THIS WEEK'S SCHEDULE
October 9 (Friday)
*Nevada at Idaho, 3:00 p.m. PT
*Utah State at Boise State, 4:00 p.m. MT
*New Mexico State at Fresno State, 7:00 p.m. PT
*Louisiana Tech at San Jose State, 7:30 p.m. PT
October 11 (Sunday)
*Nevada at Boise State, 12:00 p.m. MT
*New Mexico State at San Jose State, 1:00 p.m. PT
*Utah State at Idaho, 1:00 p.m. PT
*Louisiana Tech at Fresno State, 2:00 p.m. PT
*WAC match
All times local/subject to change
WAC TEAM-BY-TEAM NOTES
Boise State Broncos (6-4-4, 1-1-0 WAC)
Boise State earned a split on the road to open WAC play losing a 1-0 heartbreaker in overtime at New Mexico State on Friday then rebounded in a torrential down pour to defeat Louisiana Tech 1-0 in Ruston ... the La Tech game was delayed one hour and was forced to change venues because of heavy rain that covered the soccer field in standing water ... next up for the Broncos are a pair of home conference games this weekend versus the defending league champion Utah State Aggies on Friday followed by a Sunday afternoon encounter with the Nevada Wolf Pack. Last weekend freshman Erica Parks scored the game-winner versus La Tech in the 25th minute.
Fresno State Bulldogs (3-8-0, 1-0-0 WAC)
The Bulldogs opened WAC play with a win on the road against Hawai’i, 1-0 ... it is the first time since 2005 that Fresno State has beat Hawai’i on the road ... Laura Dodd scored the game-winning goal ... freshman Callie Hancock led the team with five shots ... the Bulldog defense led by Chrissy Smith recorded their third shutout of the year. It is the first career shutout for Smith ... the ‘Dogs improved to 3-8 on the season and are 1-0 in conference play ... this week, Fresno State hosts New Mexico State on Friday and Louisiana Tech on Sunday.
Hawai‘i Rainbow Wahine (4-8-1, 0-2-0 WAC)
Hawai‘i went 0-2-0 last week at home to open conference play ... the Rainbow Wahine dropped matches to San Jose State and Fresno State, both by a score of 1-0 ... Britta Bourne led the Rainbow Wahine with 12 shots, while Kristyn Shapka, Brittani Lum and Ambree Ako each tallied four shots ... Hawai‘i will now have a week off (besides hosting its annual alumni match) to prepare for the following week when the team travels to both Louisiana Tech and New Mexico State.
Idaho Vandals (8-5-0, 1-1-0 WAC)
With its 1-0 win over Louisiana Tech on Friday, Idaho won a conference opener for the first time in school history … Idaho’s 8-5 record marks the best in school history through 13 games ... the former best start was 7-6 in 2000 … before Sunday’s 3-2 loss, Idaho had allowed one or fewer goals in 11 straight games ... this week, Idaho will host Nevada on Friday and Utah State on Sunday.
LA Tech Lady Techsters (11-2-1, 0-2-0 WAC)
Tech dropped its first game of the season on Friday in a 1-0 double overtime loss to Idaho ... the winning goal came in the last 16 seconds of the second overtime ... Tech was shutout again on Sunday against Boise State 1-0 ... it’s the first time since Oct. 28, 2007 that the Techsters have been held scoreless in back-to-back losses ... Tech is 0-24-6 all time in WAC play ... the Lady Techsters will play at San Jose State on Friday before facing Fresno State on Sunday.
Nevada Wolf Pack (4-8-0, 1-0-0 WAC)
Cristen Drummond made saw her first action since the season opener at Cal after battling back from a knee injury … Nevada has won both its WAC openers under second-year head coach Jaime Frias ... the Pack’s win over Utah State gave Nevada its most overall wins under Frias (4) … the 1-0 shutout was the Pack’s third shutout of the year … Nevada’s win over Utah State marked the first time this year for Nevada that the Pack took fewer shots and than an opponent (14-4) but won the game ... this week, Nevada travels to play Idaho on Friday and Boise State on Sunday.
New Mexico State Aggies (7-5-0, 2-0-0 WAC)
The NM State soccer team improved to 2-0 in WAC play with a 1-0 victory over Boise State and a 3-2 win over Idaho ... NM State won its first-ever WAC match with a 1-0 decision over Boise State in overtime on Friday ... only two minutes into overtime, freshman midfielder Lauren Cope scored in a scramble to give the Aggies their first conference victory ... the lone goal of the match was Cope’s first career score ... the Aggies had a strong second half effort with three goals against Idaho ... this week, New Mexico State travels to play Fresno State and San Jose State.
San Jose State Spartans (6-4-1, 1-0-0 WAC)
San Jose State heads back into Western Athletic Conference play this week, hosting Louisiana Tech in its WAC home opener on Friday, October 9 … the Spartans remain on a school-record seven-match unbeaten run … Nina Butera’s scoreless streak in the Spartan goal was finally snapped at 446:18 … San Jose State’s team scoreless stretch ended at a school-record 491:18 … at 6-4-1, the Spartans are at .500 or above at the 11-game point for just the fifth time in their 15-year history … Emmy Belding scored her team-leading fifth goal of 2009 at Sacramento State … fellow senior Roxy Kamal has provided a team-best 12 points on four goals and four assists.
Utah State State Aggies (5-7-1, 0-1-0 WAC)
Utah State went 0-2-0 last week with a loss to Idaho State before a conference-opening setback on the road at Nevada ... offensively, Lauren Hansen led the Aggie attack with a team-high seven shots over the two games ... Shantel Flanary added five, while Heather Pond had four ... defensively, Molli Merrill tallied six saves in goal for the Aggies ... this week, Utah State will look to rebound with matches at Boise State and Idaho.
WAC NOTES
NEW MEXICO STATE'S COPE NAMED WAC OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
New Mexico State’s Lauren Cope has been named Western Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Week for the week of Sept. 28 – Oct. 4.
Cope, a freshman midfielder from La Mirada, Calif. (La Mirada HS), scored two goals to help New Mexico State to a pair of conference wins over Boise State and Idaho. Against Boise State, Cope gave NM State a 1-0 decision in overtime with her first career goal. She also scored against Idaho to tie the match at 2-2, eventually leading to NM State’s 3-2 victory. Overall, Cope had two goals and four points on three shots on goal. Additionally, she posted a .600 shots on goal percentage.
Other offensive nominees included: Boise State freshman forward Erica Parks; Fresno State sophomore midfielder Laura Dodd; Idaho junior forward Jenn Hull; Nevada sophomore midfielder Natalie Ratnavira; and San Jose State sophomore midfielder Shanelle Furner.
BOISE STATE’S RUIZ AND FRESNO STATE'S SMITH NAMED WAC Co-DEFENSIVE PLAYERs OF THE WEEK
Boise State’s Liz Ruiz and Fresno State’s Chrissy Smith have been named the WAC’s Co-Defensive Players of the Week for the week of Sept. 28 – Oct. 4.
Ruiz, a sophomore goalkeeper from Boise, Idaho (Capital HS), registered a shutout in a 1-0 road win at Louisiana Tech. After Boise State took an early lead in the 25th minute, Ruiz made six key saves in the second half to preserve the victory. Overall, Ruiz recorded seven saves in 90 minutes to record her second shutout of the season.
Smith, a junior goalkeeper from Fresno, Calif. (Clovis West HS), recorded her first collegiate shutout in just her second start of the year to help the Bulldogs to a 1-0 victory at Hawai‘i. Smith also tallied six saves in the shutout, helping Fresno State to its first road win since 2005.
Other defensive nominees included: Nevada junior goalkeeper Marie Cove; New Mexico State senior goalkeeper Katie Graul; and San Jose State junior goalkeeper Nina Butera.
WEEK SEVEN HIGHLIGHTS
After the first week of conference play, New Mexico State found itself atop the WAC standings with six points after a pair of home wins over Boise State and Idaho. Five other teams (SJSU, NEV, FS, UI, BSU) each picked up one win, while Louisiana Tech and Hawai‘i each dropped a pair.
WAC TOURNAMENT INFO
Boise State University and the city of Boise will host the 2009 WAC Soccer Tournament, November 5-6 and 8.
First Round - Thursday, November 5
No. 3 vs. No. 6, 12:30 p.m.
No. 4 vs. No. 5, 3:00 p.m.
Semifinals - Friday, November 6
Winner 3/6 vs. No. 1, 12:30 p.m.
Winner 4/5 vs. No. 2, 3:00 p.m.
Championship - Sunday, November 8
Championship Match, 1:00 p.m.
For tickets, contact the Boise State
Athletics Ticket Office at
(208) 426-4737
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.