WAC TEAM-BY-TEAM NOTES
Bakersfield Roadrunners (4-12-1, 3-6-1 WAC)
Bakersfield went 0-1 last week in the team’s lone contest of the week ... Grand Canyon scored in the 57th minute off a direct kick for the lone score of the match, giving the ‘Lopes a 1-0 victory over Bakersfield in the team’s home finale ... Bakersfield appeared to take the lead early in the first half on a corner kick from Erica Shelton when he ball found Taylor Jordan who’s shot hit the crossbar ... he ‘Runners netted the rebound but were called off sides on the exchange nullifying the goal ... the Roadrunners led 5-2 in the shots category heading into the half but Grand Canyon managed to out shoot Bakersfield 7-3 in the second half en route to the win ... Bakersfield plays at Kansas City on Friday before heading to Las Cruces, N.M., for a match with the Aggies on Sunday.
Grand Canyon Antelopes (5-12-1, 4-7-1 WAC)
Grand Canyon concluded its inaugural run through the WAC with a 1-0 win over Bakersfield on Sunday ... it was the third win for the Antelopes in their final five games ... freshman Taylor Layton scored her first game-winning goal on Sunday, assisted by fellow freshman Jessica Valadez ... senior goalkeeper Cat Lena recorded nine saves through her final two games with the Antelopes and finished the season with 77 stops ... Cassie Beckwith led the squad with four goals, followed by Samantha Bush with three ... Jessica Fitzgerald and Chelsea Santos each recorded two assists ... the ‘Lopes finished the season with four shutout victories and eight games decided by just one goal ... the team also participated in seven 1-0 games throughout the season.
Idaho Vandals (4-13-0, 4-6-0 WAC)
Idaho went 1-1 on the road last week ... the Vandals dropped a 2-0 decision at Kansas City before shutting out New Mexico State 1-0 on Sunday ... in the loss at UMKC, senior Chelsie Breen led the Vandals with her two shots, landing one on target ... at New Mexico State, Alyssa Pease scored her third goal of the season, propelling the Vandals to their fourth win of the season on Sunday ... the win marks the 50th career victory for head coach Pete Showler ... freshman Elexis Schlossarek connected with Pease on a long cross-field pass and Pease buried the shot from 15 yards out on the back post ... Schlossarek’s helper was her first of the season, giving her five points on the season ... the Vandals will finish up the season with two matches against the WAC regular season champions, Seattle U ... Idaho travels to play Seattle U on Friday before hosting SU on Sunday.
Kansas City Kangaroos (9-8-1, 6-4-0 WAC)
Kansas City went 1-1 last week ... the Kangaroos defeated Idaho 2-0 before falling 3-0 to Seattle U ... Taylor Bare put the ‘Roos on the board against UI in the 53rd minute off of an Alyssa Elver assist, sticking a shot just inside the right post ... with Kansas City clinging to a one-goal advantage, Emily Herndon found the opposite end of a 40-yard entry into the box from Kaely Tott, and closed the transaction with her fifth goal of the season ... Nina Tzianos kept her net clean for the fifth time this season, breaking her own program record from a season ago ... in what has become nothing short of a record-breaking season for the ‘Roos, UMKC also notched a program record for wins in a season (9) and home wins in a season (5) with the victory over Idaho ... in the loss to Seattle U, Tott and Bare led the ‘Roos with two shots each ... Tzianos had seven saves in the match.
New Mexico State Aggies (4-12-2, 1-8-1 WAC)
The NM State Aggies dropped both its home matches of the weekend beginning with a 2-1 double-overtime loss to WAC-leading Seattle U ... Layla Todd scored the Aggies only goal of the weekend, helping the Aggies tie up the game against the Redhawks late in the second period ... the Aggies then outshot Idaho 18-7 on Sunday afternoon, but eventually fell 1-0 to the Vandals ... seven of the Aggies shots were on goal and five came in the first 45 minutes of play ... NM State concludes the regular season with a pair of home games ... the Aggies welcome Utah Valley on Nov. 1 at 3 p.m. and then wraps up the season on Nov. 3 at 1 p.m. at the NM State Soccer Complex.
Seattle U Redhawks (13-2-2, 10-0-0 WAC)
Seattle U clinched the WAC Regular Season title with the win at Kansas City on Friday ... Julia Besagno recorded her first career two-goal match at UMKC, recording her first two non-PK goals of the season ... the 3-0 shutout at UMKC marked SU’s eighth shutout of the season ... SU also defeated NM State 2-1 in double overtime ... Besagno scored the first goal against the Aggies in the 12th minute ... tied 1-1 in double overtime, Taylor Ritzman scored the game winner in the 106th minute to give SU the victory ... SU extended its winning streak to 11 games during which they’ve allowed just three goals dating back to Sept. 20 ... Seattle U wraps up regular season play with a pair of matches against Idaho this week ... SU hosts Idaho on Friday and then travels to play Idaho on Sunday.
Utah Valley Wolverines (8-8-1, 6-3-1 WAC)
Utah Valley played just one match last week, earning a 3-0 win over Grand Canyon on Senior Night in Orem ... senior forward Natalie Baker scored two goals and assisted on a third to help UVU to the win ... Baker now has five multi-goal games over her three-year career with the Wolverines ... she now has seven goals on the year, good enough for the team lead ... UVU is now 8-2-1 on the season when scoring first ... this week, the Wolverines close out the regular season with a pair of road matches at New Mexico State and Kansas City ... in the season’s first meetings, UVU topped UMKC 2-0 and tied with NM State 2-2 ... Utah Valley has never travelled to either Las Cruces or Kansas City ... in program history, UVU has never played a match in the state of Missouri and has played just once in New Mexico: a 2007 meeting with UNM in Albuquerque.
WAC NOTES
WAC SOCCER PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Offensive: Julia Besagno, Sr., MF, Seattle U
Besagno, a senior midfielder from Maple Valley, Wash. (John F. Kennedy Catholic HS), scored three goals in a pair of wins last week. Besagno scored SU’s first goal in a 2-1 overtime win at New Mexico State. She then scored two goals, including the game winner in a 3-0 victory at Kansas City. Besagno’s performance at Kansas City marked the first two-goal match of her career. Besagno tallied four shots, including three on goal with three goals and six points over the two games.
Other offensive nominees included: Grand Canyon freshman forward Taylor Layton … New Mexico State junior forward Layla Todd … Utah Valley senior forward Natalie Baker.
Defensive: Lauren Sack, Sr., GK, Utah Valley
Sack, a senior goalkeeper from Reno, Nevada (McQueen HS), recorded her 11th career shutout in Utah Valley’s 3-0 win against Grand Canyon. The senior made four saves and faced 13 shots from the ‘Lopes. Sack is now four clean sheets clear of the second spot on UVU’s all-time shutout list.
Other defensive nominees included: Grand Canyon freshman defender Jessica Valadez … New Mexico State senior midfielder Daisy Hernandez … Seattle U senior midfielder Monique Esaclera.
SEATTLE U CLINCHES WAC REGULAR SEASON TITLE AND TOP SEED IN NEXT WEEK’S WAC TOURNAMENT
Seattle U picked up a pair of road wins last week to up its conference record to a perfect 10-0-0 on the season. The 10 wins gives the Redhawks 30 points in the league standings, clinching the Redhawks the regular season title and the No. 1 seed in next week’s WAC Tournament. UVU went 1-0 last week with a 3-0 win over Grand Canyon. The Wolverines hold second place in the standings with a 6-3-1 mark and 19 points. Kansas City sits in third with a 6-4-0 WAC record with 18 points. Grand Canyon wrapped up its season last week and currently sits in fourth place with a 4-7-1 record and 13 points. Idaho is fifth at 4-6-0 and 12 points, while Bakersfield is sixth at 3-6-1 with 10 points. New Mexico State is seventh at 1-8-1. The top four teams at the end of the season will qualify for the WAC Tournament in Las Cruces, Nov. 8 and 10. Grand Canyon is not eligible for the tournament as it is in its transition to Division I.
SEATTLE U MOVES UP A SPOT TO 8TH IN LATEST NSCAA/Continental Tire WEST REGIONAL POLL
After picking up a pair of road wins last week to improve its overall record to 13-2-2, Seattle U moves up a spot to No. 8 in this week’s NSCAA/Continental Tire West Region Top-10 Poll. The Redhawks have won 11 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.