WAC TEAM-BY-TEAM NOTES
Bakersfield Roadrunners (1-4-0, 0-0-0 WAC)
Bakersfield went 0-1 last week with a 4-0 loss at Portland State ... the Vikings’ Eryn Brown scored two goals in the first 13 minutes to give Portland State a 2-0 lead at halftime ... Tamin Hasin and Kayla Henningsen scored in the final nine minutes of the match for the Vikings ... Portland State outshot the Roadrunners 13-2 in the first half and 25-11 for the match ... Bakersfield goalie Tori Ornela made eight saves in the loss ... the Roadrunners return to the pitch Friday night at UC Santa Barbara.
Grand Canyon Antelopes (1-4-0, 0-0-0 WAC)
Grand Canyon went 1-1 last week on a roadtrip through Colorado ... the team picked up its first win as a Division I program with their 1-0 victory at Colorado State on Sept. 6 ... newcomer Cassie Beckwith scored the game-winner in the 49th minute, which was also her first career goal for the Antelopes ... goalkeeper Cat Lena recorded a personal and season-best six saves in GCU’s 1-0 loss at Air Force on Sept. 8 ... the ‘Lopes will now travel to in-state school Northern Arizona University for a 7:30 p.m. matchup on Friday, Sept. 13 ... the game will be broadcast live on Fox Sports Arizona Plus and FCS Pacific.
Idaho Vandals (0-5-0, 0-0-0 WAC)
Idaho went 0-2 last week on the road ... the Vandals dropped a 3-2 decision at North Dakota State before falling 6-1 at Creighton ... Idaho got its first goals of the season last weekend ... Kavita Battan and Elexis Schlossarek both scored in the Vandals 3-2 loss at North Dakota State ... freshman Alyssa Pease scored Idaho’s lone goal against Creighton ... Idaho finished up its five game road trip to open the season ... the Vandals return to Guy Wicks Field on Friday to take on Easter Washington and on Sunday in a matchup against UNLV.
Kansas City Kangaroos (3-2-1, 0-0-0 WAC)
Kansas City went 1-0-1 last week on the road ... the ‘Roos defeated Arkansas-Little Rock 3-1 before playing to a 1-1 tie at Central Arkansas ... Alyssa Elver, Emily Herndon and Ellie Chadick each scored goals in Kansas City’s 3-1 win over UALR ... Allison Schau registered an assist on the Chadick score ... in the tie against Central Arkansas, Chadick scored in the 72nd minute to preserve a 1-1 tie for the Kansas City ... the ‘Roos fell behind in the 71st minute when Sugar Bear forward Brooke Ballard netted the game’s first goal from 12 yards out ... but UMKC bounced back just 10 seconds later, courtesy of the Chadick twins ... following Ballard’s goal, UMKC took the ensuing kickoff straight down the field ... Hannah Chadick sent a cross to Ellie Chadick from approximately 20 yards out and Ellie did the rest, sticking the equalizer inside the top corner ... UMKC hosts Creighton Tuesday.
New Mexico State Aggies (2-4-0, 0-0-0 WAC)
New Mexico State went 0-2 last week with a 2-0 loss to Stephen F. Austin and a 2-1 setback against UC Riverside ... the Aggies played in their second overtime game of the season in the 2-1 loss to UC Riverside ... the Aggies are now 1-2-0 in one-goal games this season ... against Stephen F. Austin, goalkeeper Jessica Schutter recorded a season-high six saves ... the Aggies are 0-2-0 in overtime matches ... senior midfielder Mary Kate Koziol scored her second goal of the season against UC Riverside ... she now has two goals this season, and she is tied for the team high ... junior forward Layla Todd recorded her first assist of the season against UCR ... New Mexico State returns to the pitch on Friday in a road match at Northern Colorado ... the team then travels Wyoming to take on the Cowgirls on Sunday.
Seattle U Redhawks (2-1-2, 0-0-0 WAC)
The Redhawks recorded their first two ties of the season on their Midwest swing, 1-1 at Butler on Sept. 6 and 2-2 at Purdue on Sept. 8 ... Kiana Kraft recorded her first goal of the season in the 90th minute vs. Butler to send the game into overtime ... Brianna Smallidge recorded all 220 minutes in goal for SU ... Mariah O’Neil made her first collegiate appearance off the bench vs. Purdue ... Jacqui Wallis recorded her first goal of the season while Stephanie Verdoia recorded her second of 2013 vs. Purdue ... Seattle U returns to play on Friday as the team travels across the city to take on Washington at 7 p.m.
Utah Valley Wolverines (1-5-0, 0-0-0 WAC)
Utah Valley went 1-1 last week ... the Wolverines defeated Idaho State 4-2 in Pocatello before falling 1-0 to Houston Baptist at the Montana Cup ... thunderstorms forced the game indoors to Holt Arena, marking the first soccer match ever played at Holt Arena and the first non-football or basketball event since the early 1980s ... three of UVU’s four goals were supplied by freshmen, with Taylor Kirk tallying twice in the win ... against HBU, the Wolverines fired 19 shots against the Huskies, its greatest output of the 2013 season ... tthey also had 10 shots on goal, twice as many as HBU’s five ... it was the first time that UVU has lost to HBU since the 2010 GWC Tournament semifinal match (Nov. 6, 2010) ... this week, Utah Valley wrapped up the Montana Cup with a 3-1 loss to host Montana ... UVU now returns home for its final non-conference match against UC Davis on Sunday.
WAC NOTES
WAC SOCCER PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Offensive: Ellie Chadick, Jr., MF, Kansas City
Chadick, a junior midfielder from Overland Park, kan. (Ball State), scored a goal in a 3-1 win over UALR on Friday. Chadick scored UMKC’s in the 67th minute, giving the ‘Roos an insurance score to help secure the victory. After falling behind to Central Arkansas 1-0 on Sunday in the 71st minute, Chadick scored the equalizer in the 72nd minute to help Kansas City to the 1-1 tie. Over the two matches, Chadick tallied three shots, two shots on goal, two goals and four points.
Other offensive nominees included: Grand Canyon sophomore forward Cassie Beckwith … New Mexico State senior midfielder Mary Kate Koziol … Seattle U sophomore midfielder Kiana Kraft … Utah Valley freshman forward Taylor Kirk.
Defensive: Sarah Todd, Jr., D, Kansas City
Todd, a junior defender from Overland Park, Kan. (Blue Valley HS), spearheaded a defensive effort that held UALR and Central Arkansas to one goal apiece over the weekend. She played all 200 minutes during the two matches, including a 110-minute, double-overtime affair with Central Arkansas. In spite of the extended playing time, Todd helped UMKC limit the Bears to only five shots on goal -- three attempts in regulation -- and Todd was primarily responsible for that. In the overtime period, Todd made a pivotal back-line save on the would-be game-winning goal to preserve the 1-1 tie.
Other defensive nominees included: Grand Canyon senior goalkeeper Cat Lena … New Mexico State sophomore defender Mikaela Haley … Seattle U sophomore goalkeeper Brianna Smallidge.
WAC TEAMS HEAD INTO FINAL WEEK OF NON-CONFERENCE PLAY
Teams from the WAC head into their final week of full non-conference action. After three weeks of non-confernece play, Seattle U and Kansas City sit atop the league’s non-conference standings. Seattle U is 2-1-2 with a .600 winning percentage, while Kansas City is 3-2-1 with a .583 winning percentage. 11 games highlight this week’s non-league slate.
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 WAC TOURNAMENT HEADS TO LAS CRUCES
The 2013 Western Athletic Conference Soccer Tournament will be held at the Soccer Complex on the campus of New Mexico State University in Las Cruces, N.M. Tickets may be purchased by calling the Mew Mexico State ticket office at (575) 646-1420. More information can be found at www.wacsports.com.
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.