WHAT’S ON TAP IN THE WAC
The 2013 WAC Men’s Soccer Tournament begins on Thursday with regular-season champion Seattle U earning the top seed and a bye into Friday’s semifinals. The winner of the tournament earns the WAC’s automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament the following week.
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
OFFENSIVE – Bakersfield’s Eduardo Calzada, a sophomore from South Los Angeles, Calif. (Roosevelt HS), had two goals and two assists in Bakersfield’s 4-3 win over UNLV to help the Roadrunners clinch the number two seed in this week’s WAC Tournament. After trailing 2-0, Calzada had an assist to get Bakersfield on the board. He then scored the next two goals to give the ‘Runners a 3-2 lead before assisting on the game-winner in the 82nd minute. The six points are the most by a WAC player this season.
DEFENSIVE – Seattle U’s Jake Feener, a senior goalkeeper from Rocklin, Calif. (Jesuit HS) recorded his fourth shutout of the season in a 1-0 victory against San Jose State, helping the Redhawks to an undefeated record in conference play (7-0-3). Feener made five saves in the match and remains the national leader in saves with 132. Seattle U enters this week’s WAC Tournament as the top seed and will receive a bye into Friday’s semifinals.
Others nominated on offense:
Cameron Duley, Fr., MF, Air Force - had a goal and an assist as the Falcons rallied for a 3-2 victory over Grand Canyon on Nov. 5. Duley had four shots, including two on goal, in the game then added a team-high three shots on Friday in AFA’s 1-0 loss to Grand Canyon in Phoenix.
Kyle Ciliento, Sr., F, Grand Canyon - scored both of GCU’s goals in its 3-2 loss at Air Force on Nov. 5. The two scores made him the career goals leader in GCU men’s soccer history with 56 total goals in three seasons played with the Antelopes.
Kristopher Tyrpak, Sr., F, Houston Baptist - finished one point shy of his career high with a five-point night against Kansas City. He scored two goals and had one assist in the 4-1 win.
Jeff Rose, Fr., F, Seattle U - scored the Redhawks’ only goal of the game in a 1-0 win over San Jose State on Saturday. It was his second game-winning goal of the season.
Also nominated on defense:
Felipe Reyes, Jr., GK, Grand Canyon - picked up his first career win in GCU’s 1-0 victory over Air Force on Nov. 8. He had a career-high five saves in securing his first-career shutout. He then earned another victory in a 2-1 double overtime win over Incarnate Word on Nov. 10.
Charlie Gagnon, Jr., D, Houston Baptist - assisted on the Huskies’ first goal against Kansas City and was part of a defense that held the ‘Roos to just two shots on goal.
ALL-WAC TEAMS
WAC regular-season champion Seattle U led all teams with five players selected to the all-WAC team, including three on the first team and two on the second team. Seattle U senior forward Miguel Gonzalez was named the WAC’s Offensive Player of the Year, while Bakersfield senior defender Scott Luedtke received Defensive Player of the Year honors. Seattle U defender Kyle Bjornethun was named the league’s Freshman of the Year and Seattle U’s Pete Fewing was named Coach of the Year.
SEATTLE U WINS REGULAR SEASON TITLE
Seattle U won the WAC’s regular season title and posted an undefeated mark in conference play following its 1-0 win over San Jose State in the regular season finale. The Redhawks were 7-0-3 in conference play and will be the number one seed in this week’s WAC Tournament.
WAC TO STREAM TOURNAMENT
The WAC will stream all of the matches of the 2013 WAC Men’s Soccer Tournament. Viewers can sign up by visiting www.WAC.tv. The tournament will be held at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado, Nov. 14-15, and 17, and will feature the top seven teams in the WAC. Three first round matches will be played on Thursday, Nov. 14 with the winners moving on to the semifinals (along with the top seed) the next day. The championship will be played at 12:00 p.m. (MT) on Sunday, Nov. 17. All six matches can be seen on WAC.tv by accessing the soccer tournament package for a one-time price of $11.95.
ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT HONOREES
Four WAC men’s soccer players have been named to the Capitol One Academic All-District Team, selected by the College Sports Information Directors of America. Air Force sophomore midfielder Luke Villamaria, Grand Canyon grad forward Kyle Ciliento, Kansas City junior defender Michael Oakley, and Seattle U sophomore Michael Roberts each earned first team honors. First Team honorees advance to the Capital One Academic All-America Team ballot where first, second, and third team All-America honorees will be selected in November.
FEENER LEADS NATION IN SAVES
In this week’s national stats report, Seattle U’s Jake Feener continues to lead the nation in total saves (132). The next best in the country is 109 saves by Georgia Southern’s Neal Bates. Feener is also first in the nation in saves per game with 6.60. As a team, Seattle U is second in the nation in saves per game (6.65).
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.