SEATTLE U FACES CREIGHTON IN NCAA FIRST ROUND
After winning the WAC Tournament Championship, the Redhawks earned the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament and will travel to Creighton for a first round match on Nov. 21. The team becomes Seattle U’s first ever men’s team to qualify for an NCAA Division I tournament since the men’s basketball team made an appearance in 1969. Seattle U is one of just two teams who are qualifying for the NCAA DI tournament for the first time (Quinnipiac). Seattle U is one of 17 schools to have both their men’s and women’s soccer teams qualify for the NCAA Tournament in 2013. The winner of the first round match will advance to face No. 2 seed Washington on Nov. 24. Creighton went 9-8-2 overall in 2013 and finished in fifth place in the Big East standings with a 4-4-1 conference record. In 2012, the Bluejays advanced to the semifinals of the College Cup where they lost to eventual National Champion Indiana, 1-0.
REDHAWKS WIN WAC TOURNAMENT TITLE
Seattle U was the top-seeded team heading into the WAC men’s soccer tournament and received a bye into the semfinals. The Redhawks defeated Air Force, 2-0, on goals by Renato Bandeira and Jeff Rose. Goalkeeper Jake Feener added 10 saves in recording his fifth shutout of the season. In the championship, Seattle U defeated No. 6 San Jose State, 2-1. The Spartans took a 1-0 lead in the first half on an unassisted goal by Ben Cowdrill. The Redhawks tied it up in the 57th minute on a goal by Miguel Gonzalez. Hamza Haddadi hit the game-winner in the 71st minute. Both goals were assisted by Ian Hines-Ike.
All-Tournament Team
Joe Masumiya, Jr., MF, Bakersfield
Jonathan Colunga, Fr., MF, Bakersfield
Caleb Downey, Sr., D, Air Force
Matt Payne, Jr., MF, Air Force
Rory Knibbs, Fr., F, San Jose State
Jamison Loveless, Jr., MF, San Jose State
Manny Espinosa, So., GK, San Jose State
Kyle Bjornethun, Fr., D, Seattle U
Ian Hines-Ike, So., MF, Seattle U
Miguel Gonzalez, Sr., F, Seattle U
MVP: Jake Feener, Sr., GK, Seattle U
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, marking the second time in WAC history (five seasons) that a team had not lost a match in conference play (SMU, 7-0-1, 1998).
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.
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 later 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 (149). The next best in the country is 117 saves by Georgia Southern’s Neal Bates. Feener is also first in the nation in saves per game with 6.77. As a team, Seattle U is second in the nation in saves per game (6.82).
MEN’S SOCCER RETURNS TO THE WAC
For the first time since 1999, the WAC sponsored 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
In 2013, regular-season play consisted 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 was as follows: each team received three points for a win and one point for a tie.
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.
TEAM-BY-TEAM NOTES
Air Force Falcons (4-11-5/3-2-5 WAC)
After starting the season with an eight-game losing streak, the Falcons finished the season with a 4-3-5 mark and never allowed more than two goals in its final 12 matches ... freshman Ryan Ward led the team in goals with four ... freshman Jake Schenk is second in the WAC in saves (95), saves per game (5.59) and save percentage (.792) ... Caleb Downey played in every match during his four-year career while fellow senior co-captain Brian Klazura missed just one ... AFA played men’s soccer in the WAC for three seasons from 1996-1998 ... last year’s NCAA appearance was its first since 1997.
Bakersfield Roadrunners (9-9-2/6-3-1 WAC)
Finished the season with a 7-3-1 record including a stretch where it won five out of six ... in the first round of the WAC Tournament, beat Kansas City, 1-0, in double overtime with the goal coming in the 109th minute ... beat San Jose State twice during the regular season but came up short against the Spartans in the WAC Tournament ... CSUB is tied for the most shutouts in the WAC with five including one in the WAC tournament ... GK Anthony Perez has four of those, tied for the second most in the WAC ... Joe Masumiya is tied for second in the WAC in game-winning goals with two.
Grand Canyon Antelopes (4-14-1/2-8-0 WAC)
Finished the season winning two of its last three matches after a six-match losing streak ... played its last six matches over 12 days ... had its streak of eight consecutive winning seasons snapped this year ... after missing the past two seasons, senior Kyle Ciliento finished his career as the school’s all-time leader in goals with 56 ... he broke the record of 55 set by Manoel Coehlo from 1997-99 ... GCU began the transition from Division II to Division I this season and was ineligble for the WAC’s and NCAA’s postseason ... in 1996, GCU won the NCAA Division II National Championship.
Houston Baptist Huskies (9-7-2/4-4-2 WAC)
Was one of just two WAC schools to finish the season with a winning record ... had a stretch during the season where it won six straight and seven out of eight ... HBU leads the WAC in shots per game (19.8), goals per game (1.89) and assists per game (1.56) ... freshman Tobenna Uzo is first in the WAC in goals per game (0.61) and second in goals (11), points per game (1.22) and points (22) ... he is also tied for second in game-winning goals with two ... Kristopher Tyrpak is first in the WAC in assists and assists per game (0.39) and is second in shots (70) and shots per game (3.89).
Kansas City Kangaroos (4-11-4/3-6-1 WAC)
Finished the season with a six-match losing streak after starting conference play with a 3-1-1 mark ... lost to Bakersfield in the first round of the WAC Tournament after allowing the only goal of the match in the second overtime (109th minute) ... is 5-14-5 all-time in conference tournaments ... is third in the WAC in saves with 106 ... junior GK Chris McGaughey is third in the WAC in saves (87) and saves per game (5.12) ... junior F Jordan Rideout led the Kangaroos in goals with seven ... he and junior F Tato Chiaparro tied for the team lead in points with 14.
UNLV Rebels (7-10-2/5-4-1 WAC)
Finished the season with a 4-1-2 record in its last seven matches ... outshot San Jose State, 16-7, in the first round matchup of the WAC Tournament, but came up short in the penalty kick shootout, 9-8 ... is tied for first in the WAC in fewest goals allowed (30) ... is second in the WAC in assists per game (1.5) ... Julian Portugal and Salvador Bernal are tied for second in the WAC in assists with six ... GK Ryan Harding leads the WAC in goals against average (1.2) ... he is tied for second in the WAC in shutouts with four ... UNLV played men’s soccer in the WAC for three seasons from 1996-1998.
San Jose State Spartans (4-13-4/3-6-1 WAC)
Was 3-3-2 in its last eight matches including a 1-1-1 mark in the WAC Tournament ... played three matches in four days ... led Seattle U in the championship match, 1-0, before allowing two goals in the last 34 minutes ... has nine one-goal losses, including six with the score, 1-0 ... Frankie Beauchamp is tied for second in the WAC in assists with six ... sophomore GK Emmanuel Espinosa is third in the WAC in GAA (1.406) ... freshman Rory Knibbs led the Spartans in goals with eight on the season ... San Jose State played men’s soccer in the WAC for four seasons from 1996-1999.
Seattle U Redhawks (10-8-4/7-0-3 WAC)
Has not lost in its last 11 matches (8-0-3) ... was picked sixth in the WAC’s preseason poll ... Ian Hines-Ike’s brother Brendan is a sophomore with the Redhawks’ next opponent, Creighton ... Seattle U leads the WAC in points (105), goals (37), assists (31), saves (150) and GAA (1.28) ... senior Miguel Gonzalez leads the WAC in goals (13), shots (90), shots per game (4.09) and points (30) ... he also leads the WAC in game-winning goals with three ... Jake Feener leads the nation in saves (149) and is first in the WAC in save percentage (.832) ... he leads the WAC in shutouts with five.