WHAT’S ON TAP IN THE WACAfter road teams went 3-0-1 last Sunday, all four return home this week. Incarnate Word puts its perfect WAC mark on the line when it hosts UNLV (4-1-0) on Friday night. In another key matchup, San Jose State plays at Bakersfield in a travel partner game that has the two teams separated by one point in the WAC standings.
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
OFFENSIVE – Incarnate Word’s Ben Conway, a sophomore forward from Wigan, England (Hawkley Hall HS), scored a goal in each of the Cardinals’ two road wins this past weekend. Conway scored the opening goal at Bakersfield in a 2-1 overtime victory on Friday and then headed a goal in the second half of a 1-0 win at San Jose State yesterday. For the week, Conway attempted six shots with three on goal. The two wins moved Incarnate Word to the top of the WAC standings at 4-0 in conference play.
DEFENSIVE – Seattle U’s Shane Haworth, a junior goalkeeper from Puyallup, Wash. (Emerald Ridge), made nine saves in recording his sixth shutout of the season during a 1-0 double overtime victory against Utah Valley on Saturday night. The nine saves were a season-high for Haworth.
Others nominated on offense:
Alexander Ramirez, Fr., MF, Grand Canyon - scored a goal and added an assist in a 3-2 win over UMKC.
Patrick Toh, Sr., F, Houston Baptist - had a goal in the loss at San Jose State and an assist in the win at Bakersfield over the weekend.
Tato Chiaparro, Sr., MF, Missouri-Kansas City - scored goals in both matches last weekend, including the first in a 2-1 victory at UNLV.
Kyle Bjornethun, So., D, Seattle U - played all 104 minutes in the double overtime victory against Utah Valley and scored the only goal in the game.
Also nominated on defense:
Luca Licciardi, Jr., GK, Grand Canyon - recorded his first career shutout in a 0-0 double overtime draw against Air Force. Licciardi had four saves in the match.
Philip Poser, Jr., GK, Houston Baptist - helped the Huskies snap a four-game losing streak with a 3-1 win at Bakersfield. He set a career-high with six saves in the match.
Kieran O’Boyle, Jr., GK, Incarnate Word - was 2-0 with a shutout last week for the Cardinals. On Friday, he allowed just one goal in a 2-1 overtime victory at Bakersfield and then shut out San Jose State 1-0 on Saturday. He made 16 saves, including 10 against San Jose State, over the weekend.
Chris McGaughey, Sr., GK, Missouri-Kansas City - made 11 saves in two matches last week, and allowed just one goal in a 2-1 win at UNLV on Sunday.
Alex Neff, So., D, Utah Valley
WAC DIGITAL NETWORK TO PREVIEW TWO MATCHES
The Western Athletic Conference is offering a preview of the upcoming WAC Digital Network this weekend with two men’s soccer matches: Oct. 24-Seattle U at UMKC; Oct. 26-Utah Valley at UMKC. The matches can be viewed by going to wacsports.com and are available on computers, tablets and smartphones from anywhere for free. The broadcasts also feature adaptive streaming and will detect the user’s bandwidth and adjust the quality of the video accordingly. More features including on-demand viewing, original content and features, games of the week and WAC Championships will be unveiled at the official launch later this month.
FIVE TEAMS IN REGIONAL RANKINGS
The WAC has five teams in the top eight of the NSCAA West Regional Rankings including the number spot held by UNLV. Seattle U is second, Air Force fifth, Utah Valley seventh and Bakersfield eighth.
WAC’S NON-CONFERENCE RECORD MUCH IMPROVED
The WAC is 33-36-9 (.481) versus non-conference opponents this year. A year ago, the WAC finished the 2013 season with a non-conference mark of 14-46-8 (.265).
WAC STAT LEADERS
As a team, Bakersfield leads the WAC in shots (231), points (88), goals (32) and assists (24). Air Force leads the WAC in saves (72) while Utah Valley leads in goals against average (0.78). UNLV has posted the most shutouts with eight.
Individually, Utah Valley’s Matt Gay leads the WAC in shots (46). San Jose State’s Rory Knibbs leads the WAC with 18 points and is tied for the WAC lead with Bakersfield’s Julian Zamora in goals with eight. San Jose State’s Johnathan Colunga leads the WAC in assists with seven. Air Force’s Jake Schenk leads the WAC in goals against average (0.62), save percentage (.889) and saves (64). Houston Baptist’s Kevin Suarez leads the WAC in saves per game (6.43). UNLV’s Ryan Harding has posted the most shutouts with 7.1.
UTAH VALLEY IN TOP 15 OF ATTENDANCE
In its inaugural year, the Utah Valley men’s soccer team is averaging 2,080 fans per match, the 13th best in the nation. The Wolverines had a high of 3,209 against Gonzaga on Sept. 12.
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. Leese spent the previous five seasons as the head coach at Coker College.