WAC NOTES
WAC SOCCER PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Offensive: Erica Shelton, Sr., MF, Bakersfield
Shelton, a senior midfielder from Bakersfield, Calif. (UC Santa Barbara), became just the second Roadrunner to record a hat trick at the Division I level. Shelton recorded her three goals in Friday’s 4-1 win at against Southern Utah. Shelton is one of only five Bakersfield players to score at least three goals in a single game. She also recorded six shots against the T-Birds. In a 5-2 setback to Cal Poly on Sunday, Shelton recorded an assist. Overall on the week, Shelton registered eight shots, four shots on goal, three goals, one assist and seven points.
Other offensive nominees included: Grand Canyon sophomore forward Cassie Beckwith … Kansas City senior midfielder Ashley Gann … New Mexico State senior midfielder Mary Kate Koziol … Seattle U junior forward Stephanie Verdoia … Utah Valley senior forward Haley Curtis.
Defensive: Nina Tzianos, So., GK, Kansas City
Tzianos, a sophomore goalkeeper from St. Louis, Mo. (Lingbergh HS), recorded a shutout in Friday’s 1-0 win over SIUE. She recorded three saves in the victory over the Cougars. Tzianos gave up only one goal and tallied four saves in Sunday’s 2-1 win over Southeast Missouri. On the week, Tzianos played all 180 minutes with seven saves, two wins and a shutout.
Other defensive nominees included: Grand Canyon senior goalkeeper Cat Lena … New Mexico State senior goalkeeper Jessica Schutter … Utah Valley junior midfielder Lexi Robison.
KANSAS CITY OFF TO 2-0 START FOR FIRST TIME IN PROGRAM HISTORY
Kansas City has opened the 2013 season with a perfect 2-0 record. The Kangaroos defeated SIUE 1-0 in its season opener on Friday before rallying to defeat Southeast Missouri 2-1 on Sunday. The 2-0 start is a first for the five-year old women’s soccer program at UMKC. The ‘Roos will hit the road on Friday for a non-league tilt in Tulsa, Okla., versus Oral Roberts, before returning home on Sunday, Sept. 1 to face Missouri.
BAKERSFIELD’S SHELTON RECORDS HAT TRICK IN SEASON OPENER
Erica Shelton (Sr., Bakersfield, Calif., UC Santa Barbara) recorded a hat trick to lead Bakersfield past Southern Utah 4-1 in its season opener on Aug. 23. After trailing 1-0, Shelton tied the score from five yards out in the 30th minute. She then scored the go-ahead goal at 65:10 as she took advantage of SUU’s goalie turning the ball over 35 yards out. Shelton completed the hat trick scoring in the 71st minute on a direct kick. Shelton’s hat trick was the first for a Roadrunner since Sam Peña posted the feat on Oct. 12, 2010 against Hawai’i. Shelton is just the second Roadrunner to record at hat trick at the Division I level. Sam Peña is the only other ‘Runner to post a hat trick since 2007. Shelton is only 1-of-5 Bakersfield players to score at least three goals in game, joining Jamie Simpson (5x), Taylar Sklar, Nicole Van Dyke, and Peña.
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 (1-1-0, 0-0-0 WAC)
Bakersfield went 1-1 to open the 2013 season ... the ‘Runners defeated Southern Utah 4-2 before falling 5-2 to Cal Poly ... Erica Shelton became the second Roadrunner to record at hat trick at the Division I level Aug. 23 with three goals against Southern Utah ... Sam Peña is the only other ‘Runner to post a hat trick since 2007 ... Shelton is only 1-of-5 Bakersfield players to score at least three goals in game, joining Jamie Simpson (5x), Taylar Sklar, Nicole Van Dyke, and Peña and her hat trick is only the 10th in the 16+ year history of the program ... Shelton scored four goals during the entire 2012 season ... Shelton added an assist against Cal Poly in the Roadrunners’ 5-2 loss to the Mustangs ... Bakersfield scored two goals in a 55-second span against Southern Utah and a 1:27 span against Cal Poly ... Bakersfield hosts Northern Arizona and Sacramento State this week.
Grand Canyon Antelopes (0-1-0, 0-0-0 WAC)
Grand Canyon opened a new era for the Antelopes as they competed in the school’s first-ever game as members of the NCAA Division I Western Athletic Conference ... the game was also the first of eight straight road contests for the ‘Lopes ... GCU dropped a 3-0 decision at Saint Mary’s on Friday in the team’s lone match of the week ... GCU did have three shots on goal ... Catherine Lena tallied two saves in goal ... the squad will now travel east for two games in Indiana next week, at Valparaiso on Aug. 30 and IUPUI on Sept. 1 ... the ‘Lopes utilized seven new members of the team in their regular season opener at Saint Mary’s (CA) on Aug. 23, three of which are freshmen and made the first starts of their career for GCU.
Idaho Vandals (0-2-0, 0-0-0 WAC)
Idaho opened the 2013 season with a pair of road losses ... the Vandals dropped a 3-0 decision at Weber State before falling 2-0 at Idaho State ... the match against Weber State was scheduled for a 2:00 p.m. PT start but the teams were forced to clear the field for 30 minutes due to a lightning delay ... Weber State totaled 27 shots with 13 of those shots finding their way to keepers Marina Siegl and Torell Stewart ... Idaho managed just two shots on net ... in the match at Idaho State, freshman keeper Torell Stewart relieved Siegl in net at the start of the period and made three saves, keeping Idaho State at bay ... midfielder Elexis Schlossarek and defender Chelsie Breen led the team with two shots apiece against ISU ... the Vandals will return to the pitch when they travel down road to Pullman, Wash., to take on the Pac 12 rival Washington State, Friday Aug. 30.
Kansas City Kangaroos (2-0-0, 0-0-0 WAC)
Kansas City is off to its first 2-0 start in school history after back-to-back home victories over SIUE and SEMO ... the ‘Roos defeated SIUE 1-0 in its season opener before rallying to defeat Southeast Missouri 2-1 on Sunday ... freshman Emily Herndon scored the only goal of the match in a 1-0 victory over SIUE – her first collegiate game ... senior captain Taylor Bare scored the game-winner in a 2-1 win vs. SEMO ... the goal increased her all-time school record total to 18, as well as her all-time school record point total to 42 ... Nina Tzianos recorded the shutout in goal in the win over SIUE ... Tzianos gave up only one goal on the week and registered four saves ... Kansas City will look to keep its perfect record alive this week as the team travels to play Oral Roberts on Friday before returning home on Sunday to host Missouri.
New Mexico State Aggies (1-1-0, 0-0-0 WAC)
New Mexico State opened the season with a 1-1 record ... the Aggies opened the season with a 3-1 win over Nebraska-Omaha before falling 1-0 to in-state rival New Mexico in overtime ... the 3-1 win over Omaha was the first time the Aggies have won a season opener in program history and only the second time NM State opened the year in Las Cruces ... the game against UNM marked the second consecutive meeting with the Lobos that has gone into overtime ... the three goals scored against Omaha was the first time the Aggies have scored multiple goals since the 2011 season ... the Aggies have held opponents scoreless in the first half in each of the first two games ... the Aggies have out-shot opponents 17-13 in the first two matches of the season ... NM State travels to play in the UNLV Tournament this week with games against LIU Brooklyn and Portland State.
Seattle U Redhawks (1-1-0, 0-0-0 WAC)
Seattle U opened the season with a 1-1 record ... the Redhawks dropped a 3-1 decision in its season opener against Washington State ... the team then defeated Eastern Washington 2-0 on the road ... Julia Moravec led the team with six shots, two on goal, while Stephanie Verdoia led the Redhawks with three points over the two matches ... Julia Besagno scored the first goal of the season, vs. Washington State, while Moravec and Verdoia recorded goals for SU in the team’s win against Eastern Washington ... Renae Russell, Sarah Coluccio, and Natasha Howe made their first career appearances this past week ... Brianna Smallidge played all 180 minutes in goal this past week, recording four saves ... this week, Seattle U hosts Boise State on Friday.
Utah Valley Wolverines (0-2-0, 0-0-0 WAC)
Utah Valley went 0-2 to start the 2013 season ... the Wolverines dropped a 3-2 decision at UTEP before falling 1-0 at Utah State on Monday ... UVU conceded the decisive goal in a physical, back-and-forth contest with only five minutes remaining in regulation against UTEP ... forwards Haley Curtis and Kali Stubbs supplied a pair of Wolverine goals in the first half, but the visiting side failed to break through in the second as it fell to the Miners on opening day for the second straight season ... UVU fell 1-0 at Utah State on a penalty kick in the 50th minute ... Lexi Dunn and Lexi Robison went the distance for UVU, playing a full 90 minutes ... Dunn supplied one of the Wolverines’ three total shots on goal, while Robison finished with one shot attempt ... UVU returns to action on Thursday as the team hosts Weber State.