WHAT’S ON TAP IN THE WACThe WAC’s conference season begins this weekend with each of the teams playing their respective travel partners. On Friday, Houston Baptist opens at Incarnate Word. Last year’s WAC champion Seattle U takes its undefeated record in conference matches (7-0-3) to Utah Valley on Saturday night. Bakersfield and UNLV had the WAC’s best non-conference marks at 6-2-1 and both host their WAC openers against San Jose State and Grand Canyon, respectively. San Jose State head coach Simon Tobin makes his return to Bakersfield where he coached the previous 27 years. The match will be shown online at NSCAATV.com.
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
OFFENSIVE – Bakersfield’s Simon Doherty, a junior forward from West Lothian, Scotland (FDU), led all WAC players with five points last week. Doherty tied the match with Cal State Northridge on Thursday night with his fifth goal of the season before the Roadrunners lost 2-1 in double overtime. On Sunday, Doherty added another goal and an assist in a 5-0 victory over Sacramento State. He had a total of four shots during the week.
DEFENSIVE – Seattle U’s Shane Haworth, a junior goalkeeper from Puyallup, Wash. (Emerald Ridge), recorded two shutouts as Seattle U won both of its matches 1-0 last week. On Friday night, he helped the Redhawks beat 24th-ranked Oregon State with one save and then made seven saves on Sunday to beat Gonzaga. The shutouts gave him four on the season. Haworth has played all 720 minutes for Seattle U this season.
Others nominated on offense:
Alberto Sanchez Garcia, Jr., F, Grand Canyon - had a total of five shots in two matches last week including three on goal.
Thilo Borgmann, Jr., MF, Houston Baptist - had three assists in a 4-3 overtime loss at Oral Roberts last week. Two of them came off corner kicks helping the Huskies send the match into overtime.
Wes White, Fr., F, Missouri-Kansas City - scored his first career goal on a header from a corner kick in a 1-0 victory over Central Arkansas last Tuesday.
Danny Musovski, Fr., F, UNLV - scored the first two goals of his career last week with one against both UC Irvine and UC Riverside.
Alex Roldan, Fr., MF, Seattle U - scored his first career goal in the 1-0 shutout over 24th-ranked Oregon State on Friday.
Matt Gay, Fr., F, Utah Valley - scored both of the Wolverines’ goals last week. He had the game-winner in a 1-0 victory over UC Riverside and then added a penalty kick goal to give Utah Valley a 1-0 lead over UC Irvine in the second half.
Also nominated on defense:
Luca Licciardi, Jr., GK, Grand Canyon - made his first start on Sunday against Cal State Fullerton. He surrendered a goal three minutes into the match, but then did not allow another one for the remainder of the contest. Licciardi made two saves during the game.
Chris McGaughey, Sr., GK, Missouri-Kansas City - recorded his first shutout of the season with four saves in a 1-0 win over Central Arkansas.
Alex Neff, So., D, Utah Valley - was part of a Wolverine defense that shutout UC Riverside on Friday.
SEATTLE U BACK IN TOP 25
Seattle U made its return into the NSCAA top 25 rankings at number 24 this week. The Redhawks beat Oregon State and Gonzaga over the weeend to improve to 5-3 on the season. Seattle U was 25th in the second poll of the season on Sept. 2.
FIVE TEAMS IN REGIONAL RANKINGS
The WAC has five teams in the top nine of the NSCAA West Regional Rankings including the number spot held by Seattle U. Air Force is third, Bakersfield fourth, UNLV sixth and Utah Valley eighth.
WAC’S NON-CONFERENCE RECORD MUCH BETTER THAN 2013
The WAC is 33-36-9 (.481) versus non-conference opponents this year. A year ago at this time, the WAC was 12-43-8 (.254) entering the conference season.
WAC STAT LEADERS
As a team, Bakersfield leads the WAC in shots (160), points (61), goals (22) and assists (17). Air Force leads the WAC in saves (49) and goal against average (0.46). UNLV has posted the most shutouts with five.
Individually, Utah Valley’s Matt Gay leads the WAC in shots (30). UNLV’s Salvador Bernal and Bakersfield’s Simon Doherty are tied with 14 points, including six goals apiece. UNLV’s Julian Portugal and Bakersfield’s David Velasquez are tied for the WAC lead in assists with four each. Air Force’s Jake Schenk leads the WAC in goals against average (0.46), save percentage (.920) and saves (46). Houston Baptist’s Kevin Suarez leads the WAC (and the nation) in saves per game (7.00). UNLV’s Ryan Harding has posted the most shutouts with 4.1.
UTAH VALLEY IN TOP 10 OF ATTENDANCE
In its inaugural year, the Utah Valley men’s soccer team is averaging 2,754 fans per match, the eighth best in the nation. The Wolverines had a high of 3,209 against Gonzaga on Sept. 12.
TWO HAT TRICKS IN FIRST WEEK
After no WAC player recorded a hat trick in 2013, there have been two posted this season. UNLV’s Sal Bernal recorded the WAC’s first hat trick since 1999 with three goals at Bradley on Aug. 31. San Jose State’s Rory Knibbs added another three-goal match on Sept. 2 in the Spartans’ 4-1 victory over Massachusetts.
WAC MEN’S SOCCER EXPANDS TO 10 TEAMS
For the first time since 1999, the WAC sponsored men’s soccer during the 2013 season. Seattle U won the 2013 regular season title with an undefeated mark of 7-0-3 and earned the WAC tournament title to advance to the NCAA tournament where it won its first round game. For 2014, the WAC has added two more teams to expand to 10 this season. The league is made up of both full time members of the WAC and affiliates: Air Force (affiliate), Bakersfield, Grand Canyon, Houston Baptist (affiliate), Incarnate Word (affiliate), Missouri-Kansas City, San Jose State (affiliate), Seattle U and Utah Valley. New this season are Incarnate Word and Utah Valley. UIW comes to the WAC after starting its transition from Division II to Division I last season in which it played as an independent. Utah Valley begins its first season of sponsoring men’s soccer.
REGULAR SEASON FORMAT
Regular-season play consists of a single round-robin format between all 10 teams and an additional match against each team’s travel party for a total of 10 matches. The points system will be used to determine conference standings. Each team will receive three points for a win and one point for a tie.
2014 WAC TOURNAMENT
The WAC Men’s Soccer Tournament will be held at Seattle U, November 13-14 and 16. The top six eligible teams will participate (Grand Canyon and Incarnate Word are ineligible due to their transition from Division II to Division I).
FUTURE MEMBER
The WAC will expand its men’s soccer league next year with the addition of Texas-Pan American in 2015. The Broncs have hired Paul Leese as their head coach.