On tap in the wac - The first week of conference play kicks off this week in the Western Athletic Conference with all eight teams in action beginning Friday, Oct. 10. Utah State starts things off as it looks to extend its regular-season conference win streak to four games against Idaho. Fresno State will travel to San Jose State to take on the Spartans in an interstate clash while Louisiana Tech will look to earn its first conference win in two seasons at Boise State. The Rainbow Wahine of Hawai?i head to Reno to take on Nevada in the night game.
In Sunday’s action, both Idaho teams will play at home when Utah State takes on Boise State and Louisiana Tech battle the Vandals. Nevada hosts its second-consecutive conference game when San Jose State visits Reno while Hawai?i concludes its first conference road trip of the season after trying its luck at Fresno State.
Players of the week - Louisiana Tech’s Hikari Kurokawa and Fresno State’s Kaitlyn Revel have been named Western Athletic Conference Offensive and Defensive Players of the Week, respectively, for the week of Sept. 30-Oct. 4.
Kurokawa, a junior forward from Okayama, Japan (Waseda University), helped the Lady Techsters to a perfect 2-0 mark on the week as she totaled five points in Tech’s two victories. She scored her first career goal in an 8-0 win over Prairie View A&M in the sixth minute of the contest to give Tech a 2-0 advantage and then added her second goal in the 68th minute upping the lead to 7-0. She also registered an assist in the game. The five points were a career high for the junior as she came into the game with one point on the season. The two wins on the weekend secured a winning record for the Lady Techsters for the first time in program history. This is the first Player of the Week honor for Kurokawa and the third consecutive honor for a Louisiana Tech player.
Revel, a sophomore goalkeeper from San Mateo, Calif. (Aragon HS), recorded her fourth shutout of the season in a 1-0 win over Portland State to help the Bulldogs move to 4-7-1 on the season. She allowed just one goal while making an impressive 12 saves. The sophomore was not shaken as she saved seven shots to secure at 1-1 tie at Oregon State. This marks the third time in her career that Revel has garnered Player of the Week honor and the second time in as many weeks that a Fresno State player has won the award.
Other offensive nominees included: Fresno State’s Nicole Gutierrez recorded the game-winning goal in a 1-0 win over Portland State. Randy Hickcox of Boise State notched a game-winning goal in the 86th minute to lead the Broncos over Northern Colorado, 2-1.
Other defensive nominees included: Brooke Lanie of Louisiana Tech help Tech hold two weekend opponents to just two shots on goal as well as notching five points of her own. Utah State goalkeeper Ali Griffin made a season-high seven saves and allowed just two goals against a tough BYU squad. Boise State’s Jennifer Burns made seven saves including five in the second half to keep the Broncos alive against Northern Colorado. San Jose State goalkeeper Nina Butera made 11 saves in a heartbreaking 1-0 overtime loss to Saint Mary’s (CA).
21 MEANS 21 - In Fresno State’s 1-0 win over Portland State, senior forward Nicole Gutierrez notched her 21st goal of her career while receiving the assist from teammate Ali Sill. The assist was the 21st helper of Sill’s four-year career.
SPREADING THE WEALTH - Utah State has had several players involved in scoring this season. Only four players have scored at least two goals, Lauren Hansen (4), Erin Salmon (3), Shantel Flanary (2) and Lindsey Smart (2). There are no Utah State players that have more than one assist, but eight different players have earned an assist.
RPI Notes ? The Rating Percentage Index was release this week and Hawai?i leads the way in the WAC with an RPI of 117 while the Boise State is rated 166. Utah State rounds out the WAC’s top three with a rating of 175.
SAVING the SPARTANS ? Two San Jose State goalkeepers have posted WAC single-game highs in saves so far this season. Freshman Jordan-Michelle Santos notched 11 saves against California while sophomore Nina Butera accomplished the same feat against St. Mary’s (CA).
tEAm notes
Boise State Broncos (7-4-1, 0-0 WAC)
Boise State wrapped up its nine-match road swing this past weekend splitting a pair of contests with Northern Colorado and Wyoming. The Broncos rallied to defeat UNC 2-1 in Greeley, Colo., on Friday then fell at Wyoming 1-0. They completed their nine-game road swing with a 5-4-0 mark. Boise State will open conference play this week with a 7-4-1 overall record, its second-best start to a season in history. For the first time since Aug. 31 the Broncos will play at home when they host Louisiana Tech at 4 p.m. on Friday, followed by Utah State at 1 p.m. on Sunday. Sophomore forward Shannon Saxton continues to lead Boise State in scoring with five goals and five assists for 15 total points.
Fresno State Bulldogs (4-7-1, 0-0 WAC)
The Bulldogs recorded a winning weekend in Oregon after tying Oregon State, 1-1, in overtime and defeating Portland State, 1-0. Kaitlyn Revel and the Bulldog defense recorded its fourth shutout of the year against Portland State. Nicole Gutierrez scored her 21st career goal in the game at Portland State. Gutierrez’s goal was also the game winning goal. Ali Sill earned her 21st assist off her pass to Gutierrez. Sill is now tied as the career assist leader in Fresno State history. Allison Ventura scored her first goal in the final seconds of the game against Oregon State, which sent the match into overtime. The Bulldogs head into WAC play with a 4-7-1 record and momentum after a great weekend of play in Oregon.
Hawai?i Rainbow Wahine (4-4-3, 0-0 WAC)
Hawai?i won its lone game of the week in a 90-minute thriller that featured two Rainbow Wahine goals in the last four minutes of play against Cal State Fullerton (3-2). Hawai?i finished non-conference play with a 4-4-3 record and enters conference play with a one-game winning streak. Ambree Ako and Taryn Fukuroku lead the way for the Rainbow Wahine, coming into WAC play with 12 and 10 points, respectively. Hawai?i travels to Nevada on Friday, Oct. 10 before heading to Fresno to take on the Bulldogs on the following Sunday (Oct. 12).
Idaho Vandals (1-10-1, 0-0 WAC)
The Vandals closed out non-conference play with a 1-10-1 record after two setbacks to Utah Valley and Montana last weekend. With the non-conference slate behind them, the Vandals now focus on the Western Athletic Conference. They’ll start with a road trip to Utah State on Friday, Oct. 10, before returning home on Sunday, Oct. 12, to host Louisiana Tech.
Louisiana Tech Lady Techsters (10-2-1, 0-0 WAC)
Tech was 2-0 on the week. Tech outscored its opponents 9-0 during the two games. With its win over Houston Baptist on Sunday, Tech clinched its first winning season in program history. Tech has posted shutouts in nine of its 10 wins this year. Brooke Lanie (2), Hikari Kurokawa (2), Brittany Coffinbargar and Chelsea White each scored their first goals of the season during the week.
Nevada Wolf Pack (0-9-2, 0-0 WAC)
With her six shots against St. Mary’s, Samantha Miller became Nevada’s all-time leader in shots with 129, passing Lauren Kinneman (2003-06) who recorded 124 career shots. With her goal against St. Mary’s, Miller is now also tied with teammate Karen Zmirak for second all-time in career points with 42. Miranda Montejo is Nevada’s all-time leader in career points with 44. Sophomore goalkeeper Marie Cove made her first start of the season against St. Mary’s making four saves. Samantha Miller leads the team in points with six (two goals, two assists.) Miller and Erin Smith share the team lead in goals with two each. Miller’s goal against St. Mary’s marked Nevada’ first lead this season and also marked the first time Nevada has scored a goal in the first half this year
San Jose State Spartans (2-6-3, 0-0 WAC)
The Spartans enter WAC play with a 2-6-3 record after a 1-0 overtime loss to St. Mary’s (CA) last weekend. San Jose State is led by forward Emmy Belding. The junior leads the team in goals (3), points (6), shots (22) and shots on goal (12), as well as posting two game-winning goals during the 2008 campaign. The Spartans open conference play at home against Fresno State before traveling to Reno to face the Wolf Pack on Oct. 12.
Utah State Aggies (5-7-1, 0-0 WAC)
Utah State begins its fourth season in the WAC on Oct. 10 against Idaho. The Aggies are 3-0 in WAC openers. This is the second-straight season that the Aggies have started WAC play with the Vandals. Last season, Utah State defeated Idaho, 4-0. In 2005 and 2006, the Aggies defeated Louisiana Tech to begin conference play. In 2005 Utah State won 2-1 in Logan, while the Aggies won 2-0 in 2006 in Ruston.