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2014 WAC Women's Soccer Preview

2014 WAC Women's Soccer Preview

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2014 WAC Women's Soccer Preview

Bakersfield Roadrunners

Head Coach: Gary Curneen (Wingate, ‘99)                                               Roadrunner Links            
2013 Record: 6-11-2 Complete Schedule
Starters Returning/Lost: 9/2 Roster

VIDEO INTERVIEW: Head Coach Gary Curneen

Notes

  • Bakersfield enters its second season in the WAC. The Roadrunners placed fifth in their inagural season in the league with a 3-8-1 league mark.

  • Senior Sarah Cook is a returning second team All-Conference selection. Cook played in 1,736 of a possible 1,763 minutes a year ago.
     
  • Cook was selected to be part of the Philippine Senior Women’s National Team that competed in the 23rd South East Asian (SEA) Games held from Nov. 11-Dec. 22, 2013 in Naypyidaw, Myanmar. Cook has started all but two matches in her career as a Roadrunner.

  • Sophomore Hedda Regefalk was selected 2013 Western Athletic Conference Freshman of the Year and second team All-Conference. She was chosen second team CollegeSportsMadness.com All-WAC.

  • The 2014 Roadrunners feature players from five different countries and five different states.

  • Sophomore midfielder Alex Bachman is an accomplished singer and has sung the national anthem at five different ‘Runner sporting events including the 2013 women’s soccer home finale.

Chicago State Cougars

Head Coach: Tony Tommasi (Richmond, ‘85)                                                  Cougar Links            
2013 Record: First season Complete Schedule
Starters Returning/Lost: 0/0 Roster

VIDEO INTERVIEW: Head Coach Tony Tommasi

Notes

  • Chicago State joins the WAC this season as the school fields its first-ever women’s soccer program.

  • Tony Tommasi was hired as the team’s first-ever head coach in July of 2013. Tommasi has put together a team that will consist of 24 freshmen, making the Cougars the youngest team in the nation.
     
  • Tommasi most recently was the head coach at Buena Vista. He also made head coaching stops at Methodist and Texas Lutheran. Tommasi also spent time as an assistant coach at Mississippi State. He was named the 2006 USA South Coach of the Year and the 2003 ASC Coach of the Year.

  • The Cougar roster is made up of freshmen from 10 different states, including Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, Ohio and Wisconsin.

  • The team will play its first-ever home soccer match on Aug. 29 when the team hosts North Dakota. Chicago State’s schedule will include nine home matches.

  • Chicago State will be eligible for the WAC Tournament in November. The top six teams from the regular season advance to the tournament.

 Grand Canyon Antelopes

Head Coach: Stevie Gill (Grand Canyon, ‘00)                                                 Antelope Links            
2013 Record: 5-12-1 Complete Schedule
Starters Returning/Lost: 5/6 Roster

VIDEO INTERVIEW: Head Coach Stevie Gill

Notes

  • Five starters and 16 letterwinners from the 2013 team will return for the Lopes in 2014.

  • Cassie Beckwith returns for her junior season after ranking fourth in the WAC in game-winning goals (3) and fifth in shots (40) a season ago. 
     
  • Sophomore Jessica Valadez had a busy off-season, as the defender was selected to compete with the U-20 Mexican National Team. Valadez started all 18 games for the Lopes during her freshman campaign. 

  • In just its first season at the Division I level and within the Western Athletic Conference, Grand Canyon garnered a fourth-place finish in WAC play and would have qualified for the WAC postseason tournament, had they not been a transitioning school.

  • Eight states and four countries are represented on Canyon’s 2014 roster, with 11 of the 34 players hailing from the state of Arizona. 

  • The GCU women’s soccer team earned the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Team Academic Award for the 2012-13 academic year after compiling a team GPA of 3.61. 

  • GCU made its first-ever NCAA postseason appearance in the 16-year history of the program in 2011, earning a trip to the NCAA Division II tournament.

Missouri-Kansas City Kangaroos

Head Coach: Chris Cissell (William Jewell, '94)                                          Kangaroo Links            
2013 Record: 12-9-1 Complete Schedule
Starters Returning/Lost: 9/3 Roster

VIDEO INTERVIEW: Head Coach Chris Cissell

Notes

  • UMKC has nine starters and 17 lettermen returning to the team this season, including All-WAC honorees Kaely Tott and Alyssa Elver.

  • The Kangaroos return the top goalkeeper in program history, junior Nina Tzianos, who broke five school single-season and career records while twice being named the WAC Defensive Player of the Week.
     
  • Missouri-Kansas City enters its sixth season in program history and will play its second season of competition in the WAC.

  • UMKC made its second trip to the conference tournament in three seasons under head coach Chris Cissell in 2013, reaching the WAC Championship match before falling to Seattle U.

  • The Kangaroos set program marks for wins in a season (12), home victories (7), and conference wins (8), goals scored in a season (33), and goals scored in a game (6) in 2013.

  • In the classroom, 10 student-athletes were named Academic All-WAC in 2013-14.

 New Mexico State Aggies

Head Coach: Freddy Delgado (Regis, '97)                                                            Aggie Links            
2013 Record: 5-13-2 Complete Schedule
Starters Returning/Lost: 7/5 Roster

VIDEO INTERVIEW: Head Coach Freddy Delgado

Notes

  • New Mexico State returns three Aggies that started all 20 games last season.

  • NM State finished the 2013 season with a 5-13-2 overall record. The Aggies finished seventh in WAC play with a 2-9-1 mark.
     
  • Jennae Cambra returns to the squad  was named second team All-WAC for her performance in 2013.

  • Katelynn Tupponce earned second team CoSIDA/Capital One academic all-district honors last season. 15 Aggies received all-WAC academic honors last year.

  • New Mexico State recorded three ties in 2012 and suffered eight one-goal losses.

  • The Aggies played in a new soccer stadium for the first season and averaged over 400 fans per match, despite playing all day games.

Seattle U Redhawks

Head Coach: Julie Woodward (Seattle U, '93)                                               Redhawk Links            
2013 Record: 17-3-2 Complete Schedule
Starters Returning/Lost: 6/5 Roster

VIDEO INTERVIEW: Head Coach Julie Woodward

Notes

  • The Seattle U women’s soccer team became the first-ever SU female team to reach the NCAA Division I Tournament in 2013.

  • The squad became just the fourth team in WAC history to record a perfect record in league play (12-0-0) and first team to ever win 12 conference games in 2013.
     
  • SU recorded a 15-game winning streak to end the 2013 season as well as a seven-game shutout streak (Sept. 22-Oct. 18, 2013) during which they recorded 25 consecutive unanswered goals.

  • The Redhawks had nine All-Conference honorees in 2013, the most of any league school while Stephanie Verdoia was also named WAC Offensive Player of the Year and Julie Woodward was named WAC Coach of the Year.

  • Through regular season play, the Redhawks were one of just 16 Division I teams with multiple double digit scorers (Stephanie Verdoia – 15, Natasha Howe – 10).

  • Kiana Kraft, Julia Besagno, and Stephanie Verdoia were named to the WAC All-Tournament team while Monique Escalera was named Tournament MVP last season.

 Texas-Pan American Broncs

Head Coach: Glad Bugariu (North Carolina, '99)                                                 Bronc Links            
2013 Record: First season Complete Schedule
Starters Returning/Lost: 0/0 Roster

VIDEO INTERVIEW: Head Coach Glad Bugariu

Notes

  • Texas-Pan American enters its inaugural season with a roster that contains 18 true freshman. 

  • The roster contains six transfers, including three sophomores (Sheridan Becanic from Eastern Washington, Renee Bruns from Nicholls State and Bianca Gomez from Lindenwood) and three juniors (Natalia Barrios from InterAmiercan University of Puerto Rico and Cayla Thomas and Sierra Tjelmeland from Maine at Machias).
     
  • Two student-athletes, redshirt freshman April Compean and redshirt sophomore Rosa Martines, were already students at UTPA.

  • 13 of the 26 student-athletes on the UTPA roster come from Texas, including five from the Rio Grande Valley area.

  • Glad Bugariu becomes the first-ever head coach of the UTPA women’s soccer program. He holds a 97-68-12 overall record with success at both South Carolina State and Belmont Abbey College.

  • Bugariu earned Great West Conference Co-Coach of the Year honors in 2010.

Utah Valley Wolverines

Head Coach: Brent Anderson (Utah State, '04)                                            Wolverine Links            
2013 Record: 9-10-1 Complete Schedule
Starters Returning/Lost: 7/4 Roster

VIDEO INTERVIEW: Head Coach Brent Anderson

Notes

  • Junior Kali Stubbs is the team’s top returning scorer from last season, when she finished with six goals and on assist for 13 points.

  • Utah Valley lost all four of it’s All-WAC players from last season in seniors Natalie Baker, Haley Curtis, Lexi Dunn and WAC Defensive Player of the Year Lauren Sack.
     
  • In losing both Baker and Curtis, UVU must replace its top two scorers (with seven goals apiece). The duo scored 14 of the team’s 31 goals, a total of 45 percent.

  • UVU signed NSCAA National Player of the Year and NSCAA and NJCAA All-American Kasandra Anderson, who joined the team in January after leading Iowa Western to an NJCAA National Championship.

  • The Wolverines have just three seniors on this year’s team: Lexi Robison, McKell Salmon and Kim Stratford. Each of the three played in all 20 games last season with Robison one of three players to start every contest.

  • Utah Valley finished third in WAC play in its first-ever season in the conference last year, finishing with a  7-4-1 league mark. The team finished the 2013 season with a 9-10-1 overall record.