THIS WEEK'S SCHEDULE
November 11 (Thursday) - NCAA College Cup
No. 4 Central Florida vs. Fresno State, 8:00 p.m. PT
WAC NOTES
FRESNO STATE CLAIMS 2010 WAC TOURNAMENT TITLE
The Fresno State women’s soccer team won the 2010 Western Athletic Conference Tournament 3-1 in penalty kicks over No. 1 seed San Jose State Sunday afternoon. The Bulldogs head to the NCAA Tournament for the fourth time in school history. The last time the `Dogs won the conference crown and played in the NCAA tournament was in 2008. Megan Ashjian took the final penalty shot for the Bulldogs to seal the win. In 2006, the tournament title was decided by penalty kicks and Nevada prevailed over Fresno State. The Bulldogs became the first No. 6 seed to ever win the WAC Tournament.
All-Tournament Team
Erica Parks, F, Boise State
Chelsea Robinson, MF, Boise State
Natalie Norris, D, Utah State
Chandra Salmon, MF, Utah State
Meghan Maiwald, GK, San Jose State
Amanda Martin, MF, San Jose State
Jessica Ingram, D, San Jose State
Kendall VanDine, D, Fresno State
Vanessa Gonzalez, MF, Fresno State
Katie Lee, D, Fresno State
Lauren Lindstrom, D, Fresno State
MVP: Katie Lee, D, Fresno State
EIGHT WAC SOCCER PLAYERS RECEIVE ALL-ACADEMIC HONORS
Eight WAC women’s soccer players have been named to the CoSIDA/ESPN the Magazine’s Academic All-District team. Boise State’s Malia Hendrix was named to the District 8 team third team. Fresno State’s Megan Ashjian and Katie Lee were named first-team Academic All-District, while Claudia Cardenas and Kendall VanDine were named third-team. Senior forward Kiva Gresham and junior forward Rachel King of the Louisiana Tech were named to the District 6 Team. Nevada’s Cristen Drummond was named to the District 8 second-team.
2010 ALL-WAC HONORS RELEASED
The 2010 women’s soccer All-WAC teams were announced as selected by the conferences nine head coaches. WAC regular season co-champion, Utah State, led all teams with three players on the conference first team, as well as two on the second team. Idaho sophomore forward Chelsea Small was named the WAC’s Offensive Player of the Year, while Utah State sophomore defender Natalie Norris received Defensive Player of the Year honors. San Jose State’s Kayla Santacruz was named the league’s Freshman of the Year. Idaho’s Pete Showler was named Coach of the Year.
First Team All-WAC
Shantel Flanary, F, Jr., Utah State
Kelsey Lord, F, So., San Jose State
Shannon Saxton, F, Sr., Boise State
Chelsea Small, F, So., Idaho
Jill Flockhart, MF, Sr., Idaho
Cheyenne Jones, MF, Sr., Boise State
Chandra Salmon, MF, Jr., Utah State
Scotti Culton, D, Jr., Louisiana Tech
Jessica Ingram, D, Jr., San Jose State
Natalie Norris, D, So., Utah State
Kaitlyn Revel, GK, Sr., Fresno State
Second Team All-WAC
Kiva Gresham, F, Sr., Louisiana Tech
Lauren Hansen, F, Sr., Utah State
Rachel King, F, Jr., Louisiana Tech
Crystal Burns, MF, So., New Mexico State
Cristen Drummond, MF, Sr., Nevada
Nicole Duff, MF, Sr., Fresno State
Lauren Sanchez, MF, Jr., San Jose State
Malia Hendrix, D, Sr., Boise State
Lauren Layton, D, So., Idaho
Summer Tillotson, D, Jr., Utah State
Liz Boyden, GK, Jr., Idaho
Offensive Player of the Year: Chelsea Small, So., F, Idaho
Defensive Player of the Year: Natalie Norris, So., D, Utah State
Freshman of the Year: Kayla Santacruz, Fr., F, San Jose State
Coach of the Year: Pete Showler, Idaho
SAN JOSE STATE, UTAH STATE, CLAIM SHARE OF WAC REGULAR SEASON TITLE
With a 3-0 shutout over Boise State at home on senior night, San Jose State clinched a share of the 2010 WAC regular season title. It marks SJSU’s second-straight WAC regular season championship. It also marks SJSU head coach Jeff Leightman’s second WAC crown in his three years at the helm of the Spartan program. Utah State tied San Jose State atop the standings with an identical 5-2-1 record after defeating Hawai‘i 4-0 on Sunday. It is Utah State’s second WAC crown after also earning the honor with a perfect 7-0-0 regular-season record in 2008.
WAC TEAM-BY-TEAM NOTES
Boise State Broncos (8-10-3, 4-2-2 WAC)
Boise State went 1-1 at the 2010 WAC Tournament, wrapping up its season with an overall 8-10-3 record ... Erica Parks and Shannon Saxton combined on two goals as Boise State rallied past Louisiana Tech for a 2-1 overtime victory in the quarterfinals of the tournament ... the team then lost 2-0 to No. 1 seed San Jose State semifinals ... Boise State finished its final season in the WAC at 8-10-3 overall and 4-2-2 in league ... Saxton, Cheyenne Jones and Malia Hendrix completed their careers tied for the most victories of any class with 40 ... Saxton leaves as the owner of numerous BSU records including the career marks for most goals with 35, assists with 22 and points with 92.
Fresno State Bulldogs (9-8-5, 2-3-2 WAC)
Fresno State became the first sixth seed in WAC Tournament history to claim the title this past week in Ruston, La. ... the Bulldogs defeated Idaho and Utah State before downing San Jose State 3-1 in penalty kicks to win the championship ... the Bulldogs now head to the NCAA Tournament for the fourth time in school history ... the last time the `Dogs won the conference crown and played in the NCAA tournament was in 2008 ... Katie Lee was named the WAC Tournament MVP for her performance on defensive line ... also named to the WAC All-Tournament team was Gonzalez, Kendall VanDine and Lauren Lindstrom ... Fresno State will face Central Florida in the first round of the NCAA College Cup.
Hawai‘i Rainbow Wahine (3-14-3, 1-5-2 WAC)
Hawai‘i wrapped up regular season play last week, dropping both of its matches on the road ... UH dropped a heartbreaking 2-1 double-overtime loss to Nevada ... Brittani Lum’s successful conversion of a free kick in the 78th minute equalized the match, 1-1, for UH ... it was the second straight week that Lum scored off a free kick ... the Rainbow Wahine concluded the 2010 campaign with a 4-0 loss to Utah State ... the loss put an end to a disappointing season for the Rainbow Wahine, who showed signs of hope during league play, but ultimately tied the 1996 squad for most losses in season ... UH finished eighth and missed the WAC Tournament for the second straight year.
Idaho Vandals (14-7-0, 5-3-0 WAC)
Idaho went 0-1 in its first-ever trip to the WAC Tournament ... the team gave up an early goal and never recovered in a 3-0 loss to Fresno State at its first tournament ... with one of the youngest starting lineups in the nation this season, Showler’s Vandals certainly do appear to have a bright future ... of the team’s 11 regular starters, there are three freshmen, seven sophomores and just one junior, goalkeeper Liz Boyden ... in addition to its wins records, Idaho earned its first coach of the year and player of the year awards in program history this season, and increased its total all-WAC selections from one to five. UI also earned three Player of the Week honors during the 2010 season.
LA Tech Lady Techsters (15-6-0, 5-3-0 WAC)
Playing in its first ever WAC Tournament, the No. 4 seeded Louisiana Tech soccer team lost to No. 5 seed Boise State in front of a record crowd of 765 at Lady Techster Soccer Field to wrap up the team’s season ... despite the heartbreaking loss, the season is still deemed a success for Tech as it accomplished its goal of qualifying for the WAC Tournament for the first time in school history ... the Lady Techsters finished the season with a school record 15-6 and 5-3 in the WAC.
Nevada Wolf Pack (7-9-3, 2-5-1 WAC)
Nevada closed out the season with a victory in the waning seconds against Hawai’i ... Ellie Stott put her second goal of both the game and the season in the net with 53 seconds remaining in the second overtime to earn three points for Nevada ... the win was a fitting end to the career of seven seniors for the Pack, who were honored in a ceremony before the contest began ... the 2010 graduating class had six members who were honored by the WAC in their careers.
New Mexico State Aggies (7-8-3, 1-6-1 WAC)
In the regular season finale, New Mexico State soccer fell to Louisiana Tech, 2-0, on senior night ... following the match the Aggies honored senior midfielders Baili Foutz and Nina Yanes, who played their final contest for the Crimson and White ... the Aggies concluded the 2010 season with a 7-8-3 overall record and 1-6-1 WAC record ... Louisiana Tech posted a 2-0 lead at halftime after goals in the 26th and 43rd minute ... he Aggies recorded a 4-3 advantage in shots on goal but couldn’t capitalize ... the Aggies will have 26 players returning to the squad next season after a successful second year.
San Jose State Spartans (12-7-2, 5-2-1 WAC)
San Jose State women’s soccer lost 3-1 in a penalty shootout against Fresno State after going scoreless through 110 minutes in the championship match of the WAC Soccer Tournament, Nov. 7 ... Fresno State keeps its unbeaten streak alive at eight and improves to 10-8-4, while San Jose State finshes the season at 12-7-2 ... the tie ends a memorable season for the Spartans, who eclipsed numerous school records under the guidance of head coach Jeff Leightman, who in just his third year in charge at SJSU, clinched the program’s only two regular-season conference titles, in back-to-back seasons. San Jose State joined the WAC in 1996.
Utah State Aggies (9-7-5, 5-2-1 WAC)
Second-seeded Utah State soccer fell to sixth-seeded Fresno State, 1-0, in the semifinals of the WAC Tournament in Ruston, La. ... Utah State finishes its season with a 9-7-5 record ... USU is now 2-6 in WAC Tournament matches ... the Aggies are now 0-3 in the WAC Tournament against the Bulldogs ... the Aggies and the Bulldogs met in an epic double overtime match in the finals of the 2008 WAC Tournament in Reno, Nev., when Fresno State edged Utah State, 2-1 ... in 2005, the Bulldogs also beat USU by the same 2-1 margin in the WAC Tournament in quarterfinals in Boise, Idaho.