THIS WEEK'S SCHEDULE
August 20 (Friday)
Boise State at Oregon, 7 p.m.
Fresno State at Pepperdine, 3 p.m.
#Pacific at Hawai‘i, 7 p.m.
Idaho at UC Irvine, 7 p.m.
Louisiana Tech at Stephen F. Austin, 7 p.m.
Nevada at Saint Mary’s, 4 p.m.
UTEP at New Mexico State, 7 p.m.
San Jose State at San Francisco, 4 p.m.
^Utah State vs. Weber State, 7:30 p.m.
August 22 (Sunday)
Boise State at Portland State, 11 a.m.
#Wagner at Hawai‘i, 5 p.m.
Louisiana Tech at Lamar, 2 p.m.
Montana at New Mexico State, 6 p.m.
San Jose State at Santa Clara, 1 p.m.
Utah Valley at Utah State, 1 p.m.
WAC TEAM-BY-TEAM NOTES
Boise State Broncos (0-0, 0-0 WAC)
Boise State is the defending WAC Tournament champions from 2009 ... the Broncos are coming off their best season in program history after recording a 13-7-4 overall mark, a 5-3 conference record to place tied for third, thier first-ever WAC Tournament tile, and first-ever appearance in the NCAA Tournament ... Boise State returns eight starters and 15 letterwinners from the 2009 championship campaign. Joining the group are two returning redshirts and 11 newcomers ... among the returning starters are the team’s top-two scorers in sophomore forward Erica Parks (9 goals, 2 assists) and senior forward Shannon Saxton (6 goals, 3 assists).
Fresno State Bulldogs (0-0, 0-0 WAC)
Fresno State played in its fifth-consecutive WAC Tournament last season ... goalkeeper Kaitlyn Revel and the Bulldog defense recorded four shutouts last year. Revel is the all-time shutout leader with 24 ... the ‘Dogs have won two WAC Tournament titles and a WAC regular season championship in the last four seasons ... Claudia Cardenas returns as the top offensive player with five goals and 10 points during her junior year ... Fresno State finished the 2009 season 6-13-0.
Hawai‘i Rainbow Wahine (0-0, 0-0 WAC)
UH returns 17 players and six starters from last year’s squad that went 7-11-1 and finished seventh in the WAC with a 3-5 mark ... among the returnees are senior midfielder Mari Punzal, a two-time all-WAC pick ,and senior defender Chelsea Deptula, also an all-WAC player ... the Rainbow Wahine lost six starters from last year, including Ambree Ako, a three-time all-conference selection, and former WAC Offensive Player of the Year, and all-WAC honoree Britta Bourne, the team’s leading scorer (10 goals, 3 assists) in 2009 ... UH looks to bounce back from a 2009 campaign in which the team registered a losing mark for just the second time in the last nine years.
Idaho Vandals (0-0, 0-0 WAC)
Sophomore Chelsea Small was the 2009 WAC Freshman of the Year, as well as a first-team all-WAC selection. Both are firsts for the Idaho women’s soccer program ... Idaho’s eight-win turnaround in 2009 was the second-best improvement in the NCAA last season ... the 2009 team set a school record with 334 shot attempts and allowed the second-fewest shots (251) in Idaho history ... six different players registered a goal for Idaho in 2009 and seven different players were credited with an assist. Three different players had multi-goal games.
Louisiana Tech Lady Techsters (0-0, 0-0 WAC)
One year after being named by the NCAA as the most improved squad in the nation, the 2009 Lady Techsters set a school record in wins by going 12-7-1 ... the Lady Techsters started the 2009 season 11-0, shattering the previous school record for best start to a season (3-0) ... with a 2-1 double overtime win over New Mexico State last season, LA Tech recorded its first conference victory in school history ... in 2009, Tech broke single-season records in goals (54), assists (45) and points (153). They also broke team single-game records in goals (12), assists (12) and points (36). Along with the six team records, 13 individual records were also set.
Nevada Wolf Pack (0-0, 0-0 WAC)
Nevada returns 18 letterwinners and eight starters from its 2009 team that finished 10-12 overall and 5-3 in WAC play ... the 2009 team recorded the most WAC wins in program history (5) and also reached the final of the WAC Tournament for only the second time in program history ... Nevada returns its top scorer from 2009 in junior forward Natalie Ratnavira. She ended 2009 with five goals and 12 points ... the Pack returns all of its WAC all-tournament honorees (junior forward Natalie Ratnavira, junior midfielder Annabelle Allen and senior goalkeeper Marie Cove.) and both of its all-WAC honorees (second team honorees Allen and Ratnavira).
New Mexico State Aggies (0-0, 0-0 WAC)
After finishing fifth in the conference last year, the Aggies earned a berth in the WAC Tournament and posted a 9-9-1 record thier its inaugural season ... Freshman forward Crystal Burns wrote her name in the Aggie history books with the first-ever goal scored in school history against Idaho State on Aug. 23 ... NM State earned its first win in program history at Colorado State-Pueblo, 2-1 on Sept. 4 ... The Aggies’ first home victory was a 3-0 decision over Texas-Permian Basin, Sept. 16 at Aggie Memorial Stadium in the team’s first shutout ... In its WAC debut, NM State won its first WAC conference match with a 1-0 decision over Boise State in overtime on Oct. 2.
San Jose State Spartans (0-0, 0-0 WAC)
The Spartans return 11 letterwinners from the 2009 team that finished 11-6-3 and won the regular season WAC title with a 5-1-1 conference mark ... head coach Jeff Leightman returns for his third season at San Jose State after being named the 2009 WAC Coach of the Year ... junior Jessica Ingram returns to anchor the Spartan defense. The 2009 WAC Defensive Player of the Year led a defense that allowed just 19 goals, a school record for the fewest goals allowed in a season ... sophomore Kelsey Lord is the top returning goal scorer from last season as she had six goals, including three game winners, last season. Lord added three assists for the Spartans.
Utah State State Aggies (0-0, 0-0 WAC)
Utah State returns eight starters and 13 letterwinners from last season’s squad that posted a 10-9-2 record. It was the fourth-straight season that the Aggies won at least 10 matches ... with a 5-2-1 Western Athletic Conference record, USU finished second behind WAC champion San Jose State ... USU earned the second seed in the WAC Tournament and lost to eventual winner Boise State in the semifinals ... three USU soccer players were named all-WAC as voted on by the league’s nine coaches. Forward Shantel Flanary, defender Lindsey Smart and midfielder Chandra Salmon earned honors for the Aggies.
WAC NOTES
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. 4-5 and 7, in Ruston, La.
TIE-BREAKING PROCEDURE
To determine championship seeding in the event of ties between two teams or ties among multiple teams, the following criteria are applied:
In the event of a two-way tie:
1. Head-to-head competition
2. Compare the teams’ records to that of the next highest finishing team (if tie for first). If tie is for position other than first, comparison will begin at the top of the standings.
3. In the unlikely event that teams are still tied, the conference conducts a draw.
For a three or more-way tie:
1. Head-to-head competition among the teams involved in the tie. The team(s) with the best record against the other teams receives the higher seed or advances to the next tie-breaker.
2. Same procedures as above.
TOP STAT LEADERS FROM ‘09 RETURN FOR ‘10 SEASON
Following are the returning stat leaders in the WAC for 2010. Ten of the 15 WAC-only statistical leaders return this season. Idaho’s Chelsea Small returns after leading the WAC in league-only games in both shots (43) and shots per game (5.38) last season. Utah State’s Shantel Flanary returns for her junior season after leading the WAC in four categories during WAC play last season, including points (11), points per game (1.38), goals (5) and goals per game (0.62). Liz Ruiz returns to Boise State this season after leading the league in goals against average (0.50), save percentage (.920) and shutouts per game (0.50).
RETURNING ALL-WAC PLAYERS
The WAC returns 14 all-conference players for the 2010 season. Boise State and Fresno State lead the way with three returning all-WAC members. Returning to Boise State this year are first team all-WAC honoree Lindsay Roberts and second teamers Shannon Saxton and Brandy Hickox. Fresno State returns three second team all-WAC honrees in Molly Nizzoli, Kendall VanDine and Vanessa Gonzales. Utah State returns two all-WAC honorees from last season, including last year’s WAC Offensive Player of the Year, Shantel Flanary, and first teamer Chandra Salmon. San Jose State welcomes back all-WAC first teamer and WAC Defensive Player of the Year Jessica Ingram. Idaho welcomes back 2009 WAC Freshman of the Year Chelsea Small to the team, while Hawai‘i returns first team all-WAC midfiedler Mari Punzal. New Mexico State returns one all-WAC honoree from 2009 in midfielder Jazmin Cardoso.
NCAA STAT LEADERS RETURNING
One player who ranked in the top-50 individually in the nation in a statistical category returns to the pitch this season. Louisiana Tech’s Rachel King returns for her junior season after leading the WAC and ranking 43rd nationally in points per game (1.44) and goals per game (0.667).
2010 NCAA OPPONENTS
Excluding last year’s WAC representitive Boise State, WAC teams will play in 12 matches against teams that played in the NCAA Tournament last year. Six of the matches will played at WAC home sites. Utah State plays four games against non-conference opponents that competed in the NCAA Tournament last year.
Washington State at Idaho, Aug. 20
San Jose State at Santa Clara, Aug. 22
Arkansas-Pine Bluff at Louisiana Tech, Sept. 3
Hawai‘i at California, Sept. 5
Northern Arizona at New Mexico State, Sept. 5
Utah State at San Diego State, Sept. 5
San Jose State at San Diego State, Sept. 10
Washington State at Hawai‘i, Sept. 17
Louisiana Tech at Murray State, Sept. 17
Hawai‘i at Stanford, Sept. 23
UC Santa Barbara at Fresno State, Sept. 24
BYU at Utah State, Sept. 25
COLLEGE CUP
The 29th Annual Women’s College Cup will be held Dec. 3 and 5, 2010, in Cary, N.C., at the WakeMed Soccer Park. Last season, the WAC had one team compete in postseason play with Boise State falling in the first round to UCLA. The following is a list of sites and dates for the 2010 NCAA Tournament:
First/Second Rounds (16)
November 12 and 14, 2010
On campus sites TBD
Third Rounds (8)
November 19, 20 or 21, 2010
On campus sites TBD
Quarterfinals (4)
November 26, 27, or 28, 2010
On campus sites TBD
Women’s College Cup
December 3 and 5, 2010
Host: N.C. State University
Cary, N.C.
WakeMed Soccer Park
2010 PERSONEL CAPSULE
Seven of the nine teams in the WAC return at least eight starters for the 2010 season. Fresno State leads the way as it returns all 11 starters from last season.