Francisco.
San Jose State Spartans (0-2-1, 0-0 WAC)
San Jose State comes off a 0-2 loss at the hands of Sacramento State ... the Spartans continue this week in their stint of five of six games away from home ... the Spartans travel to Flagstaff, Ariz., to face Northern Arizona on Friday and square off with Southern Utah on Sunday ... San Jose State will be facing both squads for the first time since the program’s inception in 1995 ... all five Spartan goals thus far on the season have come from senior tri-captains Kristin Krale (2), Jackie Zabek (2) and Heidi Romswinckel-Guise (1) ... Krale started in her 64th consecutive match last Friday, with the contest also marking Zabek’s 64th straight match played.
Utah State State Aggies (1-3, 0-0 WAC)
Utah State returns from Flagstaff after a 0-1 loss to Northern Arizona ... the Aggies were shutout for the second match in a row, marking the second year in a row that Utah State failed to score in consecutive matches ... senior midfielder Dana Peart is tied for first in the WAC in shots with 13 ... this week, the Aggies travel to Ogden, Utah for a mid-week match against Weber State, before returning to Logan to host their first home matches on the season ... Utah State will host the Ducks of Oregon on Friday before the Bengals of Idaho State come to town to square off on Sunday.
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