WHAT’S ON TAP IN THE WACThe WAC enters its final week of non-conference matches beginning with UMKC hosting Central Arkansas on Tuesday night, its only match of the week. Utah Valley travels to Las Vegas to participate in the UNLV Rebel Classic. Both WAC teams will play UC Irvine and UC Riverside during the tournament. Incarnate Word is the only team not competing this week and has a 10-day break before playing at Oral Roberts on Sept. 30. WAC play begins the following week with matches on Friday, Oct. 3.
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
OFFENSIVE – Utah Valley’s Lucas Cawley, a freshman midfielder from Centerville, Utah (Viemont HS), scored the game-winning goal and assisted on the Wolverines’ first goal in a 2-1 victory over No. 21 Denver on Friday night. He scored the first goal of the match in the 65th minute from 25 yards out. After Denver tied it up a few minutes later, Cawley assisted on the game-winner in the 75th minute to give Utah Valley the upset victory.
DEFENSIVE – Air Force’s Jake Schenk, a sophomore goalkeeper from Flemington, N.J. (Hunterdon Central), helped the Falcons remain unbeaten with a 1-0-1 mark last week. At unbeaten UC Davis, Schenk held the Aggies to just one goal in a 1-1 tie. He made 10 saves in 110 minutes, the most by any WAC player this season. He then recorded his fourth shutout of the season with a 1-0 victory at Sacramento State, making five saves in the match. Air Force remains undefeated with a 4-0-3 record on the season.
Others nominated on offense:
Christian Duarte, Jr., MF, Bakersfield - scored the game-winning goal, 3:46 into overtime to defeat Drexel, 2-1. He had a total of 10 shots in two matches including a career-high seven in a 1-1 tie against VCU.
Kyle Summerhill, Sr., MF, Grand Canyon - scored the game-winner in overtime to give the ‘Lopes a 1-0 win at Sacramento State. The goal was his first of the season and came on his lone shot of the match.
Gustavo Alvarado, Sr., MF, Houston Baptist - had two assists off of corner kicks in a 4-0 win over Belmont on Saturday.
Noah Keats, Jr., MF, Incarnate Word - scored a goal seven minutes into overtime to give the Cardinals their first victory of the season, 2-1, at Oakland.
Also nominated on defense:
Nicolas Cleaver, So., GK, Bakersfield - was 1-0-1 over the weekend making three saves in a 1-1 tie against VCU before earning the victory in a 2-1 overtime win against Drexel.
Kendyl Day, So., GK, Grand Canyon - allowed just one goal over 207:15 minutes of play in two matches last weekend as Grand Canyon went 1-0-1. He made three saves to pick up his first shutout of the season in a 1-0 overtime victory at Sacramento State and then added two more saves in a 1-1 tie at UC Davis.
Philip Poser, Jr., GK, Houston Baptist - made three saves and earned a shutout in his debut during a 4-0 win against Belmont. He is the first Husky since the program’s resurrection in 2006 to record a shutout in his debut.
Andrew Grossman, Jr., D, Incarnate Word - played all 97 minutes of UIW’s 2-1 overtime win at Oakland. The only goal allowed in the game came on a penalty kick.
Cameron Kidwell, Sr., D, Utah Valley
AIR FORCE REMAINS UNDEFEATED
After four weekends of play, Air Force is the WAC’s last unbeaten team. Air Force was 1-0-1 last week to improve to 4-0-3 on the season. Through games of Monday, there were just five other teams in Division I without a loss: UC Irvine (6-0-1), Penn State (6-0-1), George Mason (6-0-1), Davidson (3-0-2), and UC Davis (2-0-5).
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 Air Force. Seattle U is third, Bakersfield fourth, UNLV fifth and Utah Valley makes its first ever appearnace in the rankings at ninth.
WAC AT .500 IN NON-CONFERENCE PLAY
The WAC is 27-27-9 versus non-conference opponents this year. A year ago at this time, the WAC was 11-36-6 (.264).
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 ninth 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.