On tap IN THE WAC ? This week the WAC will get some well deserved time to regain its strength, with six of eight teams hosting at least one match at home and three teams competing in just one match for the week. Boise State travels to Salt Lake City for its lone match of the week to square off with the Utes of Utah. Fresno State returns home after a six-match road stint, hosting UTEP on Friday and in-state rival Cal State Fullerton on Sunday. The Rainbow Wahine of Hawai?i also return to Honolulu to entertain Weber State and Hawaii Pacific. Idaho makes the trip to Los Angeles to tango with Loyola Marymount, before heading to Corvallis to meet Oregon State. Louisiana Tech continues a five-game homestand with a Sunday match against the Cowgirls of McNeese State. The Wolf Pack of Nevada take to the road on Sept. 28 to face UC Davis before returning home Sept. 30 to host the Rebels of UNLV. San Jose State begins a season-long four-game homstand, hosting the Titans of Cal State Fullerton and the Eagles of Eastern Washington. Utah State plays host to Montana in a mid-week kickoff on Thursday, its only match of the week.
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK ? Boise State forward Shannon Saxton and Idaho goalkeeper Anna Sandman have been named the Western Athletic Conference Soccer Offensive and Defensive Players of the Week, respectively, for the week of Sept. 24. This is the second WAC Player of the Week honor on the season, as well as the second career honor for both Saxton and Sandman.
Saxton, a freshman forward from Beaverton, Ore. (Beaverton), led Boise State to a 1-0-1 record at the Montana Nike Tournament in Missoula. She scored three goals, giving her 10 this season to move her within one of tying the Bronco school record for goals in a season. Saxton recorded two goals in the 3-3 double overtime draw with Oregon State and scored the game-winning goal against tournament host Montana Grizzlies. Her goal in the Montana match was registered in the second minute of the match, marking the earliest goal to be scored by a Bronco in a match this season. Saxton played 169 minutes in the two Montana Nike Tournament matches, in which she recorded a .714 shot on goal percentage.
Sandman, a native of Maple Valley, Wash. (Tahoma), earned her fourth shutout in seven tries in Sunday’s 1-0 route of North Dakota State at the UTEP Border Shootout in El Paso, Texas. With this shutout, Sandman ties the Idaho single-season school record for shutouts in a season. Thus far this season, Idaho is holding its opponents to a .073 shot percentage with Sandman in the goal. Her strong start has led Idaho to its second-best start ever (4-3) and best since 1999 when the Vandals started 4-2-1.
Other offensive nominees included: Kiva Gresham of Louisiana Tech registered two goals in the Lady Techsters 3-0 victory over Centenary, leading to Tech’s first win of the season, which also snapped the Lady Techsters 16-match winless streak ... Karen Zmirak of Nevada scored her team-leading third goal of the season against Iowa State in the Rebel Classic in Las Vegas ... Jessica Scott of San Jose State returned to action and scored both goals in the 2-0 shutout victory over Northern Iowa, giving the Spartans their first win of the 2007 season ... Lauren Hansen of Utah State netted her second goal of the season in Sunday’s game against Eastern Washington.
Other defensive nominees included: Patrice Godwin of Nevada played every minute of the Wolf Pack’s two matches over the weekend, anchoring the defense against Iowa State and No. 23 Washington State in the Idaho State Tournament in Pocatello ... Kristin Krale of San Jose State helped lead the Spartans in a 2-0 shutout win over Northern Iowa, their first victory of the season, and also marked her 69th-straight career start since arriving to San Jose State.
in the win column ? Both Louisiana Tech and San Jose State recorded their first wins of the season. The Lady Techsters blanked Centenary 3-0 in Ruston, and the Spartans came out on top 2-1 over Northern Iowa at the Idaho State Tournament in Pocatello. The Lady Techsters win snapped a 16-match winless streak, dating back to last season.
idaho’s sandman in the record books ? Idaho sophomore goalkeeper Anna Sandman earned her fourth shutout in seven tries, which ties the Vandals single-season record for shutouts in a season. Her solid start in goal has also led Idaho to its second-best start ever (4-3) and best since 1999 when the Vandals started 4-2-1.
multi-goal performance ? San Jose State’s junior forward Jessica Scott produced the first multi-goal match by a Spartan in 2007, scoring both goals in the 2-0 win over Northern Iowa at the Idaho State Tournament in Pocatello.
wac play up tour stops in reno ? 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 Sunday, Sept. 30, to support the Wolf Pack soccer team as they take on UNLV at Mackay Stadium, and pickup a free t-shirt or commemorative Wolf Pack Commissioner’s Cup poster. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.
Boise State Broncos (4-3-1, 0-0 WAC)
Boise State comes off a 1-0-1 performance at the Montana Nike Tournament with a 3-3 double overtime draw with Oregon State and a 2-0 shutout over the host Montana Grizzlies ... led again by freshman Shannon Saxton who recorded three goals, giving her 10 this season to move her within one of tying the Bronco school record for goals in a season ... Saxton is tied for second nationally and leads the WAC in scoring with 10 goals ... after four weeks of non-conference play, the Broncos lead the WAC offensively in three team statistical categories: points (64), goals (22) and assists (20) ... this week, the Broncos travel to Salt Lake City for their lone game of the week to take on the Utes of Utah.
Fresno State Bulldogs (3-4, 0-0 WAC)
Fresno State finally returns to the friendly confines of Bulldog Stadium after a six-match road stint, with losses last week to in-state rivals, UC Riverside and Loyola Marymount ... the Bulldogs’ Kaitlyn Revel currently ranks second in the WAC in both shutouts (3) and goals-against average (0.88) and is third in the WAC in save percentage (.821) ... junior Nicole Gutierrez currently has 23 points in her time as a Bulldog, ranking her fourth all-time in career points ... Gutierrez also has six game-winning goals, which ties for first place for most career GWG ... this week, Fresno State is at home to entertain Conference-USA foe, the Miners of UTEP on Friday, and the Titans of Cal State Fullerton, an in-state Big West Conference opponent.
Hawai?i Rainbow Wahine (5-2-1, 0-0 WAC)
Hawai?i returns home following its first road trip of the season, as the Rainbow Wahine look to bounce back from their first two losses in 2007 ... after four weeks of non-conference play, the Rainbow Wahine currently rank second in the WAC in three offensive categories: points (56), goals (19) and assists (18) ... UH is led offensively by Taryn Fukuroku and Jessica Domingo with Fukuroku presently second individually in the WAC in points (14), goals (5) and assists (4), and Domingo tied for 18th nationally and leading the WAC in assists per game (0.71) ... this week, the Rainbow Wahine play host to the Wildcats of Weber State and the Sea Warriors of Hawaii Pacific.
Idaho Vandals (4-3, 0-0 WAC)
Idaho is off to its best start in eight years with a 4-3 record, dating back to 1999 when the Vandals started 4-2-1 ... through just seven matches, Idaho has already equaled last season’s goal total (9) and already has more wins than the past two years combined ... the Vandals are led defensively by sophomore goalkeeper Anna Sandman, who earned her fourth shutout in seven tries, tying the Idaho single-season record for shutouts in a season ... Idaho is holding its opponents to an impressive .073 shot percentage ... this week, the Vandals take to the road to tango with the Lions of Loyola Marymount and the Beavers of Oregon State.
Louisiana Tech Lady Techsters (1-7, 0-0 WAC)
Louisiana Tech ended its 16-match winless streak with a 3-0 route of in-state rival Centenary at Joe Aillet Stadium in Ruston ... the Lady Techsters were led again by young talent, with freshmen scoring all of Tech’s goals in the win ... freshmen Brooke Lanie and Jillian Pinder both earned their first career goals, while fellow newcomer Kiva Gresham score the game-winning goal against the Ladies of Centenary, tallying her third goal of the season ... sophomore goalkeeper Tara Gavlak also earned her first career shutout, registering three saves in the Centenary victory ... this week, the Lady Techsters continue a five-game homestand with a Sunday match against the Cowgirls of McNeese State.
Nevada Wolf Pack (1-5-1, 0-0 WAC)
Nevada looks to bounce back from two weekend losses at the Rebel Classic in Las Vegas, a 1-2 loss to Big 12 foe Iowa State and a hard-fought 0-1 loss at the hands of No. 23 Washington State ... all of the Wolf Pack’s losses this season have been by just one goal ... junior forward Karen Zmirak scored her team-leading third goal of the season against Iowa State, which ties her for third all-time in points (33) and third in goals (14) for Nevada ... this week, the Wolf Pack are on the road on Friday to face the Aggies of UC Davis before returning home Sunday to host the Rebels of UNLV, marking the first soccer stop on the 2007 WAC Play Up Tour.
San Jose State Spartans (1-5-2, 0-0 WAC)
San Jose State returns home from the Idaho State Classic, coming off its first win of the 2007 season, after shutting out the Northern Iowa Panthers, 2-0 ... after missing four-straight matches, junior forward Jessica Scott returned to the field and the Spartan lineup in fashion, netting both goals in the 2-0 victory over Northern Iowa, producing the first multi-goal performance by a Spartan player this season ... redshirt freshman Nina Butera registered six saves against Northern Iowa to record her first collegiate shutout ... San Jose State begins a season-long four-game homestand, hosting the Titans of Cal State Fullerton this Friday and the Eagles of Eastern Washington on Sunday.
Utah State Aggies (3-6, 0-0 WAC)
Utah State returns home from the state of Washington looking to rebound after suffering two 2-1 losses at the hands of the Gonzaga Bulldogs and the Eastern Washington Eagles ... the Aggies currently lead the WAC offensively as a team in total shots (127) and Dana Peart leads the WAC individually in shots with 29 ... Peart scored her fifth goal of the season against Gonzaga, and now has a team-leading 11 points (5 goals, one assist) ... this week, the Aggies play host to the Montana Grizzlies in a mid-week kickoff on Thursday, its only match of the week.
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