THIS WEEK IN WAC SOCCER
WEEK SEVEN RECAP
WAC play kicked off, with five conference matches over the weekend. The home teams held serve, winning all five contests, four of which were decided by one goal. Hawai'i began conference play with two wins, defeating Utah State 2-1 in double overtime Friday night and handling Nevada 5-0 on Sunday. Fresno State picked up two more victories, extending its unbeaten streak to six games. The Bulldogs defeated Idaho 1-0 and out-of-conference foe CSU Bakersfield 3-1. San Jose State edged Idaho 2-1. Louisiana Tech topped New Mexico State 1-0 on Sunday, the only match of the week for either team.
FRESNO STATE REGIONALLY-RANKED
Fresno State jumped into the NSCAA/Adidas West Regional rankings, coming in at No. 10. The Bulldogs currently are on a six-game unbeaten streak after defeating Idaho and CSU Bakersfield.
Fresno moved into the spot formerly held by Utah State. The Aggies had been ranked for five weeks before dropping out.
CLEAN SHEETS
Scoring on the Louisiana Tech women's soccer team has been next to impossible this season, as the Lady Techsters have shut out opponents in 10 matches this season. Keeper Caitlin Updyke has been credited with eight of the clean sheets, exceeding her career high in only 14 matches on the season. Updyke was named WAC Defensive Player of the Week from Sept. 25-Oct. 2, on the strength of her 1-0 shutout of New Mexico State.
The Lady Techsters aren't the only WAC team to bore scoreboard operators, as New Mexico State and Fresno State have six shutouts, and Utah State has four.
STREAKY
Fresno State is in the midst of a six-game unbeaten streak, the third different WAC team to have an unbeaten streak of at least six games. The Bulldgos haven't lost a match since they fell on the road to No. 4 UCLA. The streak features four wins and a tie against Pepperdine, the No. 1 team in the West Region. New Mexico State reeled off a seven-game streak earlier this season, and Utah State had an eight-game streak to start the season.
HOME COOKING
All five WAC teams that hosted conference games last weekend won, continuing a trend from out-of-conference play. Every WAC team except for Nevada is at least .500 on home soil, and several teams have been dominant.
Utah State (5-0-0), Louisiana Tech (4-0-1) and Fresno State (3-0-1) are unbeaten at home (4-0-1), while New Mexico State (5-1-0) has just one home blemish on the year.
Utah State, which began the season with an eight-game winning streak, has four losses and a tie in its last five game, all of which have taken place on the road. Utah State will go 27 days between home matches, before finally hosting New Mexico State on Friday in Logan, where the Aggies are a perfect 5-0 on the season.
TEAM RECAPS
Fresno State Bulldogs (7-3-3, 2-0-0 WAC)
Fresno State extend its unbeaten streak to six-games after a 1-0 victory over Idaho on Friday and a 3-1 defeat of CSU Bakersfield on Sunday ... junior forward Callie Hancock had her first collegiate hat trick in the 3-1 win over CSU Bakersfield. ... for the week, she shot .833 on goal and now leads the team with seven goals and 17 points ... the 17 points also place Hancock in a tie for first place in the WAC ... sophomore defender Tara Boynton scored the game winning goal against Idaho in WAC opener ... the shutout vs. Idaho was the Bulldogs sixth of the season ... this week, Fresno State has just one match, going on the road to face San Jose State on Saturday night.
Hawai'i Rainbow Wahine (3-8-0, 2-0-0 WAC)
Hawai'i charged out of the gate in WAC play with two victories ... the Rainbow Wahine defeated Utah State 2-1 in double overtime on Friday night and then dropped Nevada 5-0 on Sunday ... senior defender Brittani Lum scored two goals, both game-winning, as UH started WAC play 2-0 for the first time since 2007... Lum scored the golden goal off a corner kick in the 105th minute vs. Utah State ... she also scored the opening goal on a free kick in UH's 5-0 win over Nevada, UH's most decisive WAC win in four years .... junior goalkeeper Kanani Taaca recorded her first clean sheet of the year and the team's first shutout of the year, while posting three saves in a 5-0 win over Nevada ... this week, Hawai'i travels to Idaho on Friday and to Seattle on Sunday.
Idaho Vandals (4-8-2, 0-2-0 WAC)
Idaho dropped two close WAC matches on the weekend, falling 1-0 at Fresno State and 2-1 at San Jose State ... junior goalkeeper Caroline Towles made 17 saves in the two matches, giving up just three goals ... she is first in the WAC in saves per game, averaging 6.5 per contest ... junior forward Chelsea Small scored in the 64th minute of the loss to San Jose State ... it was her seventh goal of the season gave the Vandals the lead, but San Jose State equalized less than a minute later ... Small leads the WAC in shots per game, is second in goals and third in points ... in the two matches, the Vandals fired 29 shots, but just 12 ended up on goal ... this week, the Vandals have just one match, facing off against WAC leading Hawai'i on Friday afternoon.
Louisiana Tech Lady Techsters (8-2-4, 1-0-0 WAC)
Louisiana Tech won its only game of the weekend, opening conference play with a 1-0 victory over New Mexico State ... the victory marked the first win in a conference opener in program history ... the shutout of New Mexico State was Tech's 10 of the season, tied for the most in a season (2008)... it was Tech's third win over the Aggies, the most against a WAC opponent... the Lady Techsters, keyed by sophomore goalkeeper Caitin Updyke, shut out NMS for the second straight year ... Updyke notched her 21st career win and 15th career shutout ... she also recorded her eighth shutout of the season, breaking her own record for most shutouts in a season in program history... she lowered GAA to 0.37 on the season and has a save percentage of 0.900 for the year ... she was named Defensive POW for the second time this season ... this week, LTU travels to Nevada on Friday and Utah State on Saturday.
Nevada Wolf Pack (2-11-0, 0-2-0 WAC)
Nevada went 0-2 last week, losing 3-0 to Santa Clara on Thursday and 5-0 to Hawai'i on Sunday ... senior defender Annabelle Allen moved into fourth all-time in games started in school history ... sophomore forward Kori Disarufino currently leads Nevada in goals (2) shots (24) and game-winners (2) ... two of the goals given up vs. Hawai'i were own goals ... the Wolf Pack attempted only seven shots against Hawai'i with just three on goal ... junior goalkeeper Dana Moreno came in at halftime of the Santa Clara match and gave up no goals while making six saves ... this week, the Wolf Pack have two WAC contests ... on Friday, Nevada hosts Louisiana Tech ... on Sunday, the Wolf Pack travel to New Mexico State.
New Mexico State Aggies(7-5-1, 0-1-0 WAC)
New Mexico State dropped its only game of the weekend, falling in the WAC opener 1-0 to Louisiana Tech ... the Aggies outshot Louisiana Tech 11-9 and 4-3 on shots on goal, but couldn't convert, despite a 7-1 advantage in shots in the second half ... freshman midfielder/forward Katie Smith led NM State with a game-high three shots ... this was the first loss of the season for the Aggies when outshooting an opponent ... it was the fifth one goal match of the season ... the Aggies have only allowed five goals in the first half this season ... this week, New Mexico State has two more WAC games ... the Aggies travel to Utah State on Friday for an afternoon tilt ... on Sunday, the Aggies return home to face Nevada.
San Jose State Spartans (2-9-0, 1-0-0 WAC)
San Jose State went 1-0 last weekend, opening up WAC play with a 2-1 victory over Idaho ... the Spartans have shut out their opponent in the first half for four straight games and six total times this season ... SJSU has now won its WAC opener for three straight years ... all three wins were by one goal ('09 - 1-0 at Hawaii; '10 - 2-1 (OT) at Fresno State) ... Sunday's win vs. Idaho was the first game in 2011 that the Spartans had more shots on goal (9-5), more corner kicks (3-2) and outshot (19-17) its opponent all in the same game ... San Jose State is playing three home games in seven days Oct. 2-8, including its first two WAC games of the season ... this week, Dominican (Calif.) will meet the Spartans in a non-conference tilt on Tuesday ... Fresno State comes to Spartan Stadium on Saturday. Utah State Aggies
Utah State Aggies (8-4-1, 0-1-0 WAC)
Utah State dropped its WAC opener at Hawai'i in double overtime, 2-1 ... freshman midfielder Lexie Morgan scored her second goal in as many matches as Utah State fell to Hawai'i ... Morgan scored the Aggies' only goal in the second half, which was the equalizer until the Rainbow Wahine scored the golden goal in double overtime ... Morgan now has two goals and one assist this season, for five points ... the loss dropped Utah State to 5-2 in WAC openers ... USU is now 5-3 against Hawai'i overall, having lost in its last two trips to the islands ... Utah State concludes its five-match road trip with a 0-4-1 record ... The Aggies' WAC home-opener is Friday, Oct. 7 at 3 p.m. against New Mexico State ... Utah State will then face Louisiana Tech on Sunday, Oct. 9 at 1 p.m.