On tap in the wac- This week, Louisiana Tech starts things off for the WAC as it seeks its fifth-consecutive road win against Grambling on Tuesday, Sept. 16. The opening game of the annual Outrigger Hotels and Resorts Soccer Classic begins on Thursday (Sept. 18) when Hawai?i welcomes Montana to Honolulu. The Rainbow Wahine will also take on UC Santa Barbara on Sept. 21 in the final match of the tournament. San Jose State will look for its second win of the season against San Francisco while UTEP visits Utah State in Logan on Thursday. In tournament play, Boise State takes on Louisiana-Monroe in the Mountain Classic (Northern Arizona) after Fresno State heads to Boulder, Colo. to play Denver (Sept. 19) and Colorado (Sept. 21) in the Colorado tournament, beginning on Friday. Idaho and Louisiana Tech will also try their luck in tournaments against Niagara (UNLV Classic) and Alabama A&M (Troy Tournament), respectively. Nevada rounds out Friday’s action when the Wolf Pack travel to Green Bay, Wisc. to take on Wisconsin-Green Bay.
More tournament play is scheduled for Sunday, Sept. 21 as Boise State takes on VMI (Mountain Classic) and Idaho will play Robert Morris in its second game of the UNLV Classic. The Lady Techsters will match up against tournament host, Troy, while Nevada finishes up its mid-west road trip at Wisconsin. San Jose State and Utah State will host Miami (OH) and Long Beach State, respectively.
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK-After a successful week for Western Athletic Conference teams, the WAC selected its Players of the Week for the week of Sept. 8-14. Hawai?i senior Taryn Fukuroku was named Offensive Player of the Week, while San Jose State goalkeeper Jordan-Michelle Santos received defensive honors.
Fukuroku, a forward from Wailuku, Maui (Maui HS), finished the weekend with a team-high six points. She posted goal and an assist in a tie (3-3, 2OT) at New Mexico, and an assist in a 1-2 loss to Pacific as well as a goal in a 5-0 win over San Francisco. She finished with two goals and two assists as the Rainbow Wahine went 1-1-1 on the weekend. Fukuroku also had nine shots in the three matches. The senior is now tied for the most points in the WAC with nine and has a total of three goals and three assists on the season. It is her first career Player of the Week honor in her four year career.
Santos, a freshman from Cypress, Calif. (Los Alamitos HS), recorded her third collegiate shutout after a 1-0 overtime victory over Sacramento State. She played all 94 minutes in the win and recorded two saves on 12 shots. Santos, now boasts a 1.55 goals against average. She is also tied for first in the WAC with 5.33 saves per game average. It is her second Player of the Week honor of the season. She was awarded Defensive Player of the Week honors on Sept. 1.
Other offensive nominees included: San Jose State’s Emmy Belding, registered a game-winning goal in the 94th minute to secure the Spartans’ 1-0 victory against Sacramento State. Kristen Sevier of Louisiana Tech had another strong weekend when she finished with a WAC-high seven points on three goals and one assist in wins against Arkansas-Pine Bluff (8-0) and Delta State (2-0). Megan Ashjian of Fresno State recorded a game-winning goal against Florida International (1-0), the victory secured the Bulldogs’ second-consecutive win. Utah State’s Lauren Hansen had a three-point match (1g, 1a) against UTEP to secure a 2-0 victory.
Other defensive nominees included: Cat Buchanan and Jean Bernard collectively posted two shutouts for the Lady Techsters after an 8-0 victory against Arkansas-Pine Bluff and a 3-0 win over Delta State. Kaitlyn Revel recorded her second-straight shutout and one save against Florida International (1-0). Alyssa Lowry of Utah State was part of a solid defense that allowed three goals in two matches last week (0-2 L at Utah, 2-1 W vs. UTEP).
TEAM NOTES
AGAIN AND AGAIN- After being named Defensive Player of the Week for the second time this season, Jordan-Michelle Santos has become only the second freshman goalkeeper to garner the honor twice in one season. Kaitlyn Revel, of Fresno State took home Defensive Player of the Week honors twice in 2007.
CLIMBING THE NATIONAL LADDER- Louisiana Tech is still ranked in the top 10 in the NCAA in shutout percentage (.800, 6th). The Lady Techsters got some help from the No. 1 ranked goalkeeper Cat Buchanan. Buchanan is the only goalkeeper in the nation who has not surrendered a goal this season (participation rules apply).
ALL-TOURNAMENT- Boise State’s Shannon Saxton and Lindsay Roberts represented the WAC on the Saint Mary’s College Fall Classic All-Tournament Team after their performances over the weekend.
ROCK ?N ROLL’N- The Western Athletic Conference team are on a roll as five teams will look to earn consecutive wins this week, including Louisiana Tech (five in a row) and Fresno State (three in a row).
Boise State Broncos (3-3-1, 0-0 WAC)
Boise State enters the week at 3-3-1 overall and on a three-match losing streak. The Broncos dropped a pair of hard fought contests last week at the Saint Mary’s College Fall Soccer Classic in Moraga, Calif. BSU lost 1-0 in the 90th minute to Saint Mary’s followed by a 2-0 defeat at the hands of No. 20 California on Sunday. Boise State suffered its first two shutouts of the season as the team struggled to score in the Golden state. This week the blue and orange is on the road again for the fifth and sixth games of nine consecutive matches on the road. The team will compete at the eighth annual Mountain Classic hosted by Northern Arizona in Flagstaff. Andrea Huerta and Shannon Saxton continue to lead the Broncos in scoring with nine points apiece
Fresno State Bulldogs (2-4, 0-0 WAC)
Fresno State earned its second-straight win last week at home against Florida International in a 1-0 match. The game-winning goal came from substitute Megan Ashjian when she beat Florida International’s goalkeeper with a shot from 30 yards out in the 70th minute. The Bulldogs’ two wins have been shutouts behind a defense that only has allowed two shots in 180 minutes, the offense has taken 22 shots over that span. Fresno State travels to Boulder, Colo. to take on Denver and the University of Colorado in the Colorado Tournament this weekend.
Hawai?i Rainbow Wahine (2-3-1, 0-0 WAC)
The Rainbow Wahine finished 1-1-1 over the weekend to become 2-3-1 on the season. Hawai?i had an impressive 5-0 win over San Francisco where Offensive Player of the Week, Taryn Fukuroku scored one of her two goals of the week. She finished with six points (2g, 2a) in three games. Hawai?i leads the WAC in points (47), goals (17) and assists (13) in its six games so far this season. Forward Ambree Ako is also tied for the most goals (4) in the conference. The Rainbow Wahine will host the Outrigger Hotels and Resorts Soccer Classic in Honolulu beginning on Sept. 18 and have matches slated against Montana (Sept. 18) and UC Santa Barbara (Sept. 21).
Idaho Vandals (1-5, 0-0 WAC) The Vandals went 0-2 on the weekend after a 3-0 loss at the hands of Wyoming and a heartbreaking 1-0 overtime loss to Minnesota in the Nevada Tournament. Idaho was out-shot 38-13 in the two games but saw goalkeeper Anna Sandman record 10 saves in the second match against the Golden Gophers. Nicole McAllister is ranked tenth in the WAC in shots per game (2.00).
Louisiana Tech Lady Techsters (4-1, 0-0 WAC)
The Techsters continue to roll, having shut out their last four opponents and going to 4-1 in the process. Tech has outscored its opposition 16-2 through five games thus far in 2008; for comparison, through five games in 2007, Tech had been outscored 16-1. Kristen Sevier leads the way with four goals and an assist; fellow freshman Olivia Lukasewich is not far behind with three scores and one helper. Tech’s shutout streak now totals four-plus games, or 394 minutes, 12 seconds ? which equals exactly the previous long shutout streak that spanned parts of six games in 2005. So as long as Grambling doesn’t score before the opening whistle, Tech will set the school shutout streak Tuesday as it travels across Lincoln Parish to face crosstown rival Grambling State. The Techsters will also compete in the Troy Trojans Soccer Classic in Troy, Ala., where they will face Alabama A&M Friday and host Troy on Sunday.
Nevada Wolf Pack (0-5-1, 0-0 WAC)
Sophomore defender Erin Smith scored her first career goal in Nevada’s 2-1 loss to Minnesota Friday night. With Smith’s goal Friday night, three of the four of the Pack’s starting defenders have recorded at least one career point for Nevada (Smith 2 points, Patrice Godwin 1 point; Devin Noe 8 points). Nevada’s last three losses have all been one-goal losses (Minnesota, 2-1; Portland State, 2-1 and Pacific, 1-0). Sarah Hunt tied her career-high in saves against Minnesota recording seven. She also made seven saves earlier this season against Pacific. Five players have recorded at least one point for the Pack this season. Samantha Miller leads the team with three (one goal and one assist)
San Jose State Spartans (1-3-2, 0-0 WAC)
The Spartans earned their first win of the season in a 1-0 overtime victory against a tough Sacramento State team. Emmy Belding blasted a shot into the lower left side of the net in the 94th minute to secure the win. Goalkeeper Jordan-Michelle Santos made two saves and notched her second-consecutive shutout (third in six starts) and was named WAC Defensive Player of the Week for the second time this season. The Spartans are ranked second in the WAC in saves per match (5.50) as well as shutouts (3).
Utah State Aggies (3-4-1, 0-0 WAC)
The Aggies went 1-1 last week with a 2-1 win against UTEP at home and a loss to Utah on the road. Lauren Hansen had a goal and an assist to lead the Aggies. Freshman Chandra Salmon had her first collegiate assist in the Aggies win over the Miners. Utah State is ranked third in the WAC in shots per game (13.12). This week, the Aggies remain at home for their first-ever meeting with UT-San Antonio. USU will then host Long Beach State. The 49ers hold a 6-2 lead over the Aggies.