WHAT’S ON TAP IN THE WAC
This week’s matches are a mirror image of last week with the teams playing the same opponents but at opposite sites. Seattle U leads the West Division with seven points and travels to UNLV and Bakersfield, while East Division leader Houston Baptist hosts Grand Canyon and Air Force.
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
OFFENSIVE – Air Force’s Zachary Modley, a junior forward from Annapolis, Md. (USAFA Prep School), scored two goals and added an assist in two matches as the Falcons posted a 1-0-1 record in their first two games of conference play. On Friday, Modly assisted on the second of two goals in a 2-2 tie against UMKC. On Sunday, he scored twice as the Falcons defeated Houston Baptist, 3-2, for their first victory of the season. Modly scored on a penalty kick in the 12th minute and then added the game-winner in the 76th minute for his team-leading third goal of the season.
DEFENSIVE – San Jose State’s Emmanuel Espinosa, a sophomore goalkeeper from San Jose, Calif. (Evergreen Valley HS), played in just one match for San Jose State last week. He faced 12 Rebel shots, four of which were on frame, turning them all away to earn his second clean sheet of the year and preserve a 1-0 win for the Spartans. It was San Jose State’s first victory of the season.
Others nominated on offense:
Joe Masumiya, Jr., MF, Bakersfield - scored two goals in a 4-3 win over San Jose State and took every corner kick (18) in the two matches during the weekend.
Jose Rodriguez, Fr., F, Grand Canyon - scored a goal in the first half of the 2-1 loss against Kansas City on Saturday.
Kristopher Tyrpak, Sr., F, Houston Baptist - scored both goals in a 2-1 win at Grand Canyon. It was his first multi-goal match since he registered a hat trick as a freshman in 2010.
Jordan Rideout, Jr., F, Kansas City - scored both goals in a 2-1 win at Grand Canyon. The second came on a penalty kick in the 88th minute of the game.
Rory Knibbs, Fr., F, San Jose State - scored a goal in each game last week including the game-winner in a 1-0 victory over UNLV.
Miguel Gonzalez, Sr., F, Seattle U - scored both goals in a 2-2 draw against Bakersfield and assisted on the game-winner against UNLV.
Also nominated on defense:
Caleb Downey, Sr., D, Air Force - helped Air Force to a 1-0-1 weekend. Besides his defense, he had an assist against UMKC and his first goal of the season against Houston Baptist.
Joshua Zehring, Jr., GK, Grand Canyon - had a total of six saves over the weekend including five against Houston Baptist on Friday.
Chris McGaughey, Jr., GK, Kansas City - had nine saves as the ‘Roos went 1-0-1 over the weekend.
Jake Feener, Sr., GK, Seattle U - played in all three games last week and recorded 17 saves for a .773 save percentage. He had eight saves in both of the conference matches for the Redhawks.
GRAND CANYON-AFA MATCH RESCHEDULED
The match between Grand Canyon and Air Force that was postponed earlier this month due to the government shutdown has been reschedule. The makeup date is Tuesday, Nov. 5 at 6:00 p.m. MT and will be played at the Air Force Academy.
NATIONAL STATISTICS
In this week’s national stats report, Seattle U’s Jake Feener continues to lead the nation in total saves (91). The next best in the country is 73 saves by Ohio State’s Alex Ivanov. Feener is second in the nation in saves per game with 7.0. As a team, Seattle U is second in the nation in saves per game (7.08).
MEN’S SOCCER RETURNS TO THE WAC
For the first time since 1999, the WAC is sponsoring men’s soccer. The league is made up of eight teams divided into two divisions and includes both full time members of the WAC and affiliates. The East Division is comprised of Air Force (affiliate), Grand Canyon, Houston Baptist (affiliate) and Kansas City. The West Division consists of Bakersfield, UNLV (affiliate), San Jose State (affiliate) and Seattle U. Six of the eight teams competed together in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) the past few years while Kansas City comes to the WAC from the Summit League and Grand Canyon is transitioning from Division II to Division I. Air Force and UNLV competed in the WAC from 1996-98 while San Jose State participated in men’s soccer from 1996-99.
REGULAR SEASON FORMAT
Regular-season play consists of a double round-robin format within each division and a single round-robin against the other division for a total of 10 matches. The points system is as follows: each team will receive three points for a win and one point for a tie.
2013 WAC TOURNAMENT
The WAC Men’s Soccer Tournament will be held at the Air Force Academy, November 14-15 and 17. Every team except Grand Canyon will participate as the Antelopes are ineligible due to their transition from Division II to Division I. Tickets are currently on sale and can be purchased online by going to the WAC’s website at wacsports.com and clicking on the Championships link.
FUTURE MEMBERS
The WAC will expand its men’s soccer league over the next couple of years with new programs from some of its full-time members. Utah Valley will begin play in 2014 while it is also expected to add Chicago State and Texas-Pan American in 2015.