WAC TEAM-BY-TEAM NOTES
Bakersfield Roadrunners (1-8-0, 0-2-0 WAC)
Bakersfield went 0-2 to open WAC play last week ... the team dropped a pair of 2-0 decisions to Utah Valley at home and on the road ... Bakesfield has now lost eight in a row since winning the season opener against Southern Utah, a new school record ... the old record of seven was set on two previous occasions ... the Roadrunners have been shutout in the last five consecutive matches ... Erica Shelton leads the team in shots (21), shots on goal (14), goals (3) and points (7) ... this week, Bakersfield looks to get back on track with a Friday match at Grand Canyon.
Grand Canyon Antelopes (1-7-0, 0-2-0 WAC)
GCU played their first-ever Western Athletic Conference games this past weekend, falling by identical scores of 3-1 to Seattle U on Friday and Idaho on Sunday ... those teams were picked to finish first and tied for second, respectively, in the WAC preseason poll ... Taylor Layton picked up her first career goal in the fifth minute of Friday’s game at Seattle U on
her lone shot attempt ... Cierra Valdez scored her first goal of the 2013 season via a penalty kick in the 84th minute ... GCU will now return to Phoenix for their first games at GCU Soccer Field this season ... the ‘Lopes welcome CSU Bakersfield on Friday at 7 p.m. and Utah Valley on Sunday at 1 p.m.
Idaho Vandals (1-7-0, 1-0-0 WAC)
Idaho scored its first win of the season last Sunday against WAC opponent Grand Canyon ... Alyssa Pease and Katie Baran each posted a goal and the Vandals were aided by an own goal from GCU to take the 3-1 advantage ... Baran leads the young vandals with five points on the season (2 g, 1 a) ... Alyssa Pease is on her heels with four points (2 g) ... Baran moved into a tie for fifth on the Vandals all-time assist list (11) and she is now tied for eighth on the all-time goals list (9) ... Chelsie Breen is now tied for eighth on the all-time games stated list, having now started in 68 games for the Vandals ... sophomore Keeper Marina Siegl earned her first career win against GCU ... the Vandals are now tied for second in the conference after the first weekend of WAC play.
Kansas City Kangaroos (4-5-1, 1-1-0 WAC)
Kansas City went 1-1 on the week to open WAC play ... the Kangaroos defeated New Mexico State 3-0 at home before falling to the Aggies 2-1 at New Mexico State on Sunday ... Taylor Bare, the school’s all-time leader in goals and points, had an outstanding weekend vs. New Mexico State as she posted two goals and one assist for five points ... Nina Tzianos recorded her second shutout of the season in Friday’s win ... Tzianos made 13 saves over the two matches ... this week, Kansas City travels to play Seattle U on Friday and Idaho on Sunday.
New Mexico State Aggies (4-5-1, 1-1-0 WAC)
New Mexico State went 1-1 last week to open conference play ... the Aggies dropped a 3-0 decision at Kansas City before defeating UMKC 2-1 at home on Sunday ... the Aggies have allowed a single goal or fewer in 6-of-10 games in 2013 ... the Aggies recorded a season-high 14 shots against Kansas City, Sept. 22 ... junior midfielder Katie Smith scored her first goal of the season against Kansas City, Sept. 22 ... senior midfielder Daisy Hernandez scored her first goal of the season, on a penalty kick, for the game-winning goal in the 2-1 win in the WAC home opener against Kansas City, Sept. 22 ... the Aggies recorded two penalty kicks vs. Kansas City, Sept. 22, the first of the season ... the Aggies are 3-2-0 in one-goal games in 2013 ... NM State plays at Idaho on Friday and at Seattle U on Sunday.
Seattle U Redhawks (4-2-2, 1-0-0 WAC)
Seattle U went 2-0 last week with a WAC-opening 3-1 victory over Grand Canyon and a non-conference 4-0 shutout over Cal Poly ... Seattle U topped Grand Canyon, 3-1, despite being down 1-0 at halftime to start off conference play ... Jacqui Wallis led the team with two goals, while five other Redhawks contributed one goal apiece over the weekend ... Stephanie Verdoia led SU with 3 assists and 5 points ... Brianna Smallidge earned a 0.67 GAA in 1.5 games, earning both wins ... Aris Coover made her first appearance of the season, playing the entire second half vs. Cal Poly ... Seattle U hosts Kansas City on Friday before welcoming New Mexico State on Sunday.
Utah Valley Wolverines (4-5-0, 2-0-0 WAC)
Utah Valley earned a pair of wins over CSUB in the WAC’s opening weekend, each by an identical 2-0 score line ... UVU is now 8-0-0 all-time in conference openers (3-0-0 United Soccer Conference, 4-0-0 Great West Conference) ... sophomore Kali Stubbs scored in each of UVU’s games against CSUB, pushing her season total in goals to three – second best on the team ... senior Haley Curtis scored the opening (and eventual game-winning goal) at CSUB Sunday, giving her a team-leading four goals on the season ... UVU is now on a three-game winning streak, its longest since the end of the 2012 season when it claimed its final game of the regular season and its two GWC tournament games ... this week, the Wolverines have only one match: a Sunday meeting with Grand Canyon in Phoenix ... Sunday marks the first-ever meeting between Utah Valley and Grand Canyon.
WAC NOTES
WAC SOCCER PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Offensive: Stephanie Verdoia, Jr., F, Seattle U
Verdoia, a junior forward from Salt Lake City, Utah (Brighton HS), scored one goal and tallied three assists for five points to help Seattle U to a 2-0 record last week. Verdoia recorded two assists in a 3-1 win over Grand Canyon. She scored the game-winning goal in a 4-0 win over Cal Poly. She also recorded an assist in the win over the Mustangs.
Other offensive nominees included: Idaho junior midfielder Katie Baran … Grand Canyon freshman forward Taylor Layton … Kansas City senior forward Taylor Bare … New Mexico State junior midfielder Katie Smith … Utah Valley sophomore forward Kali Stubbs.
Defensive: Lauren Sack, Sr., GK, Utah Valley
Sack, a senior goalkeeper from Reno, Nevada (McQueen HS), recorded her first shutouts of the season in Utah Valley’s two victories over Bakersfield. Sack tallied six saves without allowing a goal in a 2-0 win over Bakersfield on Friday at home. She then registered five saves in another 2-0 win at Bakersfield on Sunday. She recorded 11 saves on the weekend and went 180 minutes without allowing a goal. Sack has not allowed a goal in her last 221 minutes of action and now has 9.2 shutouts and 27 wins in her career.
Other defensive nominees included: Grand Canyon freshman defender Jessica Valadez … Kansas City sophomore goalkeeper Nina Tzianos … New Mexico State sophomore defender Mikaela Haley … Seattle U senior midfielder Julia Besagno.
UTAH VALLEY SITS ATOP THE WAC STANDINGS AFTER ONE WEEK OF LEAGUE PLAY
Utah Valley went a perfect 2-0 last week to open WAC play, tallying six points to sit atop the conference standings. The Wolverines defeated Bakersfield 2-0 at home on Friday and 2-0 at Bakersfield on Sunday. Seattle U went a perfect 1-0 in league play with a 3-1 win over Grand Canyon. Idaho also opened WAC play with a 1-0 record with an 3-1 victory over GCU. Kansas City and New Mexico State split a pair of matches against one another to open league play with 1-1 records. Both Grand Canyon and Bakersfield round out the league’s first week standings with 0-2 records.
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.