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MILNE AND HAWORTH NAMED WAC PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Utah Valley's Skyler Milne and Seattle U's Shane Haworth have been named Western Athletic Conference Offensive and Defensive Players of the Week, respectively, for Oct. 12 - 18.
Milne, a sophomore midfielder from Bluffdale, Utah (Brighton HS), recorded the first hat trick in Utah Valley men's soccer history on Friday, scoring all three goals in a 3-2 win over San José State. He scored his first two goals early in the first half to give the Wolverines the early lead. After the Spartans scored twice in the second half to tie the match at 2-2, he successfully converted a penalty kick opportunity in the 88th minute to give UVU the win.
Haworth, a senior goalkeeper from Puyallup, Wash. (Emerald Ridge HS), recorded his 15th career shutout on Sunday against San José State, saving a penalty kick in the 52nd minute to preserve the 1-0 win. He also earned the win on Friday against CSU Bakersfield, making one save in a 3-1 win over the Roadrunners.
Other offensive nominees: CSU Bakersfield's Julian Zamora took a team-high six shots this weekend, scoring on Friday at Seattle U … Houston Baptist's Marcelo Acuna scored three of the Huskies' four goals over the weekend … Incarnate Word's Dylan Kelly put together a second-half hat trick in Thursday's 4-2 win over Grand Canyon … Missouri-Kansas City's Wes White scored twice, including a goal in the 90th minute, in a 3-2 win over UT Rio Grande Valley on Sunday … Seattle U's David Olsen scored twice on Friday and again on Sunday to lead the Redhawks to a 2-0 weekend … UT Rio Grande Valley's Juanito Garcia scored a career-high three points with a goal and an assist on Sunday at Missouri-Kansas City.
Other defensive nominees: CSU Bakersfield's Nicolas Clever posted his ninth career shutout on Sunday against Utah Valley, making five saves … Houston Baptist's Chance Pope stopped a career-high nine shots in Sunday's double-overtime win at Air Force … Utah Valley's Alex Neff helped lead the Wolverines to their seventh shutout of the season in a scoreless draw at CSU Bakersfield.
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
With three weeks remaining in the regular season, Seattle U leads the WAC in shots (263), points (84) and goals (32) and is tied with Utah Valley for the lead in goals allowed with 11. UVU also posts the top goals against average (0.71) and shutouts (7). Incarnate Word has a league-high 21 assists while UTRGV has made a WAC-high 76 saves.
Individually, Grand Canyon's Alberto Sanchez Garcia continues to lead in shots with 54. UNLV's Danny Musovski is tops in the WAC in points (21) and goals (9). Incarnate Word's Dylan Kelly and Utah Valley's Aaron Meyer have a league-high six assists each while Musovski also leads the conference in game-winning goals with six. In goal, Seattle U's Shane Haworth has a WAC-best 0.68 goals against average and .792 save percentage. UTRGV's Leo Castillo leads the league with 70 saves while Haworth also holds the lead in shutouts with six.
REPPING THE RPI RANKINGS
Seattle U remained 14th in the latest RPI rankings, announced by the NCAA on Monday morning. Utah Valley dropped one spot to 36 while UNLV climbed four places to 64. CSU Bakersfield jumped 20 positions to 88 while Houston Baptist moved up one spot to 109. Missouri-Kansas City sits at 126, followed by Air Force (131), San José State (140), Grand Canyon (159), Incarnate Word (166) and UT Rio Grande Valley (187).
IN THE POLLS
Seattle U moved back into the top 20 in the national polls. The Redhawks currently sit at 13th in the Top Drawer Soccer Top 25, 18th in the College Soccer News Top 30 and 19th in the National Soccer Coaches' Association of American (NSCAA) Top 25. Utah Valley is among teams receiving votes in the both the NSCAA Top 25 and CSN Top 30 while UNLV is also earning points in the NSCAA Top 25.
REGIONALLY RANKED
The WAC stayed relatively the same in the latest NSCAA West Regional Ranking as Seattle U remains the second-ranked team behind Denver. Utah Valley stayed at third while UNLV continued to holding down the fourth spot. CSU Bakersfield remained ninth after falling at Seattle U and tying Utah Valley while Grand Canyon moved back into the rankings at 10th.
AMONG THE BEST
When it comes to putting the ball in the net, the WAC is among the best conference in the country, ranking second behind the Atlantic Coast Conference in total goals with 221. The WAC is also third in assists (174), third in saves (558) and second in game-winning goals (72).
NATIONAL ATTENTION
The WAC continues to earn respect from the national soccer media, as Seattle U's David Olsen was named to both the Top Drawer Soccer Team of the Week and the College Soccer News Team of the Week. Utah Valley's Skyler Milne joined Olsen on the CSN Team of the Week.
SCORING IN THE CLASSROOM
Posting a team grade point average of 3.0 or higher, four WAC men's soccer teams have been honored by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America for success in the classroom.Houston Baptist, Grand Canyon, Seattle U and Utah Valley represented the WAC on the list of 305 spanning all divisions. It is the second time earning the honor for all four schools. In addition, the women's teams at all four schools were also honored by the NSCAA.
TOP OF THE CLASS
CSU Bakersfield midfielder Christian Duarte has been selected as one of 30 men's soccer student-athletes listed as candidates for the 2015 Senior CLASS Award. To be eligible for the award, a student-athelte must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence: community, classroom, character and competiton.
GOAL! GOAL! GOAL! GOAL!
Seattle U forward Hamza Haddadi made the most of his season opener, tying the WAC record for goals in a game with four. The feat was last completed by New Mexico's Justin Sells on 1996 against Fort Lewis.
WAC MEN'S SOCCER EXPANDS TO 11 TEAMS
For 2015, the WAC will be expanding to 11 teams with the addition of UT Rio Grande Valley. The league is made up of both full time members of the WAC and affiliates: Air Force (affiliate), CSU Bakersfield, Grand Canyon, Houston Baptist (affiliate), Incarnate Word (affiliate), Missouri-Kansas City, San José State (affiliate), Seattle U, UTRGV and Utah Valley. Regular-season play will consist of a single round-robin format between all 11 teams 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. The top six teams will advance to the WAC tournament Nov. 12-13 and 15. Grand Canyon and Incarnate Word are ineligible due to their transition from Division II to Division I.
ONES TO WATCH
Three WAC men's soccer players have already found themselves among the top college soccer players in the country as CSU Bakersfield's Christian Duarte and Julian Zamora and UNLV's Rodrigo Fuentes were among 30 players mentioned on the Missouri Athletic Club Hermann Trophy watch list. The MAC Hermann Trophy goes to the top male and female college soccer players, as voted upon by coaches across the country.
REDHAWKS AND REBELS FAVORITES TO WIN WAC TITLE
Seattle U narrowly edged past UNLV in the preseason coaches poll with both the Redhawks and Rebels picking up five first-place votes. CSU Bakersfield earned the remaining first place vote as the Roadrunners were picked third in the preseason poll. Utah Valley earned the fourth place position ahead of fifth-place San José State. Missouri-Kansas City and Incarnate Word tied for sixth place followed by Grand Canyon, Air Force, Houston Baptist and first-year program UTRGV.
NCAA OPPONENTS
WAC teams will play in 14 matches against teams that played in the NCAA Tournament last year. Four of the matches will be played at WAC home sites with Seattle U hosting two and Missouri-Kansas City and Utah Valley each hosting one. Seattle U leads all teams with four matches against postseason participants, followed by two each for Utah Valley, Missouri-Kansas City and San José State. CSU Bakersfield, Grand Canyon, Houston Baptist and UTRGV will all play one.
Aug. 29 CSU Bakersfield at Denver
Sep. 3 Seattle U vs. Northwestern (at Spokane, Wash.)
Sep. 4 Missouri-Kansas City at SIU Edwardsville
Sep. 10 San José State at Stanford
Sep. 13 Houston Baptist vs. Hartwick (at Spokane, Wash.)
Sep. 27 Seattle U at Oregon State
Sep. 20 Dartmouth at Seattle U
Sep. 20 Utah Valley at Denver
Sep. 20 San José State at San Diego
Sep. 20 UTRGV at CSU Fullerton
Sep. 21 Tulsa at Missouri-Kansas City
Sep. 24 Washington at Seattle U
Sep. 24 CSU Fullerton at Utah Valley
Sep. 27 Grand Canyon at CSU Fullerton
2015 WAC TOURNAMENT
The WAC Men's Soccer Tournament will be held In Kansas City, Mo., November 12-13 and 15. The top six eligible teams will participate (Grand Canyon and Incarnate Word are ineligible due to their transition from Division II to Division I).