KANSAS CITY TO HOST 2015 MEN’S COLLEGE CUP
The NCAA Division I Men’s Soccer College Cup championship will be at Sporting Park in Kansas City on Dec. 11-13, 2015. The event will be hosted by the University of Missouri-Kansas City and the Kansas City Sports Commission and Foundation.
UIW JOINS WAC AS AFFILIATE IN 2014
The WAC has added the University of the Incarnate Word as an affiliate member for men’s soccer beginning in 2014. The Cardinals completed their first year of transitioning from Division II to Division I and finished the 2013 season with a 6-8-1 record. The addition gives the WAC 10 teams for the 2014 season.
FIVE NAMED TO NSCAA ALL-REGION TEAMS
Five WAC men’s soccer players were named to the National Soccer Coaches Association of America/Continental Tire All-Far West Region team. Seattle U’s Miguel Gonzalez earned first team honors, Houston Baptist’s Kristopher Tyrpak was a second team honoree and Seattle U’s Jake Feener, UNLV’s Sal Bernal and Houston Baptist’s Walter Kromholz were named to the third team.
GCU'S CILIENTO NAMED ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICAN
Grand Canyon senior forward Kyle Ciliento was named to the Capital One Academic All-America Division I Men’s Soccer Second Team.Ciliento became the school’s all-time leader in career goals with 56 after collecting a team-best six goals and 14 points this past season.Ciliento, who is working towards his Master’s of Business Administration, has a 3.94 GPA.
SJSU’S ST. CLAIR RETIRES
After 24 seasons, 217 victories and three NCAA Tournament appearances, Gary St. Clair retired as the San Jose State University men’s soccer head coach in December. A four-time Coach of the Year honoree, St. Clair was one of only two Spartan men’s soccer head coaches to record 200 or more victories. His 217-victory total only trails the late Julius Menendez, whom St. Clair played for as a goalkeeper during 1970 through 1974 seasons. St. Clair was a two-time Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) and a two-time National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Far West Coach of the Year.
REDHAWKS FALL TO WASHINGTON IN SECOND ROUND
Seattle U held Washington, the No. 2 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament, scoreless through 28 minutes, but fell 4-2 in the second round matchup. The loss snapped a 12-game unbeaten streak for Seattle U. Washington jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the 66th minute, but Seattle U responded with a goal by Chase Hanson in the 72nd minute followed by a goal from Brady Ballew 27 seconds later.
SEATTLE U FINISHES IN TOP 25
The Redhawks finished 25th in the final Top Drawer Soccer poll of the season. It was the first time a WAC team was ranked in any of the top 25 polls this season.
REDHAWKS WIN FIRST ROUND MATCHUP
Seattle U was down early but rallied to record their second straight come-from-behind win (fifth of the season) to top Creighton, 2-1, in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. This historic win marked the first Seattle U win in an NCAA Division I Tournament since March 14, 1964 when Seattle U men’s basketball defeated Utah State, 88-78. The win also snapped a two-year streak for Creighton in which they advanced to the Final Four and extended a 12-game unbeaten streak for Seattle U. Miguel Gonzalez scored both goals for the Redhawks and is now third in the nation in total goals with 15. Jake Feener had eight saves, his 12th match of the season with at least eight saves.
SEATTLE U EARNS NCAA TOURNAMENT BID
Seattle U earned the WAC’s automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. 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.
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 were 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.
FEENER LEADS NATION IN SAVES
In the final national stats report, Seattle U’s Jake Feener finished as the nation’s leader in saves with 161. The next best in the country was 120 by Michigan State’s Zach Bennett. Feener was also first in the nation in saves per game with 6.71. As a team, Seattle U was second in the nation in saves per game (6.75).
MEN’S SOCCER RETURNS TO THE WAC
For the first time since 1999, the WAC sponsored men’s soccer. The league was made up of eight teams divided into two divisions and included both full time members of the WAC and affiliates. The East Division was comprised of Air Force (affiliate), Grand Canyon, Houston Baptist (affiliate) and Kansas City. The West Division consisted 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 came to the WAC from the Summit League and Grand Canyon began its transition 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.
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 and UIW (affiliate) will begin play in 2014 while it is also expected to add Chicago State and Texas-Pan American in 2015.