WAC TEAM-BY-TEAM NOTES
Denver Pioneers (12-1-4, 4-0-2 WAC)
Denver went a pefect 2-0-0 last week with wins over UTSA and Texas State at home ... the Pioneers will wrap-up the regular season this weekend, traveling to Idaho on Friday for a 4 p.m. MT kickoff, before taking on Seattle U on Sunday at 1 p.m. MT ... sophomore midfielder Anna Willis had a career-high three assists in Friday’s match against UTSA ... Willis is the eighth Pioneer to have three or more assists in a match in program history ... this weekend’s results stretched the Pioneers’ unbeaten streak to 16 matches ... Denver has outscored opponents 36-12 this season, including 19-5 in the opening 45 minutes ... senior forward Kaitlin Bast is in fifth in DU history in career points with 93 and tied for fifth in goals with 36 ... junior forward Kristen Hamilton moved into sixth in points and goals with 91 and 35, respectively.
Idaho Vandals (5-12-1, 2-3-1 WAC)
Idaho won its only match of the weekend on Sunday when the Vandals scored twice in the first 12 minutes and held on for a 2-1 win at Louisiana Tech … the win ended LA Tech’s 11-match unbeaten streak and handed the Lady Techsters their first home loss of the season … Idaho also improved to 5-0-3 all-time against LA Tech … LA Tech’s goal in the 83rd minute ended a six-year, 642-minute shutout streak for Idaho against LA Tech … Senior Chelsea Small earned her 16th career game-winner in the contest and improved to seventh all-time in WAC history with her 38th career goal. She now needs just four more points to crack the WAC’s top 10 in career points.
Louisiana Tech Lady Techsters (12-2-4, 3-1-2 WAC)
Louisiana Tech went 0-1-1 last week ... the team tied Seattle U 0-0 in double-overtime before falling to Idaho 2-1 on Saturday ... Brittany Beddow scored the lone goal of the week for the Lady Techsters in the match against Idaho ... Beddow also led the team with 11 shots, six of which were on goal over the two matches ... Beddow’s goal was unassisted ... Corina Brown led LA Tech in the box over the two matches, compiling eight saves and one shutout ... this week, LA Tech wraps up regular season play on the road at San Jose State on Friday and at Utah State on Sunday.
New Mexico State Aggies (2-12-3, 0-5-1 WAC)
In the final home match of the 2012 season, the New Mexico State soccer team fell to UTSA, 2-1, in WAC play ... freshman midfielder/forward Miranda Valdez scored her first career goal in the second half ... NM State had scoring opportunities in the first half with each team taking eight shots ... the Aggies ended the game with a season-high 15 shots, and Valdez posted a game-high four shots ... the Aggies returned to WAC play but fell at Texas State, 3-0 ... the Bobcats scored quickly and had a 1-0 lead in the first minute of the first half ... Texas State added two goals in the 59th and 87th minute of action. The Aggie offense tallied eight shots in the game but failed to convert ... this week, NMSU closes out regular season play at Seattle U on Friday and at Idaho on Sunday.
San Jose State Spartans (5-11-1, 2-5-0 WAC)
San Jose State went 1-1-0 last week ... the team dropped a 1-0 decision at Utah State before stepping out of conference play to defeat Sacramento State 2-1 ... Alyssa Montejo scored the first goal against Sacramento State, while Kelsey Lord recorded the game-winning goal against the Hornets ... Montejo assisted the game-winner ... Catherine Ruder, Megan Molina and Michelle Haughey were also credited with assists against the Hornets ... Lord led the team with six shots over the two matches, three of which were on goal ... Zoe Makrigiannis led the team in the box, tallying 12 saves ... Emily Pryor also got some time in the box, recording two saves in 45 minutes of play ... this week, San Jose State will wrap up regular season play at home against Louisiana Tech on Friday.
Seattle U Redhawks (7-7-2, 2-2-2 WAC)
Seattle U played Louisiana Tech to a 0-0 tie in Ruston in the team’s lone match of the week ... the Lady Techsters had several chances to score early in the first half, but great defense by the Redhawks kept the ball out of the net ... at the half, the score was still tied, 0-0, with shots nearly even, 3-2 in favor of LA Tech ... in the 65th minute, Louisiana Tech had their best chance to score, on a free kick by Brittany Beddow, followed by a second shot four second later, but the Seattle U defense blocked the ball and kept the match scoreless ... the Redhawks had another chance to score in the 90th minute, as Melissa Busque took a shot that hit the post, but the score remained 0-0 at the end of regulation ... Brianna Smallidge made three saves in 110 minutes of play ... SU now returns home to close out the regular season as the team hosts New Mexico State and Denver.
UTSA Roadrunners (3-11-2, 2-3-2 WAC)
UTSA went 1-1-0 last week ... the team dropped a 4-2 decision at Denver before defeating New Mexico State 2-1 in Las Cruces ... UTSA scored four goals on the weekend, which was its best offensive output for a pair of weekend games this season ... junior Maria Jose Rojas doubled her season total with a pair of goals last weekend, including the game-winner against New Mexico State on Sunday ... the Roadrunners will close out the regular season and look to secure a bid to the WAC Tournament on Sunday when it hosts I-35 rival Texas State at 1 p.m.
Texas State Bobcats (6-11-1, 3-4-0 WAC)
Texas State earned its fourth shutout of the year, Friday night against New Mexico State ... the Bobcats scored three goals against New Mexico State, marking the fifth time this year the team has scored multiple goals in a game ... against No. 23 Denver, the Bobcats became the third WAC team in six tries to limit Denver to one or fewer goals ... it was just the second time the Pioneers have been held to one or fewer all year at home ... Texas State won on its Senior Day for the second straight year.
Utah State Aggies (10-2-6, 5-0-2 WAC)
Utah State went 1-0-0 last week ... the team defeated San Jose State 1-0 ... senior goalkeeper Ashlyn Mulford kept San Jose State off the board in the Aggies 1-0 win over San Jose State ... Mulford recorded three saves in 90 minutes to record her sixth complete shutout and USU’s eighth of the season ... she kept an aggressive Spartan squad from finding the back of the net. SJSU had seven first-half shots ... the win helped Utah State remain in first place in the WAC with one match remaining ... the win was the 100th for head coach Heather Cairns in 10 seasons at Utah State ... junior midfielder Jennifer Flynn scored the matches’ only goal leading Utah State to a 1-0 win over San Jose State ... USU closes out regular season play at home against LA Tech on Sunday.
WAC NOTES
WAC SOCCER PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Offensive: Kaitlin Bast, Sr., F, Denver
Bast turned in a five-point performance in the Pioneers’ final home stand of the regular season. Bast assisted striking-partner Kristen Hamilton’s opening goal on Friday night, before responding quickly to a UTSA goal with her 78th-minute strike to give DU a two-goal lead. To complete the weekend, Bast scored the game-winner on Senior Day Sunday against Texas State, heading in the Pioneers lone goal of the match. The Pioneer senior remains in fifth in DU history in points with 93 on 36 goals and 21 assists.
Other offensive nominees included: Idaho senior forward Chelsea Small … New Mexico State freshman forward/midfielder Miranda Valdez … UTSA junior forward Maria Jose Rojas … Texas State senior forward Serena Hines … Utah State junior midfielder Jennifer Flynn.
Defensive: Alissa Scott, Sr., D, Texas State
Scott anchored the Texas State backline that allowed just one goal in 180 minutes of action this past week. Scott helped the team to its fourth shutout of the season, a 3-0 win over New Mexico State. Against Denver, Scott cleared out numerous scoring opportunities by the Pioneers in limiting Denver to just one goal. Denver averaged over 2.00 goals per game entering the contest.
Other defensive nominees included: Idaho senior defender/midfielder Christine Leathem … New Mexico State senior defender Courtney Irwin.
Goalkeeper: Ashlyn Mulford, Sr., GK, Utah State
Mulford kept San Jose State off the board in the Aggies 1-0 win over San Jose State last week. In the Aggies only match of the week, Mulford recorded three saves in 90 minutes to record her sixth complete shutout and USU’s eighth of the season. She kept an aggressive Spartan squad from finding the back of the net. SJSU had seven first-half shots. The win helped Utah State remain in first place in the WAC with one match remaining on the Aggies schedule.
Other goalkeeper nominees included: Idaho senior Liz Boyden … Texas State junior Natalie Gardini
FIGHT TO THE FINISH
Utah State and Denver continue to fight for the top spot in the WAC as DU went 2-0-0 and USU went 1-0-0 last week. Utah State sits atop the league standings with 17 points with one game remaining. Denver has 14 points with two matches left. The regular season championship will be decided this weekend. LA Tech is also in the hunt for a share of the regular season title this week. Idaho kept its tournament hopes alive after taking a 2-1 win at LA Tech this past week in the team’s lone match of the week. Six of the WAC’s nine teams will advance to next week’s WAC Tournament. The six teams that make the tournament will be decided this weekend.
DENVER RANKED 23rd-NATIONALLY THIS WEEK, UTAH STATE ENTERS REGIONAL POLL
For the fifth-straight week, Denver has earned a spot in the Soccer America women’s top-25 poll The Pioneers are ranked No. 23 this week, up one spot from last week. The Pioneers are sandwiched between Boston College at No. 22 and Notre Dame at No. 24. The Pioneers are also receiving votes in both the NSCAA poll and the Soccer Times top-25 poll. In the NSCAA West Regional Poll, Denver is ranked sixth and Utah State is ranked 10th.
2012 WAC TOURNAMENT
The 2012 Western Athletic Conference Soccer Tournament will be held at the Chuck and Gloria Bell Soccer Field on the campus of Utah State University in Logan, Utah Nov. 1-2 and 4. Tickets may be purchased by calling the Utah State ticket office at (435) 797-0305.
2012 NCAA COLLEGE CUP
The 32nd Annual Women’s College Cup will be held Nov. 30 and Dec. 2, 2012, in San Diego, Calif., at the University of San Diego Torero Stadium. Last season, the WAC had one team compete in postseason play with Utah State falling in the fi rst round to Auburn.