On tap in the wac ? The 14th Western Athletic Conference Soccer Championship gets underway in Reno this week. Fourth-seeded Boise State and No. 5-seeded San Jose State will kick the tournament off this Thursday, Nov. 6. No. 3 Hawai?i and No. 6 Nevada will duel for the chance to advance to the semifinals. The top-seeded Utah State Aggies will await the winner of the Boise State/San Jose State match when the semifinals begin on Friday, Nov. 7. Fresno State, the second seed in the tournament, will play the winner of the Hawai?i/Nevada match. The Championship match is scheduled for Sunday, Nov. 9, with the winner earning an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.
WAc championship notes
-Four of the current WAC teams have won tournament titles. Fresno State, Hawai?i, Nevada and San Jose State all have one tournament title.
-In 2005, fifth-seeded Fresno State was the lowest seed to win the tournament after its 1-0 win over No. 2-seeded San Jose State.
-This marks the second time the tournament has been hosted by the University of Nevada. The Wolf Pack hosted the tournament in 2006, when they won the title.
-Nevada (4-2) and San Jose State (8-7) have the top two records in the history of the tournament, among current WAC schools.
CHAMPIONS ? Utah State has locked up its first-ever WAC title after wins at Hawai?i and San Jose State two weeks ago. The Aggies finished the season undefeated and untied in conference play after a 1-0 win against Louisiana Tech last week, something that hasn’t been done since 2001 (SMU).
JUST ONE ? The Fresno State defense, anchored by goalkeeper Kaitlyn Revel and defender Selena Gill, recorded its tenth shutout of the season in a 2-0 win against Nevada last week. The Bulldogs led the league in total goals allowed, giving up just one.
RPI UPDATE - Utah State leads the league with at 108 with Hawai?i posting a ranking of 135. Fresno State (181) and Boise State (210) round out the top four for the conference.
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. 4 Boise State vs. No. 5 San Jose State, 3:00 p.m.
Match 2 ? No. 3 Hawai?i vs. No. 6 Nevada, 5:30 p.m.
November 7 (Semifinals)
Match 3 ? No. 1 Utah State vs. Winner of Match 1, 3:00 p.m.
Match 4 ? No. 2 Fresno State vs. Winner of Match 2, 5:30 p.m.
November 9 (Championship)
Match 5 ? Winner Match 3 vs. Winner Match 4, 1:00 p.m.
players of the week - Hawai?i’s Chelsea Deptula and Utah State’s Lindsey Smart have been named Western Athletic Conference Offensive and Defensive Players of the Week, respectively, for the final week of the regular season.
Deptula, a sophomore from Mililani, O’ahu, Hawaii (Punahou School), headed in the game-winning goal in the 72nd minute in Hawai?i’s 2-1 victory over Boise State. The goal was the sophomore’s second game-winner of the season and it secured the Rainbow Wahine the No. 3 seed in the conference tournament. She also placed both of her shots on goal from her defender position. She now ranks third on the team with a career-high five goals on the year. This marks the first time in her career she has earned WAC Player of the Week honors.
Smart, a junior from Sandy, Utah (Brighton), was a part of the Utah State backline that did not allow a goal in its final regular season match to help secure the Aggies’ perfect conference season (7-0). From her defensive position, she provided the assist that led the Aggies over Louisiana Tech last week. She also anchored a defense that ended the regular season with four shutouts in seven WAC matches. This is the first time the junior has earned the WAC Player of the Week award.
Other offensive nominees: Utah State’s Lauren Hansen scored the game-winning goal in the Aggies’ 1-0 win at Louisiana Tech to secure Utah State’s perfect 7-0 WAC record. Ali Sill of Fresno State registered the insurance goal in the Bulldogs’ 2-0 victory against Nevada.
Other defensive nominees: Fresno State’s Kendall VanDine helped the Bulldogs to their 10th shutout of the season after a 2-0 win over Nevada.
TEAM NOTES
Boise State Broncos (10-9-2, 3-3-1 WAC)
The Broncos locked up the fourth-seed in the conference tournament with a 2-1 win over San Jose State last week. BSU has qualified for its sixth WAC tournament and will look for its first win in tournament play.
Fresno State Bulldogs (9-8-2, 5-1-1 WAC)
The Bulldogs closed out conference play at home against Nevada. The team beat the Wolf Pack, 2-0, on senior night. Nicole Gutierrez recorded her seventh goal of the season, while fellow senior Ali Sill knocked in her third goal of the year. Kaitlyn Revel recorded three more saves for a total of 93 on the season. Revel and the Bulldog defense earned their 10th shutout of the year. They have shutout six of seven WAC opponents and allowed only one goal.
Hawai?i Rainbow Wahine (8-6-4, 4-2-1 WAC)
Hawai?i enters the tournament on a three-game winning streak, including wins against Boise State and Idaho last week. The Rainbow Wahine look to defend their tournament title and become the WAC’s first back-to-back tournament champions since 2004. UH opens tournament play with a match against tournament host and sixth-seeded Nevada.
Idaho Vandals (1-16-2, 0-6-1 WAC)
The Vandals failed to qualify for the WAC Championships for the fourth-consecutive season despite great play from freshman Liz Boyden. The goalkeeper led the league in saves made in conference games with 49.
Louisiana Tech Lady Techsters (10-5-5, 0-3-4 WAC)
Despite posting its best season on record, the Lady Techsters failed to qualify for the conference tournament. LTU finished the season with a school record 10 wins. It set the record for ties in conference play with five.
Nevada Wolf Pack (2-13-3, 2-4-1 WAC)
Nevada qualified for its fourth consecutive WAC Tournament and earned a #6 seed in this year’s tournament. Nevada’s senior class became the first class to qualify for the WAC tournament each year during their careers at Nevada. This season marks the second year Nevada will open WAC Tournament play against Hawai`i. The Pack also opened the 2006 WAC Tournament against the Rainbow Wahine, posting a 3-0 win. Nevada is 4-2 all-time in the WAC Tournament including a 3-0 record and a WAC Tournament title in 2006. Sophomore Cristen Drummond ended the regular-season leading the team in both points (eight) and goals (four).
San Jose State Spartans (5-10-4, 2-4-1 WAC)
The Spartans earned a 1-0 victory over Idaho last week to secure their No. 5 seed. Forward Emmy Belding is tied for first in the conference with four goals in WAC matches.
Utah State Aggies (12-7-1, 7-0 WAC)
Utah State enters its fourth WAC Tournament as the No. 1 seed which is the highest that the Aggies have ever been seeded. USU was the first team since Southern Methodist in 2001 to finish the regular season with a perfect record. Overall, the Aggies are 12-7-1 and 7-0-0 in WAC matches. The 12 wins and the seven conference wins are both school records.