On tap in the wac- After a week that saw big wins and tough losses against ranked opponents, Western Athletic Conference teams are back on the pitch after notching a 7-6-2 record last week. The Rainbow Wahine start things off as they head to the mainland to take on West Coast powerhouse, Cal State Fullerton on Tuesday (Sept. 30). Utah State welcomes BYU in an in-state battle while Nevada heads west to Sacramento State to take on the Hornets to wrap up Thursday’s action (Oct. 2).
On Friday (Oct. 3), Boise State takes on Northern Colorado in Greeley, Colo., while Fresno State takes on Pac-10 foe Oregon State. Idaho and San Jose State are both on the road at Utah Valley State and Saint Mary’s (Calif.), respectively. The Lady Techsters will play a match that had been rescheduled in early September when they head to Prairie View A&M.
Boise State will travel to Laramie, Wyo. to play the Cowgirls to begin Sunday’s action while Fresno State will try its luck at Portland State. Louisiana Tech and Idaho will both conclude road swings when they play Montana and Houston Baptist, respectively. The Wolf Pack will close out the week with a home match against Saint Mary’s. This week will prove to be the last week of non-conference action as the first scheduled conference games are set to kick-off next Friday, Oct. 10.
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK-Louisiana Tech’s Kat McCullough and Fresno State defender Selena Gill have been named Offensive and Defensive Western Athletic Conference Players of the Week, respectively, for the week of Sept. 22-28.
McCullough, a junior midfielder from Coppell, Texas (Coppell HS), led the Lady Techsters to a 2-0-1 mark during the week as she totaled five points in three games, scoring at least one point in every contest. The junior scored the game-winning goal in Tech’s 1-0 win over Mississippi Valley State in the 79th minute. She assisted the only goal in Tech’s 1-1 tie against Centenary as well as finishing with two assists in a 7-0 rout over Southern. McCullough finished the week with three assists and one goal. With her three assists, she became Tech’s all-time leader in career assists. It is the first Player of the Week honor for McCullough and third time this season a Lady Techster has garnered the award.
Gill, a senior defender from Fresno, Calif. (Hoover HS), helped the Bulldogs earn their third shutout of the season in a 2-0 win against Sacramento State. The senior anchored a backline that only allowed three shots including just one on goal in the victory. In a 2-1 loss to Seattle University, she helped hold the Redhawks’ two leading scorers to a combined two shots and one goal in the match. This award is Gill’s first in her four-year career and serves as Fresno State’s first recipient of the weekly honor this season.
Other offensive nominees included: Nicole Gutierrez of Fresno State scored the insurance goal the Bulldogs’ 2-0 victory over Sacramento State. San Jose State’s Emmy Belding registered the game-winning goal in a 3-1 win over Air Force for two points on the weekend. Ambree Ako of Hawai?i completed a three point weekend with an assist in a 1-1 tie against Montana and a goal in a 2-1 loss to No. 21 Washington. Utah State’s Erin Salmon scored the Aggies first goal in a road win against Wyoming, her third of the season. Emma Boyack of Boise State recorded the game-winning goal in the Broncos’ 2-1 win at Montana in the 77th minute.
Other defensive nominees included: Utah State goalkeeper Ali Griffin allowed just two goals while making eight saves to help the Aggies to a 1-1 record. Boise State’s Jennifer Burns made one save in a win at Montana and allowed just one goal on a penalty kick. Louisiana Tech defender Kiva Gresham led Tech’s defensive effort by surrendering zero goals in three games, while recording a goal and an assist in her 203 minutes.
TOP TEN- Louisiana Tech is ranked ninth in the nation in scoring offense as they average three goals a match, followed by Hawai?i (No. 51, 2.1/match) and Boise State (No. 71, 1.9/match).
ON THE ROAD AGAIN- For the second week in a row, the majority of WAC teams are on the road. Of the 12 games played this week, only two are played at WAC home sites. WAC teams have a combined record of 14-21-6 on the road.
GIVE AND GO- Mari Punzal notched Hawai?i’s goal in a 1-1 tie against Portland State with an assist from Ambree Ako. Two days later, Ako registered the Rainbow Wahine’s lone goal against No. 21 Washington as Punzal returned the favor with a helper of her own.
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Boise State Broncos (6-3-1, 0-0 WAC)
Boise State won its only game over the weekend in a 2-1 victory over Montana. Substitutes Emma Boyack and Molly Hill notched the goals for the Broncos as Boise State outshot the Grizzlies 21-5 with Montana’s only goal coming off of a penalty kick. BSU ranks second in the WAC in shots (15.6/match) and goals allowed (10). The Broncos will now prepare for road swings at Northern Colorado and Wyoming this weekend.
Fresno State Bulldogs (3-7, 0-0 WAC)
The Bulldogs went 1-1 over the weekend at home. They lost a tough battle to Seattle Friday night 2-1. The Bulldogs lone goal came from Alex Jensen and it was her first goal of the season. The ?Dogs bounced back on Sunday beating Sacramento State, 2-0. Molly Nizzoli and Nicole Gutierrez scored for Fresno State. Ali Sill, Lauren West, and Elora Martinez recorded assists. The Bulldogs head to Oregon with a one game winning streak.
Hawai?i Rainbow Wahine (3-4-3, 0-0 WAC)
Hawai?i finished the week with a 0-1-1 record after a 1-1 tie against Portland State and a 2-1 overtime defeat at the hands of No. 21 Washington. Ambree Ako had the teams’ lone goal against the Huskies with an assist from Mari Punzal. Punzal also notched the go-ahead goal against Portland State with help from an assist from Ako. The Rainbow Wahine are second in the WAC in points (5.8/match) led by forward Ambree Ako who has nine on the season. Hawai?i closes out non-conference play with a match at Cal State Fullerton on Tuesday, Sept. 30.
Idaho Vandals (1-8-1, 0-0 WAC)
The Vandals dropped both their matches this weekend against Eastern Washington and Washington State., despite outshooting their opponents 32-30. Idaho is fourth in the WAC with 14.4 shots per match. UI begins a weekend road trip as it heads to Orem, Utah to take on Utah Valley State and then up to Montana. WAC teams are 1-0-1 against the Grizzlies so far this season.
Louisiana Tech Lady Techsters (8-2-1, 0-0 WAC)
Tech was 2-0-1 on the week. Tech outscored its opponents 9-1 during the three games with the lone goal against being an own goal in the Centenary game. With its win over Mississippi Valley State, Tech set the program record with eight wins in a season. Tech has also set a program record with seven shutouts on the year. Junior Kat McCullough became the program’s all-time leader in assists with eight. Tech outshot its opponent 70-18 during the three games this week. The game-winning goals during the week were by Kat McCullough and Kiva Gresham. Junior goalkeeper Tara Gavlak saw her first action of the year and recorded a shutout in the 1-0 win over Mississippi Valley State.
Nevada Wolf Pack (0-7-2, 0-0 WAC)
The Wolf Pack dropped their seventh game in a 2-1 loss to a tough UC Davis team. Defender Erin Smith scored her second career goal (and second goal of the season) on Sunday in the loss. Smith leads the team in goals with two while Samantha Miller and Cristen Drummond have also scored for Nevada. After recording one shot against UC Davis, Samantha Miller has recorded 121 career shots and is second all-time behind Lauren Kinneman (2003-06) who recorded 124 career shots. Four of Nevada’s losses this season have been one-goal loses. All of Nevada’s goals this season have been scored in the second half. Erin Smith (two goals) and Samantha Miller (one goal and two assists) are tied for the team lead in points with four each. Defender Nikki McEachern and goalkeeper Sarah Hunt have played every minute for the Pack this season (850:00).
San Jose State Spartans (2-5-3, 0-0 WAC)
The Spartans concluded a Mountain West Conference road trip with 1-1 record with a 3-1 win at Air Force and a 3-0 loss at San Diego State. Emmy Belding registered her second game-winner (t-first in the WAC) of the year in Colorado Springs, her third goal overall in the defeat of the Falcons. SJSU finishes up non-conference play with a match at Saint Mary’s on Friday, Oct. 3.
Utah State Aggies (5-6-1, 0-0 WAC)
The Aggies went 1-1 on the road with a win against Wyoming and a loss to Cal Poly. The Aggies traveled 800 miles from California to Wyoming before the 2-1 win against the Cowgirls. This week, the Aggies close out non-conference play with a match against instate rival BYU on Thursday, Oct. 2.