On tap in the wac ? The last week of Western Athletic Conference regular-season soccer kicks-off Friday with the WAC tournament picture still unclear. With an automatic first-round bye, regular-season champion Utah State will play its final game of the regular season at Louisiana Tech and try for an undefeated, 7-0, conference season on Oct. 31. San Jose State looks to earn a win at Idaho to keep its WAC tournament hopes alive, while Hawai?i and Boise State, both tied for third-place, will battle it out in Boise.
On Sunday, Nov. 2, the season’s final day of regular-season competition gets underway with Idaho hosting the Rainbow Wahine and San Jose State finishing its road-trip at Boise State. The Wolf Pack of Nevada take on the Bulldogs of Fresno State in Fresno in the final game of the regular season.
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK - Utah State’s Candice Clark and Fresno State’s Selena Gill have been named Western Athletic Conference Offensive and Defensive Players of the Week, respectively, for the week of Oct. 20-26.
Clark, a senior from Provo, Utah (Timpview HS), capped off a historic weekend for Utah State with seven points in two matches, leading the Aggies to their first-ever Western Athletic Conference regular-season title. Clark had three goals on five shots and added an assist. The senior scored the game-winning goal in both road wins over Hawai?i and San Jose State. Against, the Rainbow Wahine, she scored both goals to lead USU to a 2-1 win over Hawai?i. To clinch the WAC title, she scored the game-winner against San Jose State in the 57th minute to break a 2-2 deadlock. It marks the first time in Clark’s career that she has earned WAC Player of the Week honors and the third consecutive week an Aggie has garnered the award.
Gill, a senior from Fresno, Calif. (Hoover HS), led Fresno State to its eighth and ninth shutout of the season. She also helped the Bulldog defense hold Idaho to just one shot in a 1-0 win over the Vandals. The mark stands as a conference best in shots given up in WAC matches. The senior also registered the game-winning goal from her defensive position to lift the Bulldogs over Idaho. It marks the second time this season Gill has received the award and the fourth time a Bulldog has earned Player of the Week honors in 2008.
Other offensive nominees included: San Jose State’s Roxy Kamal netted her first collegiate goal of her career in a 1-1 tie against Louisiana Tech. Amy Wolsted of Louisiana Tech scored two of Tech’s three goals during the week as the Lady Techsters went 0-1-1. Janelle Jin of Boise State registered a game-winning goal in a 2-0 win over Nevada. Hawai?i’s Taryn Fukuroku finished with five points on the week for the Rainbow Wahine.
Other defensive nominees included: Liz Ruiz of Boise State finished with five saves in a 2-0 win over Nevada. Utah State’s Lindsey Smart recorded three assist during the Aggies’ 2-0 week.
CHAMPIONS ? Utah State has locked up its first-ever WAC title after wins at Hawai?i and San Jose State. The Aggies look to go undefeated in conference play this week against Louisiana Tech, something that hasn’t been done since 2006.
JUST ONE ? The Fresno State defense, anchored by goalkeeper Kaitlyn Revel and defender Selena Gill, recorded its eighth and ninth shutouts of the season after 1-0 wins over Boise State and Idaho. Against Idaho, the defense surrendered just one shot, a conference best this season in WAC play. The Bulldogs lead the league in total goals allowed, giving up just one.
TIE-BREAKING PROCEDURE ? To determine championship seeding in the event of ties between two teams or ties among multiple teams, the following criteria are applied:
In the event of a two-way tie:
1. Head-to-head competition
2. Compare the teams’ records to that of the next highest finishing team (if tie for first). If tie is for position other than first, comparison will begin at the top of the standings.
3. In the unlikely event that teams are still tied, the conference conducts a draw.
For a three or more-way tie:
1. Head-to-head competition among the teams involved in the tie. The team(s) with the best record against the other teams receives the higher seed or advances to the next tie-breaker.
2. Same procedures as above.
2008 WAC TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
The University of Nevada and the city of Reno, will play host to the 2008 WAC Soccer Tournament. The tournament will be played at Mackay Stadium Nov. 6-7, 9.
November 6 (Quarterfinals)
Match 1 ? No. 3 vs. No. 6, 3:00 p.m.
Match 2 ? No. 4 vs. No. 5, 5:30 p.m.
November 7 (Semifinals)
Match 3 ? No. 1 vs. Winner Match 1, 3:00 p.m.
Match 4 ? No. 2 vs. Winner Match 2, 5:30 p.m.
November 9 (Championship)
Match 5 ? Winner Match 3 vs. Winner Match 4, 1:00 p.m.
TEAM NOTES
Boise State Broncos (9-6-2, 2-2-1 WAC)
Boise State enters the final week of regular season play at 9-6-2 overall and 2-2-1 in league play. BSU ends the campaign with two home matches versus defending champion Hawai?i on Friday and San Jose State on Sunday. Last week the Broncos split a pair of road games, losing at Fresno State 1-0, followed by a 2-0 victory at Nevada. This weekend the Broncos look to qualify for their fourth consecutive berth to the WAC Tournament. Shannon Saxton continues to lead Boise State with six goals and seven assists.
Fresno State Bulldogs (8-8-2, 4-1-1 WAC)
The Bulldogs head into the final weekend of conference play with a two-game winning streak. The Bulldog defense recorded two more shutouts over the weekend. The defense allowed only nine shots last weekend. Kaitlyn Revel and the defense have now recorded nine shutouts. They lead the league in shutouts with five of six games resulting in shutouts while allowing only one goal. Selena Gill earned her first career goal against the Vandals, while Alex Jensen knocked in her second career goal of the year in a 1-0 win over Boise State. The team wraps-up conference play Sunday Nov. 2 at 2 p.m. when it hosts Nevada.
Hawai?i Rainbow Wahine (6-6-4, 2-2-1 WAC)
Hawai?i finished last week off with a 1-1 record including a 2-1 loss to league-champion Utah State, but then bounced back against Louisiana Tech on Senior Day with a 4-2 victory over the Lady Techsters. Senior forward Taryn Fukuroku registered five points for the Rainbow Wahine on the week as she leads the conference in WAC games in points per match with 1.60. UH finishes its regular-season off in Idaho, playing Boise State on Oct. before traveling to Moscow to round out the regular season on Sunday, Nov. 2.
Idaho Vandals (1-14-2, 0-4-1 WAC)
The Vandals finished 0-2 last week in losses on the road to Nevada and Fresno State. Goalkeeper Liz Boyden now leads the league in saves per match after she registered 13 saves in goal last week. Idaho hopes to qualify for its first WAC Championship as it returns home in the final week of the regular-season when the Vandals face San Jose State and Hawai?i.
Louisiana Tech Lady Techsters (10-4-5, 0-2-4 WAC)
The Lady Techsters went 0-1-1 on the week. The Lady Techsters are 0-2-4 in WAC play for a total of four points heading into their regular season finale against Utah State Friday. The four points is more than the Lady Techsters combined to score in the three previous years of WAC action (0-19-2). Five Lady Techster seniors (Brittany Davis, Denise Wilson, Amy Wolsted, Emily Cleaveland, Leslie Buck) will be playing their final regular season game for Tech when the Techsters face Utah State Friday at 7 p.m. at Ruston Junior High School.
Nevada Wolf Pack (2-12-3, 2-3-1 WAC)
Nevada recorded its fourth shutout of the year on Friday night beating Idaho 2-0. Nevada keepers Sarah Hunt and Marie Cove have each recorded two shutouts this year. Defender Erin Smith scored her third goal of the season, the game winner, against Idaho. She has scored the most goals by a Nevada defender since Randee Robinson scored three goals for Nevada in 2006. Freshman Cristen Drummond leads the team in points and goals with eight and four, respectively. Karen Zmirak added to her career-leading total in points with the game-winning assist against Idaho. Zmirak now has 46 career points. Ten of Nevada’s 13 goals this season have been scored in the second half.
San Jose State Spartans (4-9-4, 1-3-1 WAC)
The Spartans moved to 1-3-1 in conference play after a tie against Louisiana Tech and a loss to Utah State last week. Nina Butera’s 12 saves against the Lady Techsters marks a single-game high for saves this season among conference teams. SJSU looks to secure its spot in the WAC Championship this week as the team travels to Idaho to take on the Vandals and the Broncos of Boise State.
Utah State Aggies (11-7-1, 6-0 WAC)
Utah State captured its first Western Athletic Conference regular-season title with road wins against Hawaii and San Jose State. With the wins, the Aggies earn the top-seed in the upcoming WAC Tournament. Utah State also broke records with its 11 overall wins and six conference wins.