THIS WEEK IN WAC SOCCER
WEEK SIX RECAP
Fresno State defeated regionally-ranked Cal Poly 3-2 on the road in overtime and tied with Pepperdine, the No. 8 team in the nation. This was the second-straight weekend Fresno has gone undefeated. Louisiana Tech picked up two wins, defeating Prairie View 4-0 and Southeastern Louisiana 2-1. Nevada, New Mexico State and Idaho picked up wins last weekend, and Utah State tied Boise State 1-1.
UTAH STATE REMAINS REGIONALLY-RANKED
Utah State remained in the NSCAA/Adidas West Regional rankings, coming in at No. 10. Following a 1-0 road loss to Brigham Young, the No. 8 team in the West, the Aggies bounced back to tie Boise State 1-1.
WAC LEAGUE PLAY BEGINS
WAC league matches begin this week, with five games scheduled. On Friday, Idaho visits Fresno State and Hawai'i hosts Utah State. Sunday will see three WAC games; New Mexico State at Louisiana Tech, Idaho at San Jose State, and Nevada at Hawai'i.
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 nine matches this season. Keeper Caitlin Updyke has been credited with seven of the clean sheets, equaling her career high in only 13 matches on the season. Unfortunately for the Lady Techsters, in three of Updyke's shutouts this season, LTU has also failed to score a goal.
The Lady Techsters aren't the only WAC team to bore scoreboard operators, as New Mexico State has six shutouts, Fresno State has five shutouts, and Utah State has four.
TEAM RECAPS
Fresno State Bulldogs (5-3-3, 0-0-0 WAC)
Fresno State went 1-0-1 last weekend ... the Bulldogs defeated regionally-ranked Cal Poly (3-2) on the road Friday night and tied No. 8 Pepperdine (1-1) on Sunday ... sophomore defender Lauren Lindstrom scored the game-winning goal vs. Cal Poly six minutes into overtime ... vs. Pepperdine, the Bulldogs conceded a goal early before holding the Waves scoreless for the final 108 minutes ... sophomore defender Kayla Kret scored the equalizer, heading home a goal in the 18th minute ... Kret and Lindstrom were named WAC Players of the Week for their efforts, giving Fresno State five POW honors on the season ... this week, the Bulldogs kickoff league play on Friday when they host Idaho ... on Sunday, Fresno State travels to CSU Bakersfield for an out-of-conference tilt.
Hawai'i Rainbow Wahine (1-8-0, 0-0-0 WAC)
Hawai'i had no regular season games last week ... the Rainbow Wahine were in action on Sunday, for the annual alumnae game ... the current incarnation of the Rainbow Wahine defeated the alumnae 4-1 ... freshman forward Tiana Fujimoto scored two goals in the second half, as the Rainbow Wahine rallied from a 1-0 halftime deficit ... junior midfielder Amber Fuller and Skye Shimabukuro added insurance goals ... freshman midfielder Krystal Pascua assisted on both of Fujimoto's goals ... senior midfielder Rachel Domingo assisted on Fuller's strike ... this week, the Rainbow Wahine kick off WAC play with two home matches, hosting regionally-ranked Utah State on Friday and Nevada on Sunday.
Idaho Vandals (4-6-2, 0-0-0 WAC)
Idaho wrapped up its most challenging week of the season with a win on Sunday - the team's fourth match in seven days ... the Vandals fell at Gonzaga by a 3-0 margin on Friday and 5-0 at BYU on Tuesday ... the team broke its three-match skid with a 1-0 victory over Eastern Washington at Guy Wicks Field ... on Sunday, junior Chelsea Small attempted a career-high, and WAC-season-high, 13 shots and the team had season-highs of 11 shots on goal and 10 corner kicks ... with her assist on Sunday, Small became just the second player in Idaho program history with double-figure career goals (27) and assists (10) ... Flockhart's game-winner was the fifth of her career, the third-most in Idaho history ... this week, the Vandals travel to Fresno State on Friday and San Jose State on Sunday to kick off WAC play ... Idaho has won its previous two WAC openers.
Louisiana Tech Lady Techsters (7-2-4, 0-0-0 WAC)
Louisiana Tech went 2-0 on the weekend ... the Lady Techsters defeated Prairie View 4-0 on Friday and Southeastern Louisiana 2-1 on Sunday .. LTU's shutout against Prairie View was the ninth of the season, second most in school history (10 in 2008) ... the four goals against the Panthers marked the first time in eight games where LTU scored multiple goals ... Tech secured back-to-back wins for the first time this season ... senior defender Scotti Culton is now tied for the most assists in school history, with 20, after two assists against Southeastern Louisiana... sophomore goalkeeper Caitlin Updyke picked up her 20th career victory Sunday against the Lions ... Tech's 28 shots Sunday against SLU were the second most this season, and the 19 shots on goal at Prairie View A&M were the most this season ... this week, LTU hosts New Mexico State to begin WAC play.
Nevada Wolf Pack (2-9-0, 0-0-0 WAC)
Nevada went 1-1 last weekend ... the Wolf Pack defeated Sacramento State 2-1 in overtime on Friday before falling 1-0 to UC Davis on Sunday ... sophomore forwards Kori Disarufino scored the game-winning overtime goal to beat Sacramento State ... her tally came on a loose ball as she out hustled the Hornets to it and deposited it in the back of the net ... junior defender Laruen Braman played a full 90 minutes in both games this weekend, leading Nevada to a 1-1 record and continuing to be a solid presence in the Nevada defense ... Braman has now started 52 consecutive matches, which includes every one she could have started at Nevada in the last two and a half seasons ... this week, Nevada has its final non-conference match on Thursday, playing at Santa Clara ... the Wolf Pack then begin conference play with a trip to Hawai'i on Sunday.
New Mexico State Aggies (7-4-1, 0-0-0 WAC)
New Mexico State went 1-1 on the weekend ... the Aggies defeated Embry-Riddle 7-0 on Friday, before falling to rival New Mexico 4-0 on Sunday ... the seven goals vs. Embry-Riddle were a season-high ... freshman forward/midfielder Katie Smith and freshman forward Layla Todd both scored two goals each for the Aggies ... the two goals for Todd were the first two of her career ... junior forward Yolanda McMillion scored her third goal of the season, while freshman midfielder Bree Luhrsen recorded her second goal of the year ... senior forward Cassandra Branch also scored her first career goal ... defensively, the Aggies held Embry-Riddle to five shots and tallied the team's sixth shutout of the year ... this week, the Aggies begin WAC play with a match at Louisiana Tech on Sunday.
San Jose State Spartans (1-9-0, 0-0-0 WAC)
San Jose State went 0-2 on the weekend ... San Jose State has shut out its opponent in the first half in three straight games and five of 10 this season ... San Jose State has been shut out four times in 10 games this season ... this marks the most that SJSU has been shut out in its first 10 games since 2008 (6), and the most times the Spartans been shut out in an entire season since 2009 (5) ... SJSU has been outshot seven times this season, tied in shots twice and outshot Cal Poly on Sept. 2 ... the Spartans have had five of 10 games this season decided by one goal, and eight games decided by two goals or less ... this week, the Spartans host Idaho on Sunday, to begin WAC play.
Utah State Aggies (8-3-1, 0-0-0 WAC)
Utah State went 0-1-1 last week, with a loss to BYU (1-0) and a tie against Boise State (1-1) ... freshman midfielder Lexie Morgan scored her first collegiate goal vs. Boise State ... she had three shots in the two matches, with one on goal ... Morgan's goal vs. Boise State ended a three-game goalless drought for Utah State ... senior forward Shantel Flanary leads the WAC in goals scored (8) and points (17) ... sophomore forward Kendra Pemberton is second in the WAC with five assists on the season ... the lone goal scored by Boise State came as a result of a deflected cross ... nine of Utah State's matches this season have been decided by one goal or less ... Utah State began the season 7-0 in one-goal games, but the Aggies are 0-2-1 in one-goal games since ... this week, the Aggies make the long trip from the mainland to face Hawai'i in the first conference game of the season for either team.