WAC TEAM-BY-TEAM NOTES
Bakersfield Roadrunners (1-8-1, 0-2-1 WAC)
Bakersfield went 0-0-1 last week against WAC competition ... the ‘Runners tied Grand Canyon 1-1 on the road ... Alex Bachman’s goal in the 15th minute at Grand Canyon was the first for Bakersfield since the Sept. 1 match against Sacramento State, a span off 577+ minutes ... senior Erica Shelton came off the field for the first time this season ... Shelton played 67 of the 110 minutes during the 1-1 tie at Grand Canyon ... after a scoreless first overtime, Grand Canyon threatened in the 107th minute when Jessica Fitzgerald took a shot on goal which resulted in a team save for the Roadrunners ... CSUB returns home this weekend for matches against Seattle U and Idaho.
Grand Canyon Antelopes (1-8-1, 0-3-1 WAC)
Grand Canyon opened its home WAC slate with a 1-1 tie against Bakersfield on Friday and a 3-5 loss to Utah Valley on Sunday ... Samantha Bush scored her first two goals of the season, both of which came in the first half versus Utah Valley ... Emily Ravenhill also picked up her first score of 2013, pulling the ‘Lopes within one goal in the second half against the Wolverines ... Grand Canyon will now hit the road for their next two games, playing at Kansas City on Oct. 4 and at New Mexico State on Oct. 6 before returning home for four straight contests.
Idaho Vandals (2-8-0, 2-1-0 WAC)
Idaho split its home weekend series with a 3-2 win over New Mexico State on Friday and a 2-1 overtime loss to UMKC on Sunday ... the Vandals are now 2-1 in conference play ... senior defender Nitalia Zuniga totaled three assists against the Aggies and redshirt freshman Elexis Schlossarek netted the game winner on a laser shot off the crossbar ... Emily Ngan posted her first career goal against NMSU and Breanna Wilson got her first goal of the season ... freshman Alyssa Lloyd found the back of the net for the first time this season against UMKC ... junior Katie Baran leads the team in points this season with six ... Baran and freshman Alyssa Pease lead the Vandals in goals with two apiece ... this week, Idaho travels to play Utah Valley on Friday and Bakersfield on Sunday.
Kansas City Kangaroos (5-6-1, 2-2-0 WAC)
Kansas City went 1-1-0 last week ... the team dropped a 3-0 decision at Seattle U before defeating Idaho 2-1 in overtime ... Taylor Bare, the school’s all-time leader in goals and points, had an outstanding game vs. Idaho, scoring the game-tying and game-winning goals in a 2-1 overtime victory ... Bare leads UMKC in points (11) and goals (5) this season ... Erika Teson played all 190 minutes over the weekend, including every minute of Sunday’s overtime victory over Idaho ... she has been a defensive stalwart for the ‘Roos this season ... Kansas City continues play this week at home against Grand Canyon on Friday.
New Mexico State Aggies (4-7-1, 1-3-0 WAC)
New Mexico State went 0-2 on its first two-game WAC road trip of the year and are still looking for its first WAC road win of 2013 ... the team dropped a 3-2 decision at Idaho on Friday before falling 3-0 at Seattle U on Sunday ... New Mexico State tied season high for corner kicks with five at Seattle ... Layla Todd scored her third goal of the season at Idaho. She leads the Aggies in 2013 and is not tied for second on NM State’s career scoring list with 10 ... the Aggies are 3-3-0 in one-goal games in 2013 ... the team continues play at home against Grand Canyon on Sunday.
Seattle U Redhawks (6-2-2, 3-0-0 WAC)
Seattle U is now on a four game overall winning streak and five game home winning streak after defeating Kansas City 3-0 and New Mexico State 3-0 last week at home ... since allowing Grand Canyon to score in the first half of the match on Sept. 20, the Redhawks have now scored 13 back-to-back unanswered goals ... SU recorded two shutouts over the weekend, increasing their tally to three straight ... Verdoia took a season high eight shots vs. NMSU on Sept. 29 ... Ava Ames took a season high seven shots vs. NMSU on Sept. 29 ... SU recorded their two highest team shot totals of the season thus far, 20 and 27 respectively, this weekend ... the Redhawks travel to play Bakersfield on Friday and at Utah Valley on Sunday.
Utah Valley Wolverines (5-5-0, 3-0-0 WAC)
Utah Valley was victorious in its only match last week, topping Grand Canyon 5-3 Sunday in Phoenix ... five goals mark the largest scoring output for the Wolverines this season ... the last time UVU scored five goals was in a 5-2 victory over Howard in last season’s Great West Conference tournament championship match ... Natalie Baker scored twice against the Antelopes, her fourth career match with multiple goals ... with a goal at GCU, sophomore Kali Stubbs has scored in three consecutive contests ... redshirt freshman Kristen Bailey-Yoo scored her first career goal at GCU ... with Sunday’s win, the Wolverines have now won 10 consecutive conference matches – their last league loss came Oct. 20, 2011 at Delaware State in GWC play ... this week, the Wolverines welcome Idaho to Orem on Friday and Seattle on Sunday ... UVU will play its next four matches at home.
WAC NOTES
WAC SOCCER PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Offensive: Stephanie Verdoia, Jr., F, Seattle U
Verdoia, a junior forward from Salt Lake City, Utah (Brighton HS), scored the game-winning goals in a pair of victories over Kansas City and New Mexico State. She had her first two-assist game of the year in a 3-0 win over Kansas City. In the 3-0 win over NM State, Verdoia recorded her first two-goal game of the season and tallied a season-high eight shots against the Aggies. Over the two games, Verdoia tallied 13 shots, five shots on goal, three goals, three assists, and nine points.
Other offensive nominees included: Grand Canyon senior forward Samantha Bush … Idaho senior defender Nitalia Zuniga … Kansas City senior forward Taylor Bare … Utah Valley senior forward Natalie Baker.
Defensive: Monique Escalera, Sr., D, Seattle U
Escalera, a senior defender from Riverside, Calif. (La Sierra HS), anchored the Seattle U defense to a pair of 3-0 shutout victories over Kansas City and New Mexico State. Escalera led a Redhawk backline that allowed only six shots and one shot on goal over its two matches last week.
Other defensive nominees included: Grand Canyon senior midfielder Cierra Valdez … Kansas City sophomore defender Erika Teson.
SEATTLE U AND UTAH VALLEY SIT ATOP THE WAC STANDINGS WITH PERFECT 3-0 RECORDS
Seattle U picked up a pair of 3-0 shutouts at home over Kansas City and New Mexico State to up its record to a perfect 3-0 with nine points in the WAC standings. Utah Valley defeated Grand Canyon 5-3 in its lone match of the week to also improve to a perfect 3-0 in WAC play to gain nine points in the league standings. Seattle U and Utah Valley will play eachother on Sunday in Orem. Idaho defeated New Mexico State 3-2 to gain its second league victory of the season, giving the Vandals six points to move into a tie for third place in the standings with Kansas City, who defeated Idaho 2-1 in overtime.
SEATTLE U MAKES NSCAA/Continental Tire WEST REGIONAL POLL DEBUT
After picking up a pair of 3-0 shutouts last week to improve its overall record to 6-2-2, Seattle U made its NSCAA/Continental Tire West Region Top-10 Poll debut on Tuesday. The Redhawks have won four straight matches dating back to a Sept. 20 win over Grand Canyon.
2013 WAC TOURNAMENT HEADS TO LAS CRUCES
The 2013 Western Athletic Conference Soccer Tournament will be held at the Soccer Complex on the campus of New Mexico State University in Las Cruces, N.M. Tickets may be purchased by calling the Mew Mexico State ticket office at (575) 646-1420. More information can be found at www.wacsports.com.
2013 NCAA COLLEGE CUP
The 33rd Annual Women’s College Cup will be held Dec. 6 and 8, 2013, in Cary, N.C., at the WakeMed Soccer Park. Last season, the WAC had two teams compete in postseason play with Utah State falling in the first round to BYU and Denver making a run to the Sweet 16. The following is a list of sites and dates for the 2013 NCAA Tournament:
First Round (16)
November 15-17, 2013
On campus sites TBD
Second/Third Rounds (8)
November 22-24, 2013
On campus sites TBD
Quarterfinals (4)
November 29-Dec. 1, 2013
On campus sites TBD
Women’s College Cup
December 6 and 8, 2013
WakeMed Soccer Park - Cary, North Carolina
CHICAGO STATE AND UTPA TO JOIN WAC WOMEN’S SOCCER LEAGUE IN 2014
Chicago State and UTPA have each hired head coaches to manage their respective women’s soccer programs. Tony Tommasi has been named the first women’s soccer head coach in Chicago State University history. Tommasi heads to Chicago State with 12 years of collegiate head coaching experience along with two years as an assistant at NCAA Division I Mississippi State. UTPA announced that Glad Bugariu, who had been the head coach at South Carolina State (SCSU) for the last five seasons, is the first Broncs women’s soccer head coach. Both teams are set to begin thier inaugural seasons of women’s soccer as members of the WAC in 2014.