WAC TEAM-BY-TEAM STATS
Bakersfield Roadrunners (4-11-1, 3-5-1 WAC)
Bakersfield went 1-1 last week ... the Roadrunners defeated Idaho 1-0 in Moscow on Friday before falling 2-1 at Seattle U ... Erica Shelton scored her first goal since the season opener when she connected on a free kick in the sixth minute in a 1-0 win at Idaho ... Shelton leads the team with four scores this season ... Tori Ornela recorded her third career shutout in the victory at Idaho ... Hedda Regefalk is now second on the team in scoring after getting her third goal at Seattle U ... the Redhwaks scored the game-winning goal in the 88th minute, breaking the 1-1 tie ... this week, CSUB hosts Grand Canyon on Sunday.
Grand Canyon Antelopes (4-11-1, 3-6-1 WAC)
Grand Canyon split its weekend series in its final homestand of the season ... GCU defeated New Mexico State, 1-0 on Friday before falling to Kansas City by the same score on Sunday ... Cassie Beckwith picked up her team-leading fourth goal of the year, and third game-winner, in the victory over the Aggies ... ‘Lopes keeper Cat Lena recorded 12 saves through the two games as GCU posted its third shutout of the season against New Mexico State ... it was also GCU’s second straight shutout, as the team held Idaho scoreless in its 2-0 win on Oct. 13 ... the ‘Lopes have allowed just one goal to the opposition in their past three matches ... GCU will play the final two games of the 2013 season this week as the team travels to play Utah Valley and Bakersfield.
Idaho Vandals (3-12-0, 3-5-0 WAC)
Idaho went 0-2 last week at Wicks Field ... the Vandals dropped a 1-0 decision to Bakersfield before falling 3-2 in overtime to Utah Valley ... despite holding an 18-16 shots advantage, including a 9-6 shots on goal edge, Idaho could not recover from Bakersfield’s early goal in the sixth minute, which proved to be the game winner ... Katie Baran led the Vandals with five shots, including three on goal in the loss to CSUB ... Idaho came back to tie the score twice against Utah Valley but gave up a goal in the 95th minute in overtime to take a 3-2 setback on Sunday at Wicks Field ... Idaho heads out on the road this week with matches at Kansas City on Friday and at New Mexico State on Sunday.
Kansas City Kangaroos (8-7-1, 5-3-0 WAC)
Kansas City went 1-0 last week with a 1-0 shutout victory at Grand Canyon ... Nina Tzianos notched her fourth shutout of the season – and second in as many games – to lead Kansas City to win over Grand Canyon in the ‘Roos’ final WAC road match of the regular season ... Tzianos did not face a shot on goal until the second half, at which point the ‘Lopes put four attempts on target ... Tzianos was up to the task each time, cementing the victory for UMKC ... Tzianos earned WAC Defensive Player of the Week honors for her effort ... Kansas City scored its game-winning goal in the ninth minute off the foot of Alyssa Elver, her fourth score of the season ... it was assisted by Emily Herndon ... this week, UMKC hosts Idaho on Friday and Seattle U on Sunday.
New Mexico State Aggies (4-10-2, 1-6-1 WAC)
New Mexico State dropped its lone match of the week 0-1 at Grand Canyon on Friday ... the loss is the second straight to the ‘Lopes, but first time being shut out since Sept. 29 against Seattle U ... NM State had seven shots on the game, while GCU managed 13 ... six of the Aggies shots were on goal, and just three came in the final 45 minutes of play ... Cassie Beckwith scored the only goal of the game, giving the Lopes the win over the Aggies ... it came off an assist from a free kick ... the Aggies return home to the NM State Soccer Complex on Friday, Oct. 25 to take on Seattle U for the second time this season ... the Aggies then host Idaho on Sunday, Oct. 27.
Seattle U Redhawks (11-2-2, 8-0-0 WAC)
Seattle U extended its overall winning streak to nine games and its home winning streak to seven games ... the team now heads to New Mexico State and Kansas City next weekend behind a three-game road winning streak ... Seattle U remains on top of the WAC with a perfect league record ... Heather Thomas scored her first goal of the season, the game-winner against Bakersfield on Oct. 20 ... Stephanie Verdoia recorded her third two-goal game of the season versus Utah Valley ... Verdoia is tied for 22nd in NCAA DI goals and goals per game, tied for 13th in total points and ranks seventh in points per game ... Brianna Smallidge has allowed just one goal in the past month since Sept. 20.
Utah Valley Wolverines (7-8-1, 5-3-1 WAC)
Utah Valley went 1-1-0 last weekend, falling at Seattle U 3-0 on Friday before coming away with a 3-2 OT win at Idaho on Sunday ... senior Haley Curtis supplied the golden goal in the 95th minute to lift the Wolverines over the Vandals, her sixth goal of the year ... true freshman Taylor Kirk also had a big game Sunday, scoring UVU’s second goal and assisting on Curtis’ game-winner ... this week, Utah Valley has just one match on the schedule: a Friday meeting with Grand Canyon ... the Wolverines topped the Antelopes 5-3 in the season’s first meeting in Phoenix ... Friday marks UVU’s final home match of the 2013 season and Senior Night festivities will precede the contest ... seniors Natalie Baker (F), Curtis (F), Lexi Dunn (D), and Lauren Sack (GK) will be honored prior to the match.
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 two goals, including the game winner in a 3-0 win over Utah Valley. Verdoia also assisted the game-winning goal in a 2-1 victory against Bakersfield. Verdoia’s two goals against UVU marks her third two-goal match of the season. She has now scored a goal or recorded an assist in 11 of SU’s 15 matches this season. Through her two matches last week, Verdoia tallied six shots, four shots on goal, two goals, one assist and five points.
Other offensive nominees included: Grand Canyon sophomore forward Cassie Beckwith … Utah Valley freshman forward Taylor Kirk.
Defensive: Nina Tzianos, So., GK, Kansas City
Tzianos, a sophomore goalkeeper from St. Louis, Mo. (Lingbergh HS), recorded her fourth shutout of the season and second in as many games to lead UMKC past Grand Canyon 1-0. Tzianos faced 11 shots and registered four saves in her eighth win of the season in goal.
Other defensive nominees included: Grand Canyon senior goalkeeper Cat Lena … Seattle U senior midfielder Julia Besagno.
SEATTLE U CONTINUES TO TAKE HOLD OF FIRST PLACE IN THE WAC STANDINGS WITH PERFECT 8-0-0 RECORD
Seattle U picked up a pair of wins last week at home last week to up its conference record to a perfect 8-0-0 on the season. The eight wins gives the Redhawks 24 points in the league standings, giving the team a eight-point lead on second place Utah Valley (16). UVU went 1-1 last week with a 3-0 loss at Seattle U and a 3-2 overtime win over Idaho in Moscow. Kansas City sits in third with a 5-3-0 WAC record with 15 points. Bakersfield and Grand Canyon are tied for fourth place sits with 10 points each. Idaho sits in sixth place with nine points and a 3-5-0 league mark, while New Mexico State is in seventh place with four points and a 1-6-1 WAC record. The top four teams at the end of the season will qualify for the WAC Tournament in Las Cruces, Nov. 8 and 10.
SEATTLE U RANKS 9TH IN LATEST NSCAA/CONTINENTAL TIRE WEST REGIONAL POLL
After picking up a pair of home wins last week to improve its overall record to 11-2-2, Seattle U checks in a No. 9 in this week’s NSCAA/Continental Tire West Region Top-10 Poll. The Redhawks have won nine 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.