Schedule: Week #11
October 28 (Friday)
*San Jose State at Utah State, 3:00 p.m. MT
*Hawai'i at New Mexico State, 4:00 p.m. MT
*Fresno State at Nevada, 7:00 p.m. PT
October 29 (Saturday)
Idaho at Boise State, 12:00 p.m. MT
October 30 (Sunday)
*Hawai'i at Louisiana Tech, 1:00 p.m. CT
*Fresno State at Utah State, 1:00 p.m. MT
*San Jose State at Nevada, 2:00 p.m. PT
*Conference matchup
Schedule: Week #10
October 21 (Friday)
*Fresno State def. Louisiana Tech, 2-0
*Utah State def. Idaho, 3-0
*San Jose State def. New Mexico State, 2-1 (2OT)
October 23 (Sunday)
*San Jose State def. Louisiana Tech, 2-0
*Idaho def. Nevada, 2-1
*New Mexico State ties Fresno State, 2-2 (2OT)
*Conference matchup
Home team underlined
WEEK TEN RECAP
Utah State claimed the top spot in the conference race following a 3-0 victory over Idaho. The Aggies are two points clear of the four teams tied for second; Fresno State, Hawai'i, Idaho and San Jose State. SJSU made the largest jump in the conference, picking up six points over the weekend. The Spartans defeated New Mexico State 2-1, scoring with just one second remaining in double overtime, and dropped Louisiana Tech 2-0.
Fresno State picked up four points, defeating Louisiana Tech 2-0 and settling for a 2-2 draw with New Mexico State. Idaho rebounded from the loss to Utah State to defeat Nevada 2-1, qualifying for the WAC Tournament in the process.
TIEBREAKERS
With so many teams grouped near the top and bottom of the standings, it is likely that tiebreakers could come into play to determine the final the WAC champion, tournament seedings, or which team qualify for the WAC Tournament.
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.
CROWDED CHASE FOR THE 'SHIP
While Utah State is the only team in the championship chase to control its own destiny in the race for the conference crown, the Aggies are just two points clear of four teams, and host two of the second-place contingency this weekend, San Jose State on Friday and Fresno State on Sunday. With two wins, the Aggies will claim the No. 1 seed heading into the WAC Tournament.
Of the four teams tied for second, only Idaho cannot claim the top spot, as the Vandals closed out the regular season last weekend.
CLAIMING THE LAST SPOT
While the race for the top spot presents plenty of drama, the bottom three teams in the conference have much to play for this week as well. New Mexico State currently hold the sixth, and final, spot in the WAC Tournament, but are only two points clear of Louisiana Tech and Nevada.
Here is the breakdown of how each team may qualify for the WAC Tournament:
NMSU (5 points): Host Hawai'i in its final match of the season on Firday night. Hold tiebreaker over NEV.
The Aggies qualify if;
-NMSU wins and Nevada loses or ties one of its remaining two matches.
-NMSU ties, and LT loses or ties, and NEV loses once.
-NMSU loses, LT loses or ties, and NEV loses or ties both matches.
NEV (3 points): Host Fresno State on Friday and San Jose State on Sunday. Hold tiebreaker over LTU.
Nevada qualifies if;
-NEV wins final two matches.
-NEV wins one match and ties one match and NMSU ties or loses.
-NEV wins one match and loses one match, and NMSU loses.
LTU (3 points): Host Hawai'i on Sunday. Hold tiebreaker over NMSU.
LTU qualifies if;
-LTU wins, NMST loses or ties, Nevada loses or ties both matches.
Three-way tie: If NMSU ties, Nevada wins one match and loses one match, and LTU wins.
Since each team holds a 1-1 record against the others, the tiebreaker would move on to a comparison of records against a WAC opponent, starting at the top of the standings and moving down.
UTAH STATE, FRESNO STATE REGIONALLY-RANKED
Utah State remained in the NSCAA/Adidas West Regional rankings, moving to No. 7, up one spot from last week. Utah State has been regionally ranked for eight of 10 weeks this season.
Fresno State reclaimed a spot in the rankings claiming the No. 10 position. The Bulldogs have been ranked as high as seventh in the West this season.
NCAA Rankings Regional Women West Division I 8th Poll
October 25, 2011
1 Pepperdine 13-0-4
2 Santa Clara 11-1-5
3 UC Irvine 12-3-2
4 San Diego 9-7-0
5 BYU 9-4-3
6 Long Beach State 11-5-1
7 Utah State 12-4-1
8 UC Davis 11-4-1
9 Cal Poly 9-8-1
10 Fresno State 9-4-4
HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE
WAC teams have been dominant at home this season, as the hosts have gone 15-4-3 in conference matches.
For the regular season, every WAC team, except for Nevada, is at least .500 on home soil. Several teams have been especially dominant, as Utah State (7-0-0) and Fresno State (5-0-2) are unbeaten at home, while New Mexico State (6-1-1) and Louisiana Tech (4-1-1) have just one home blemish on the year.
WAC TEAM RECAPS
Fresno State Bulldogs (9-4-4, 3-1-1 WAC)
Fresno State defeated Louisiana Tech 2-0 on Friday and tied New Mexico State 2-2 on Sunday ... the four points moved the Bulldogs into a four-way tie for fourth in the WAC ... FS finished the season undefeated at home, going 5-0-2 ... junior forward Callie Hancock scored three of the Bulldogs' four goals on the weekend, earning WAC Offensive Player of the Week honors ... Hancock leads the WAC, and is tied for 33rd in the nation, in goals scored with 11 on the season ... the Bulldogs lead the WAC in points, goals, goals per game, assist and assists per game ... this week, FS plays at Nevada on Friday and at conference-leader Utah State on Sunday ... with two wins, the Bulldogs will claim at least a share of the WAC regular-season crown.
Hawai'i Rainbow Wahine (4-10-1, 3-1-1 WAC)
Hawai'i was off last weekend ... the Rainbow Wahine fell out of first place during the bye, as Utah State moved into first ... still, Hawai'i is in a four-way tie for second place and clinched a return to the WAC Tournament after failing to qualify the past two seasons ... this week, UH plays at New Mexico State on Friday and at Louisiana Tech on Sunday ... if UH wins its final two matches, and Utah State loses or ties one of its matches, the Rainbow Wahine will be guaranteed at least a share of the WAC regular-season title ... UH holds the head-to-head tiebreaker over two of the three teams vying for the top spot in the WAC, having defeated Utah State and Fresno State this season ... UH tied the other squad in contention, San Jose State.
Idaho Vandals (7-9-3, 3-3-1 WAC)
Idaho finished up its WAC regular season with a 3-0 loss to conference-leader Utah State on Friday and a 2-1 victory over Nevada on Sunday ... the victory on Sunday clinched a spot in the WAC Tournament ... the Vandals can finish no lower than fifth in the conference on the season, and could potentially finish in a four-way tie for second ... with its 3-3-1 WAC record this year, Idaho has finished .500 or better in conference play in consecutive seasons for the first time in program history ... Idaho has used four different goalkeepers this season because of injury, including emergency keeper Morgan Porter, a freshman forward who stepped in to start Friday's match ... this week, the Vandals travel to face in-state rival Boise State on Saturday.
Louisiana Tech Lady Techsters (8-7-4, 1-4-0 WAC)
Louisiana Tech suffered a pair of 2-0 defeats, falling at Fresno State on Friday and San Jose State on Sunday ... sophomore goaltender Caitlin Updyke's 11 saves against Fresno State set a career and season-high... the 11 saves was her second career double-digit save game... she is one of only three goalies in school history to record a game of double-digit saves... Updyke's 72 saves is the fourth most in a season in program history and she needs five more saves to become Tech's all-time leader ... this week, LTU hosts Hawai'i in its final regular-season match of the year ... due to the Lady Techsters holding the tiebreaker over New Mexico State, if LTU wins, and NMSU ties or loses vs. Hawai'i, and Nevada loses or ties both of its matches, then LTU would advance to the WAC Tournament as the sixth seed.
Nevada Wolf Pack (3-14-0, 1-4-0 WAC)
Nevada lost its only match of the weekend, falling 2-1 at Idaho ... sophomore defender Danielle Green scored her first goal of the season in the loss to Idaho ... senior defender Annabelle Allen tied the career mark for starts at Nevada with 77 ... this week, the Wolf Pack host Fresno State on Friday and San Jose State on Sunday ... Nevada needs to win both matches to guarantee that it will play in the WAC Tournament as the sixth seed ... if Nevada wins one match and ties one match, and NMSU ties or loses vs. Hawai'i, the Wolf Pack claim the last tournament spot ... if Nevada wins one match and loses one match, and NMSU loses, the Wolf Pack advance ... the Wolf Pack hold the tiebreaker vs. LTU, but lost to current sixth-seed New Mexico State.
New Mexico State Aggies (8-7-3, 1-3-2 WAC)
New Mexico State lost to San Jose State 2-1 in double overtime on Friday and tied Fresno State 2-2 on Sunday ... the Aggies have now played four-straight overtime games, going 1-1-2 ... sophomore goalkeeper Erin Wosick grabbed a season-high nine saves vs. FS, including two game-saving stops in the final minutes of the second overtime ... the Aggies missed a point against San Jose State by one second, as the Spartans converted a penlty at 109:59 of double overtime for the win ... the road point vs. the FS was vital to the Aggies WAC Tournament hopes, as it gave NMSU a two-point edge on Nevada and Louisiana Tech for the final spot ... NMSU holds the tiebreaker over Nevada but lost to Louisiana Tech... this week, NMSU hosts Hawai'i on Friday, the Aggies' final match of the regular season.
San Jose State Spartans (3-10-1, 1-1-1 WAC)
San Jose State grabbed two victories over the weekend, defeating New Mexico State 2-1 in double overtime on Friday and Louisiana Tech 2-0 on Sunday ... the match against the Aggies came down to the final second, as junior forward Kelsey Lord converted a penalty with one second remaining in double overtime for the win ... Lord had two game-winning goals on the weekend and also set the SJSU career record for assists after delivering her 18th helper vs. NMSU ... senior goalkeeper Meghan Maiwald made 13 saves and ended the week with a scoreless streak of 137:30, including a solo shutout of Louisiana Tech Sunday ... she was named WAC Defensive Player of the Week ... this week, the Spartans travel to Nevada on Friday and Utah State on Sunday ... if SJSU wins out, it will clinch at least a share of the WAC regular-season crown.
Utah State Aggies (12-4-1, 3-1-0 WAC)
Utah State defeated Idaho 3-0 on Friday, moving into first place in the WAC with the victory ... the Aggies are one victory away from equaling the school record of 13 wins in a season, which was set in 2008 ... with two assists against Idaho, senior forward Shantel Flanary tied the Utah State record for career assists with 15 ... she also added two points to her career point total and now has 81 career points as an Aggie, which is just three behind Lauren Hansen, who scored 84 points from 2007-2010 ... senior goalkeeper Molli Merrill notched her third shutout in WAC play and seventh this season ... the Aggies can clinch the regular-season crown with two victories this week ... USU hosts Fresno State on Friday and San Jose State on Sunday ... both teams enter the weekend just two points behind Utah State in the championship race.