THIS WEEK'S SCHEDULE
October 30 (Friday)
*Louisiana Tech at Utah State, 3:00 p.m. MT
*Hawai‘i at Boise State, 4:00 p.m. MT
*Fresno State at San Jose State, 5:00 p.m. PT
*Nevada at New Mexico State, 7:00 p.m. MT
November 1 (Sunday)
*Louisiana Tech at Nevada, 1:00 p.m. PT
*Hawai‘i at Idaho, 1:00 p.m. PT
*San Jose State at Boise State, 1:00 p.m. MT
*New Mexico State at Utah State, 1:00 p.m. MT
*WAC match
All times local/subject to change
TEAM-BY-TEAM NOTES
Boise State Broncos (8-6-4, 3-3-0 WAC)
This past weekend the Broncos recorded a key 2-1 WAC road victory at Fresno State in their only match of the week ... Kaylea Perenon and Ashley Walsh recorded the goals for Boise State who played nearly 90-minutes of shutout ball before Fresno State scored with 10 seconds left ... it was Boise State’s first victory over Fresno State in six years and the first over the Bulldogs on the road since 2001 ... the win kept Boise State’s hopes alive of qualifying for the WAC Tournament being played on their home field Nov. 5-8 ... next up, Boise State closes the regular season this weekend with a pair of home games needing to win one to advance to the WAC Tournament.
Fresno State Bulldogs (6-11-0, 4-3-0 WAC)
The Bulldogs split the last home games of the 2009 season beating Idaho, 1-0, and losing to Boise State, 2-1 ... Claudia Cardenas scored her fifth goal of the season against Boise State while Bianca Lopez scored her first career goal against Idaho ... goalkeeper Kaitlyn Revel recorded her fourth shutout of the year and broke the all-time shutout record with her 24th career shutout ... the Bulldogs wrap up the regular season Friday, Oct. 30 at San Jose State.
Hawai‘i Rainbow Wahine (6-10-1, 2-4-0 WAC)
Ambree Ako came up big for the Rainbow Wahine, scoring three of UH’s four goals in the recent homestand to help the team to a 1-1-0 record, including a victory over Utah State … the senior scored UH’s only goal vs. Nevada on Oct. 23 … she then posted two goals, including the game-winner, vs. Utah State (Oct. 25) … Ako is tied for the team-lead with seven goals on the season … Ako was honored as the WAC’s Offensive Player of the Week for her efforts ... Kristyn Shapka helped both offensively and defensively, holding Utah State to one goal while also scoring against the Aggies … this week, Hawai‘i plays at Boise State and at Idaho.
Idaho Vandals (9-9-0, 2-5-0 WAC)
Idaho went 0-2-0 last week with road losses at San Jose State and Fresno State ... the Vandals dropped a 2-1 decision at San Jose State before falling 1-0 at Fresno State ... Chelsea Small scored the lone goal of the week for the Vandals against Fresno State ... Megan Lopez was credited with the assist on the goal ... Idaho has one match remaining on its schedule as it hosts Hawai‘i on Sunday.
LA Tech Lady Techsters (12-5-1, 1-5-0 WAC)
Louisiana Tech notched it’s first-ever win in conference play on Friday with a 2-1 win over New Mexico State in double overtime ... Tech is now 2-1-1 this season in double-overtime games ... it was also their first win since starting the season 11-0-1 ... Tech closes out the regular season on Friday at Utah State and on Sunday at Nevada.
Nevada Wolf Pack (6-11-0, 3-3-0 WAC)
Nevada recorded it’s first-ever win at Hawai`i with a 2-1 win Friday night … Natalie Ratnavira and Jill Erickson have each recorded a team-high four goals … Nevada will face New Mexico State on Friday night and will host LA Tech on Sunday … Nevada has never lost to LA Tech … three of Natalie Ratnavira’s four goals this year have been game-winning goals.
New Mexico State Aggies (9-6-1, 4-1-1 WAC)
The Aggies conclude their inaugural regular season with a pair of WAC matches this week ... NM State hosts Nevada, Friday, Oct. 30, at 7 p.m. at Aggie Memorial Stadium ... the Aggies are honoring seniors Katie Graul and Cristianna Smith at the match ... New Mexico State then travels to Utah State, Sunday, Nov. 1, at 1 p.m. for the regular season finale ... last week, the Aggies suffered its first WAC loss with a 2-1 double overtime decision to Louisiana Tech, Oct. 23 ... freshman midfielder Kassie Martinez recorded her first career goal ... New Mexico State is now 3-3-1 in overtime matches this season.
San Jose State Spartans (10-4-3, 4-0-2 WAC)
San Jose State returns home to face Fresno State on Friday night before concluding the 2009 regular season two days later at Boise State … the first-place Spartans remain on a school-record 13-match unbeaten run, believed to be the third-longest nationally in the NCAA Division I … the Spartans clinched a fifth straight WAC Tournament berth on Friday night … Emmy Belding has a team-leading nine goals in 2009, second-best in the WAC, while fellow senior Roxy Kamal has a team-best 20 points from six goals and a conference-best eight assists … Friday’s 2-1 win over Idaho assured San Jose State of its first winning campaign since 1999.
Utah State State Aggies (8-8-2, 3-2-1 WAC)
Utah State soccer had its unbeaten streak stopped at four matches after a 3-1 loss to Hawai`i on Sunday ... the Aggies tied the scored at 1-1 when sophomore forward Shantel Flanary scored her team-leading eighth goal of the season in the sixth minute ... Utah State concludes the regular season this week, taking on Louisiana Tech on Friday, Oct. 30 and WAC-newcomer New Mexico State on Sunday, Nov. 1 ... against New Mexico State, the Aggies will celebrate senior day and will honor its three seniors, Lindsey Smart, Erin Salmon and Sydne Garner.
WAC NOTES
WAC SOCCER CHAMPIONSHIP TO BE STREAMED LIVE
The Western Athletic Conference, in conjunction with its Web site partner JumpTV Sports, has announced it will stream all of the matches of the 2009 WAC Soccer Tournament. Viewers can sign up by visiting WAC.tv. The soccer tournament will be held in Boise, Idaho, Nov. 5-8, and will feature the top six teams in the WAC. Two first round matches will be played on Thursday, Nov. 5 with the winners moving on to face the top two seeds in the semifinals the next day. The championship will be played at 1:00 p.m. (MT) on Sunday, Nov. 8. All five matches can be seen on WAC.tv by accessing the soccer tournament package for a one-time price of $10.95. More information and how to subscribe to these video streaming events can be found at www.WAC.tv.
HAWAI‘I’S AKO NAMED WAC OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Hawai‘i’s Ambree Ako has been named Verizon Wireless Western Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Week for the week of Oct. 19-25.
Ako, a senior forward from Aiea, O’ahu (‘Aiea HS), scored three of UH’s four goals in a pair of matches against Nevada and Utah State. Ako scored two goals, including the game winner in a 3-1 victory over Utah State. She also recorded UH’s lone goal in a 2-1 setback to Nevada. Ako is now tied for the team lead with seven goals this season.
Other offensive nominees included: Boise State senior midfielder Kaylea Perenon; Fresno State freshman defender Bianca Lopez; Louisiana Tech junior defender Kiva Greshman; Nevada sophomore forward Natalie Ratnavira; and San Jose State senior forward Emmy Belding.
SAN JOSE STATE’S BUTERA NAMED WAC DEFENSIVE PLAYERs OF THE WEEK
San Jose State’s Nina Butera has been named Verizon Wireless Western Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Week for the week of Oct. 19-25.
Butera, a junior goalkeeper from San Jose, Calif. (Presentation HS), allowed one goal over 151:19 (0.60 GAA) with 14 saves on a total of 27 shots faced, as the first-place Spartans continued a school-record 13-match unbeaten run with a pair of wins last week. Butera matched her single-game career high with 12 stops during a 2-1 victory over Idaho. She also made two saves over 61:19 of shutout soccer in a 2-0 non-conference win at Cal State Bakersfield.
Other defensive nominees included: Boise State sophomore goalkeeper Liz Ruiz; Fresno State junior goalkeeper Kaitlyn Revel; Hawai‘i senior midfielder Kristyn Shapka; and Nevada junior goalkeeper Marie Cove.
WEEK 10 HIGHLIGHTS
San Jose State overtook the top spot in the WAC standings last week with a 2-1 victory over Idaho. The Spartans now lead New Mexico State by just one point in the standings. The Spartans also picked up a non-conference victory over Cal State Bakersfield last week. Nevada went 1-0-0 with a victory over Hawai‘i. Louisiana Tech and Boise State also went 1-0-0 last week with wins over New Mexico State and Fresno State, respectively. Hawai‘i and Fresno State each went 1-1-0 as the Rainbow Wahine defeated Utah State and the Bulldogs downed Idaho.
SOCCER FORMAT
The WAC will continue its regular-season play as a single round-robin format for a total of eight conference matches. The points system is as follows: each team will receive three points for a win and one point for a tie. The six teams with the most points at the end of the regular season will advance to the WAC Tournament which is being held Nov. 5-6 and 8 in Boise, Idaho.
2009 NCAA COLLEGE CUP
The 28th Annual Women’s College Cup will be held December 4 and 6, 2009 in College Station, Texas at the Aggie Soccer Stadium. Last season, the WAC had one team compete in postseason play with Fresno State falling in the first round to UCLA. The following is a list of sites and dates for the 2009 NCAA Tournament:
First/Second Rounds (16)
November 13 and 15, 2009
On campus sites TBD
Third Rounds (8)
November 20, 21 or 22, 2009
On campus sites TBD
Quarterfinals (4)
November 27 or 28 or 29, 2009
On campus sites TBD
Women’s College Cup
December 4 and 6, 2009
Host: Texas A&M University
College Station, Texas
Aggie Soccer Stadium