WAC TEAM-BY-TEAM NOTES
Bakersfield Roadrunners (1-6-0, 0-0-0 WAC)
Bakersfield went 0-2 last week ... the team dropped a 3-0 decision at UC Santa Barabara before falling 2-1 at home against UC Riverside ... at UC Santa Barbara, the Gauchos’ scored their three goals in the fourth, 63rd and 79th minutes ... Emily Noethe, Caroline Muoio and Erica Shelton each had shots on goal for the Roadrunners ... Shelton led the team with three shots on the night ... UC Riverside’s Alexa Bustamante scored two goals in the 2-0 win over Bakersfield ... Muoio led the ‘Runners with five shots, including four on goal ... Shelton had two shots on goal ... Tori Ornela made one save in goal for Bakersfield ... Bakersfield opens WAC action for the first time this weekend when the Roadrunners play a home-and-home series against Utah Valley.
Grand Canyon Antelopes (1-5-0, 0-0-0 WAC)
The ‘Lopes wrapped up their non-conference slate with a 1-0 loss at in-state rival Northern Arizona University on Friday ... Cat Lena recorded her second straight game with at least five saves, and has 11 stops in her past two games ... Lena ranks fifth among conference goalkeepers with 22 saves on the season (prior to Sunday games) ... the NAU game represented the fourth 1-0 game for GCU already this season, and third straight, including their first win since making the transition to Division I, which came at Colorado State on Sept. 6 ... the ‘Lopes are looking to their last weekend on the road, playing at Seattle U on Sept. 20 and at Idaho on Sept. 22, before their home-opener at GCU Soccer Field on Sept. 27 versus CSU Bakersfield.
Idaho Vandals (0-7-0, 0-0-0 WAC)
Idaho dropped two matches to Eastern Washington and UNLV last week ... both losses came by one goal ... EWU went up 2-0 on Friday before Katie Baran cut the lead in half with her first goal of the season ... the Vandals played a tough match against UNLV on Sunday…The match was scoreless for 108 minutes, before the Rebels notched the game winner with a minute left in the second overtime period ... the Vandals have seen four different players score goals on the season ... Marina Siegl and Torell Stewart continue to split halves this season in net ... Idaho will begin WAC play on Sunday at home against Grand Canyon.
Kansas City Kangaroos (3-3-1, 0-0-0 WAC)
Kansas City went 0-1 last week with a 1-0 loss at home to Creighton ... Creighton struck early on the ‘Roos, scoring the match’s lone goal in the 12th minute ... sophomore goalkeeper Nina Tzianos, though, held the Jays scoreless the rest of the way, recording six saves for Kansas City ... the ‘Roos gave themselves several chances along the way, with their best opportunity coming late in the second half when they peppered Creighton goalkeeper Danielle Rice ... during the 6:20 stretch, the ‘Roos had chances from Taylor Bare, Ellie Chadick, Ashley Gann and Sarah Shaughnessy, but none could find the back of the net as the Blue Jays held on for the win ... the Blue & Gold will be back in action again in one week when they head to Springfield, Mo., to take on instate rival Missouri State on Sep. 17 at 7 p.m.
New Mexico State Aggies (3-4-1, 0-0-0 WAC)
New Mexico State went 1-0-1 with a 0-0 double overtime tie at Northern Colorado and a 1-0 win at Wyoming ... New Mexico State recorded its second and third shutouts of the season in the two matches ... senior goalkeeper Jessica Schutter recorded two consecutive shutouts ... she now has six career shutouts, which ranks tied for first in the Aggies record books ... Schutter was recognized as WAC Defensive Player of the Week for her efforts ... sophomore defender Mikaela Haley scored her first career goal in the 1-0 win at Wyoming ... senior midfielder Daisy Hernandez recorded her first career assist in the win ... the Aggies are 0-2-1 in overtime games in 2013 ... the Aggies are 2-2-0 in one-goal games in 2013 ... the Aggies open WAC play this week at Kansas City on Friday and at home against Kansas City on Sunday.
Seattle U Redhawks (2-2-2, 0-0-0 WAC)
Seattle U dropped a 5-0 decision at cross-town foe Washington in the team’s lone match of the week ... Seattle U had two early opportunities to score, the first as Mary Hill drove the ball down the left side, passing to Stephanie Verdoia in the middle, but the shot sailed over the goal ... a minute later, Verdoia passed the ball from the middle to Kat Prati on the right side, who kicked the ball into the net, but SU was called offsides, as the score remained tied at zero ... UW scored goals in the 15th, 19th, 23rd, 50th and 60th minutes ... Brianna Smallidge played all 90 minutes in goal for the Redhawks, recording four saves ... Ava Ames and Verdoia each recorded two shots for SU ... Seattle U hosts Grand Canyon in its WAC home opener on Friday.
Utah Valley Wolverines (2-5-0, 0-0-0 WAC)
Utah Valley went 1-1-0 last week with a 3-1 loss at Montana and a 2-1 victory over UC Davis ... the win over UC Davis was the first in four attempts Sunday and it marked the first win over a Big West opponent in eight tries ... Natalie Baker proved to be the difference maker in the win over the Aggies on Sunday ... Baker scored UVU’s first goal in the match and then assisted the game-winning score to secure the win ... this week, the Wolverines play their first-ever WAC match when Bakersfield visits Orem on Friday ... in four years of play in the Great West Conference, UVU went 4-0-0 in league openers ... last season, UVU defeated CSUB in Bakersfield by a final score of 1-0 ... Utah Valley is 1-1 all-time against Bakersfield ... UVU will also visit Bakersfield on Sunday.
WAC NOTES
WAC SOCCER PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Offensive: Natalie Baker, Sr., F, Utah Valley
Baker, a senior forward from Springville, Utah (Utah), scored on her only shot attempt of the week—a first half goal against UC Davis to put UVU ahead 1-0. She then assisted on the game-winning goal to give the Wolverines a 2-1 victory over the Aggies. Baker’s score is the 17th goal of her Wolverine career as she is now just one goal behind fourth place on UVU’s all-time goals list. On the week, Baker tallied one shot on goal, one goal, one assist and three points.
Other offensive nominees included: Grand Canyon junior forward Jessica Fitzgerald … New Mexico State senior midfielder Mary Kate Koziol.
Defensive: Sarah Todd, Jr., D, Kansas City
Schutter, a senior goalkeeper from La Palma, Calif. (John F. Kennedy HS), led the Aggies to two shutouts in the final non-conference weekend of the season. She didn’t give up a goal in 200 minutes of action. At Northern Colorado, Schutter grabbed seven saves, tying a career high mark. She helped the Aggies to a 0-0 tie against UNC in double overtime. At Wyoming, Schutter recorded her second shutout of the weekend with a career-high nine saves in the 1-0 victory. It marks the first time Schutter has recorded back-to-back shutouts in her career. She has three shutouts this season and six in her career, which ties her for first on NM State’s career shutout list.
Other defensive nominees included: Grand Canyon senior goalkeeper Cat Lena … Utah Valley senior defender Lexi Dunn.
WAC TEAMS HEAD INTO CONFERENCE PLAY THIS WEEK
Teams from the WAC will start battling for the league’s regular season title and a spot in the conference tournament in November. The top four teams in the WAC’s regular season standings will advance to the conference tournament in Las Cruces. The WAC’s regular season standings are based on a point system as teams earn three points for a win and one point for a tie.
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.
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.