ON TAP IN THE WAC ? This weekend the WAC hits the road, as seven of eight teams compete away from home. Hawai’i plays host to its second tournament of the season with Pacific and Tennessee-Martin making the trip to the Outrigger Hotels & Resorts Soccer Classic. Boise State and Idaho both tango with Idaho State and Southern Utah as they compete in the Governor’s Cup in Pocatello. Louisiana Tech takes on two in-state rivals, traveling to Northwestern State for a mid-week game before heading to Southeastern Louisiana this weekend. Both Utah State and Nevada travel to Arizona, where the Aggies will take on UC Irvine and Northern Arizona in the Northern Arizona Tournament, while the Wolf Pack square off with Arizona. Fresno State and San Jose State stay relatively close to home, as the Bulldogs and Spartans both take on the Hornets of Sacramento State.
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK ? Hawai’i forward Mari Punzal 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. 3. These are the first WAC Players of the Week of the 2007 season and the first career honor for both Punzal and Sandman.
Punzal, a true freshman from Kappa, Kauai (Kamehameha), led Hawai’i in the 2007 season-opener as she tallied three points for the Rainbow Wahine to help UH defeat No. 26 Kansas, 4-0, in the OHANA Hotels and Resorts No Ka Oi Tournament. She scored a goal and registered one assist in her first-ever collegiate start. With that victory, Punzal helped Hawai’i pick up its first ever win over a ranked opponent.
Sandman, a native of Maple Valley, Wash. (Tahoma), recorded her first shutout and first career victory as she led Idaho to a 2-0 win on the road against Gonzaga. Sandman resisted 19 shots on goal, tallying eight saves, while playing the full 90 minutes in goal. Sandman helped the Vandals log their first win of the season after going 0-17-2 in 2006, securing Idaho’s first victory since Oct. 28, 2005.
Other offensive nominees included: Amanda Reyes of Fresno State tallied three points on one goal and one assist in the Nevada Tournament ... Jennifer Hull of Idaho scored the first goal of her career to seal the victory over Gonzaga ... Kristin Krale of San Jose State produced five points on two goals and one assist during the opening weekend for the Spartans ... Dana Peart of Utah State scored both goals for the Aggies, including the game-winner in the 1-0 victory at Texas State.
Other defensive nominees included: Kaity Revel of Fresno State recorded a 3-0 shutout in her first career start over UC Irvine ... Tehane Higa of Hawai’i helped limit No. 26 Kansas to just two shots on goal in a 4-0 victory over the Jayhawks ... Ali Griffin of Utah State slated her first shutout of the year in the season-opening 1-0 win at Texas State.
MORAL VICTORY ? Idaho picked up a win in its first game of the season after going 0-17-2 last season, taking down Gonzaga 2-0 in Spokane. It was Idaho’s first victory since Oct. 28, 2005.
TOURNAMENT ACCOLADES ? Hawai’i placed four members on the Ohana Hotels & Resorts No Ka Oi all-tournament team. Midfielders Jessica Domingo and Mari Punzal, defender Tehane Higa and goalkeeper Kori Lu were selected. Sophomore forward Ambree Ako was named the tournament MVP as she scored two goals, including the game-winning penalty kick in overtime to lift the Rainbow Wahine to a 2-1 win over Auburn. With the win UH captured the tournament championship and improved to 2-0 on the season.
Boise State Broncos (1-1, 0-0 WAC)
Boise State opened its 10th season in convincing fashion when they defeated the Portland State Vikings 3-0 at the Nevada Tournament ... freshman Shannon Saxton led the Broncos to the win in her collegiate debut with two goals and one assist ... the Broncos made history winning the program’s first season opening match on the road in program history ... Boise State fell 3-0 to No. 19 Oregon on Sept. 2 after holding the Ducks scoreless in the first half ... this week, Boise State takes on Idaho State and Southern Utah as they compete in the Governor’s Cup in Pocatello.
Fresno State Bulldogs (1-1, 0-0 WAC)
Fresno State opened its season with a 3-0 victory over UC Irvine at home ... the three goals scored by the Bulldogs in the win was the most goals scored in a game since a 3-0 win over Louisiana Tech on Oct. 21, 2005 ... freshman Kaity Revel recorded a shutout in her first collegiate start, also tallying three saves against UC Irvine and another four saves against UC Davis ... this week, Fresno State travels to Sacramento State to face off with the Hornets ... the Bulldogs will be on the road for the next six games before returning home on Sept. 28 against UTEP ... the six game road swing is the second longest in program history, dating back to 1995 when the Bulldogs played seven straight games away from home.
Hawai?i Rainbow Wahine (2-0, 0-0 WAC)
Hawai?i picked up its first ever win over a ranked opponent with its 4-0 victory over No. 26 Kansas ... with that win the Rainbow Wahine also improved to 3-0 all-time against the Big 12 ... UH improved to 2-0 on the season and captured the Ohana Hotels & Resorts No Ka Oi championship after a 2-1 overtime win over Auburn ... UH is off to its first 2-0 start since the 2001 campaign when it won its first three matches ... freshman Mari Punzal was named WAC Offensive Player of the Week for her weekend efforts ... the Rainbow Wahine host their second tournament of the season, with Pacific and Tennessee-Martin making the trip to the Outrigger Hotels & Resorts Soccer Classic.
Idaho Vandals (1-0, 0-0 WAC)
Idaho picked up a win in its first game of the season after going 0-17-2 last season, taking down Gonzaga 2-0 in Spokane ... the win was the Vandals first victory since Oct. 28, 2005 ... the offensive charge was led by a pair of true freshman, as forwards Jennifer Hull and Anna Edmonds both scored the first goals of their careers ... sophomore Anna Sandman held off the Gonzaga offense to earn her first career shutout and first career victory ... Sandman was named WAC Defensive Player of the Week for her weekend efforts ... this week the Vandals take on Idaho State and Southern Utah as they compete in the Governor’s Cup in Pocatello.
Louisiana Tech Lady Techsters (0-2, 0-0 WAC)
Louisiana Tech returns to action and looks to rebound from a pair of season-opening setbacks after falling to Furman and LSU at the LSU Tournament in Baton Rouge ... freshman M/F Kiva Gresham was named to the LSU all-tournament team ... eight freshman made their first appearances for the Lady Techsters, opting for a bright future for Louisiana Tech ... the crowd of 935 at Sunday’s game against LSU registers as the largest to ever witness a Lady Techster soccer match ... this week, Louisiana Tech takes to the road to face in-state rivals Northwestern State and Southeastern Louisiana ... Northwestern State is the only team the Lady Techsters has played in all four years of its soccer existence.
Nevada Wolf Pack (0-2, 0-0 WAC)
Former Nevada assistant coach Antoinette Marjanovic made her head coaching debut for the Wolf Pack after being named interim head coach, replacing Terri Patraw ... Nevada played host to No. 19 Oregon last Friday, marking the second time in program history the Wolf Pack faced off with a ranked team ... junior Miranda Montejo recorded Nevada’s goal in the Pack’s 2-1 loss to Portland State Sept. 2 ... with that goal Montejo registers 38 career points and is just two points from becoming Nevada’s all-time leader in points ... this week the Pack travel to Arizona to take on the Wildcats, their only match in the next nine days.
San Jose State Spartans (0-1-1, 0-0 WAC)
San Jose State opened its season with a hard-fought loss at the hands of No. 8 Santa Clara, a local rival just six miles down the road ... the Spartans bounced back for a 3-3 draw with San Francisco on Sept. 2, snapping its six-game losing streak against the Dons dating back to 1999 ... the Spartans were led by senior defender Kristin Krale who anchored the defense and produced five points offensively on two goals and one assist for the weekend ... the Spartans play five of their next six games on the road ... next up for San Jose is a one-game week featuring a trip to Sacramento State to take on the Hornets.
Utah State Aggies (1-1, 0-0 WAC)
Utah State picked up a win in its season-opener for the second straight year, defeating Texas State, 1-0 ... starting forward Dana Peart scored both goals in last weekend’s matchups, including the game-winner in the 1-0 victory at Texas State ... Peart currently holds the No. 5 spot on Utah State’s career goal list with 12 ... junior goalkeeper Ali Griffin recorded her first shutout of the season against the Bobcats of Texas State ... this week the Aggies travel to Arizona where to take on UC Irvine and Northern Arizona in the Northern Arizona Tournament.
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