2013 Women's Soccer Schedule
WAC NOTES
SOCCER FORMAT
The WAC will change its regular-season play to a double round-robin format for a total of 12 conference matches. The points system is as follows: each team will receive three points for a win and one point for a tie. The four teams with the most points at the end of the regular season will advance to the WAC Tournament which is being held Nov. 8 and 10, in Las Cruces, New Mexico.
WAC WOMEN’S SOCCER WELCOMES BAKERSFIELD, GRAND CANYON, KANSAS CITY AND UTAH VALLEY TO THE LEAGUE
New to the WAC’s soccer league this season will be Bakersfield, Grand Canyon, Kansas City and Utah Valley. Bakersfield returns 14 letterwinners and seven starters from a team that finished 6-11-2 last year. The ‘Runners played a complete Division I independent schedule in 2012. Grand Canyon makes the jump to Division I this season after previously playing in the Division II Pacific West Conference. The ‘Lopes finished 9-7-2 in 2012. GCU returns 13 letterwinners and seven starters from last year’s team that went 8-4-2 in PAC West play and placed fifth. Kansas City returns 11 starters from a team that went 6-9-4 in 2012. UMKC played in the Summit league last season, placing sixth in the league with a 3-4-1 mark. The team enters just its fifth season in program history. Utah Valley returns 14 letterwinners and six starters from a team that went 9-11-1 and a perfect 5-0-0 in the Great West Conference. The Wolverines won both the Great West Conference regular season and tournament titles last year. Overall, UVU went 28-3-1 in its four seasons in the GWC.
RETURNING ALL-CONFERENCE PLAYERS
The WAC returns 10 all-conference players for the 2013 season. Grand Canyon and Utah Valley each return three all-conference players from last season. Grand Canyon returns all-Pacific West first team honoree Brittany Gillespie (So., D) and second-team honorees Samantha Bush (Sr., F) and Gabriella Zavala de Rojas (Jr., MF). Utah Valley defender Lexi Dunn and goalkeeper Lauren Sack return for their senior seasons after earning first team all-Great West Conference honors last season. Sack was also named the GWC’s Defensive Player of the Year. UVU midfielder Haley Curtis also returns for her senior campaign after earning second team all-GWC honors last season. Seattle U is the lone program to return all-WAC honorees. Forward Stephanie Verdoia returns for her junior season after earning first team all-WAC honors last year as a sophomore. Verdoia also earned WAC all-tournament team honors last year. Midfielder Julia Besagno will play her senior season this year after earning second team all-WAC honors last season.
NCAA OPPONENTS
WAC teams will play in seven matches against teams that played in the NCAA Tournament last year. Two of the matches will be played at WAC home sites. New Mexico State, Seattle U and Utah Valley will each play two games against non-conference opponents that competed in the NCAA Tournament in 2012.
Aug. 23 Washington State at Seattle U
Aug. 26 Utah Valley at Utah State
Aug. 30 Idaho at Washington State
Aug. 30 New Mexico State vs. Long Island
Sept. 3 Utah Valley at Idaho State
Sept. 6 Stephen F. Austin at New Mexico State
Sept. 13 Seattle U at Washington
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 Western Athletic Conference in 2014.
WAC TEAM-BY-TEAM NOTES
Bakersfield Roadrunners
The Roadrunners are comprised of 25 players from five different states and five different countries. Bakersfield has only two seniors on the roster ... he Roadrunners are playing a school Division I record 11 home matches this season ... Sarah Cook earned a spot on the Philippine National Team and played in AFC (Asian Football Confederation) qualifying matches for a spot in the 2015 World Cup during the Summer of 2013 ... Erica Shelton played in 1,644 of a possible 1,779 minutes last season for Bakersfield, the most by a position player on the team. Shelton, a Bakersfield native, scored four goals in her first season with the Roadrunners after transferring from UC Santa Barbara ... Emily Noethe is Bakersfield’s returning leading scorer ... in 2012, Noethe tied with Sam Peña and reset the school Division I mark for shots in a season (47) and tied Peña for a new school record with six goals.
Grand Canyon Antelopes
Grand Canyon joins the WAC this season as they make the jump to Division I from Division II ... the ‘Lopes were members of Division II’s Pacific West Conference last season, where they finished in fifth place with an 8-4-2 league mark ... Gabriella Zavala de Rojas returns to the team for her junior year after leading the ‘Lopes with 12 points (five goals and two assists) last season ... Samantha Bush also returns to the team for her senior campaign after putting five goals into the back of the net last year ... Cat Lena returns for her senior season with the ‘Lopes after leading the team in goal with 79 saves, nine wins and five shutouts last year ... GCU made its first-ever NCAA postseason appearance in the 16-year history of the program in 2011, earning a trip to the NCAA Division II tournament.
Idaho Vandals
The Vandals lost 12 players from last year’s team, including 10 seniors, and will rebuild with a class of 13 newcomers this fall ... Idaho junior midfielder Katie Baran earned the team’s Players’ Player award in 2012, as voted on by the team ... after its first bid in 2010, Idaho has now reached the WAC tournament in three consecutive seasons and advanced to the WAC semifinals in 2011 ... the Vandals have a European connection when it comes to goalkeepers in 2013. Sophomore keeper Marina Siegl reigns from Uffing Germany, while incoming freshman keeper Kimberly Jaderlund is from Moro, Sweeden ... first-year goalkeepers coach Laura Jackson is a native of London, England ... while the Vandals return just four starters from the 2012 season, they make up Idaho’s entire starting back line. They are senior defenders Nitalia Zuniga, Chelsie Breen, Emma Caringello along with junior Emily Ngan.
Kansas City Kangaroos
Kansas City has 11 starters returning to the team this season, including All-Summit League honoree defender Sarah Todd (Second Team) ... Kansas City’s all-time leading scorer, Taylor Bare, also returns to the team this season after earning College Sports Madness First Team All-Summit League honors in 2012 ... Bare tallied a team-best 13 points in 2012 with six goals and one assist ... she also had a team-best 38 shots on the season ... the Kangaroos enter their fifth season in program history and play their first year of competition in the WAC ... UMKC made its first trip to the conference tournament just two seasons ago in 2011 ... the Kangaroos recorded the second most wins in school history with six last season ... in the classroom, 13 student-athletes were named to The Summit League’s Commissioners List of Academic Excellence last season.
New Mexico State Aggies
The Aggies return six starters and nine letterwinners from last year’s 2012 squad ... New Mexico State played a record seven overtime matches last season ... Mikaela Bitner earned WAC Goalkeeper of the Week honors last season ... she returns for her senior campaign after recording 66 saves for a .795 save percentage last season. She also recorded three shutouts in 2012 ... Katelynn Tupponce earned second team CoSIDA/Capital One academic all-district honors last season. 15 Aggies received all-WAC academic honors last year ... New Mexico State recorded three ties in 2012 and suffered eight one-goal losses ... the Aggies played in a new soccer stadium for the first season and averaged over 400 fans per match, despite playing all day games ... New Mexico State posted the most wins in school history with 10 in 2011.
Seattle U Redhawks
Seattle U returns 12 letterwinners and seven starters from the 2012 campaign ... in 2012, their first season in the WAC, the Redhawks clinched a No. 5 seed in the WAC Tournament, making it to the semifinals ... Stephanie Verdoia returns for her junior season after ranking 52nd in the nation in NCAA Division I game-winning goals and in the top 80 in total goals and goals per game last season ... he team received 13 WAC All-Academic honors, the highest number for any team out of Seattle U’s honorees for the fall season ... SU has received the NSCAA Team Academic Award for the past two years announced (2010-11 and 2011-12) ... Verdoia was named first team all-WAC and Julia Besagno was named to the Second Team in 2012.
Utah Valley Wolverines
Utah Valley was consistently the top program of the Great West Conference, posting a 28-3-1 record during its four seasons in the league ... the Wolverines won three of the GWC’s four tournament championships, as well as two regular season titles (2011, 2012) and two division crowns (2009, 2010) ... in 2012, Utah Valley allowed just one goal in conference play during the regular season, running its goal differential through five league matches to +13 ... in four seasons with the GWC, UVU produced 28 all-conference performers, not to mention three consecutive Offensive Players of the Year and three straight Defensive Players of the Year ... f or the 2013 season, Utah Valley returns 2012 GWC Defensive Player of the Year Lauren Sack (GK) as well as first team selections Lexi Robison (M) and Lexi Dunn (D) and second team performer Haley Curtis (M).