WHAT’S ON TAP IN THE WAC
The week began Tuesday night with a 4-1 victory for San Jose State over Massachusetts. Rory Knibbs recorded the second hat trick in the WAC this season (after none last year). No. 22 Seattle U travels to crosstown rival Washinton Thursday night for a match that will be shown on the Pac-12 Network. UNLV hosts the Johann Memorial Classic this weekend in which Bakersfield will also compete. Utah Valley resumes its inaugural season in Chicago with matches again DePaul and Loyola-Chicago. Saturday highlights include Air Force at Army and San Jose State at Stanford.
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
OFFENSIVE – UNLV’s Salvador Bernal, a senior forward from Las Vegas, Nev. (Clark HS), posted his first career hat trick and added an assist in UNLV’s 4-3 win at Bradley on Sunday. Coupled with a 2-1 overtime victory against Western Illinois, UNLV earned the Hotels at Grand Prairie Classic title. Bernal had a total of six shots in the Bradley match, five of which were on goal. UNLV fell behind 2-0 in the first half before Bernal scored two goals in six minutes to tie it up before halftime. His assist came in the 79th minute off a corner kick to give the Rebels the final goal of the match. Bernal was named the tournament MVP after becoming the first UNLV player to record a hat trick since 2001.
DEFENSIVE – Seattle U’s Shane Haworth, a junior goalkeeper from Puyallup, Wash. (Emerald Ridge) made his first appearance since 2012 picking up two wins over the weekend at the Nike/Aaron Olitsky Soccer Classic in Charleston, S.C. In a 2-1 win over Furman, Haworth made seven saves. He then recorded a shutout and six more saves in a 2-0 win over the host team, College of Charleston. Haworth was named to the all-tournament team following his performances in the two matches.
Others nominated on offense:
Jamie Carey-Morrell, Fr., D, Bakersfield - scored the only goal in Bakersfield’s 1-0 victory at San Diego State. It was the first win over the Aztecs in seven tries.
Niki Jackson, Fr., F, Grand Canyon - made his Grand Canyon debut against Green Bay. He played 77 minutes and placed three of his five shot attempts on goal.
Patrick Toh, Sr., F, Houston Baptist - scored both goals in a 2-2 tie at Drake on Friday. Both goals tied the match for the Huskies.
Jeff Rose, So., MF, Seattle U - scored both goals on four shots in a 2-1 win over Furman in the season opener.
Matt Gay, Fr., F, Utah Valley - had a goal and two assists in Utah Valley’s inaugural game, a 5-1 victory over Massachusetts. His first assist was on the the program’s first ever goal.
Also nominated on defense:
Nicolas Clever, So., GK, Bakersfield - recorded his second career shutout in six starts in the 1-0 win at San Diego State. Clever had five saves during the match.
Kendyl Day, Fr., GK, Grand Canyon - made four saves, including three in the first overtime period of the match at Green Bay.
Kevin Suarez, Sr., GK, Houston Baptist - set a new career-high with nine saves in the 2-2 tie at Drake. He had two saves in the first overtime period.
Collin Partee, Fr., GK, Utah Valley - recorded six saves and an assist in the 5-1 victory over UMass.
TWO HAT TRICKS IN FIRST WEEK
UNLV’s Sal Bernal recorded the WAC’s first hat trick since 1999 with three goals at Bradley on Sunday. San Jose State’s Rory Knibbs added another three-goal match on Tuesday night in the Spartans’ 4-1 victory over Massachusetts. There were no hat tricks by WAC players last year, the first season of men’s soccer in the league since 1999. That season, six players recorded hat tricks including one by San Jose State’s Isaias Bardales.
SEATTLE U RANKED 22ND
Seattle u earned the men’s soccer program and the school’s first national ranking since returning to NCAA Division I competition, ranked No. 22 in the Sept. 2 edition of the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA)/Continental Tire Division I Men’s Soccer National Poll. The No. 22 ranking is a first for both the program and Seattle U athletics – the first national ranking in a coaches poll since the Redhawks returned to Division I competition. This week, the Redhawks also earned rankings in the Soccer America DI Men’s Top 25, coming in at No. 24, and the Top Drawer Soccer DI Men’s Top 25, earning a No. 25 ranking. SU is receiving votes in the College Soccer News DI Top 30 National Poll.
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 is as follows: 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.