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DUARTE AND CAREY-MORRELL NAMED WAC PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
CSU Bakersfield's Christian Duarte and Jamie Carey-Morrell have been named Western Athletic Conference Offensive and Defensive Players of the Week, respectively, for Oct. 19 - 25.
Duarte, a senior midfielder from Houston (Clear Springs HS), led CSUB to a 2-0 week with two goals and an assist. He scored the first goal for the Roadrunners in both matches on the week in a 2-1 win over Air Force and a 3-0 win over Missouri-Kansas City. His assist came on Julian Zamora's goal, the final tally of Sunday's victory over UMKC.
Carey-Morrell, a sophomore defender from Stevenage, England (The Nobel School), led the Roadrunner defense to a pair of wins and assisted on offense as well, posing three assists on the weekend. Against Air Force, he helped recorded assists on both goals to lead CSUB to a 2-1 win. On Sunday against UMKC, he picked up one assist while helping hold the Kangaroos to just two shots on goal in the shutout.
Other offensive nominees: Incarnate Word's Ben Conway scored two goals and assisted on the other in a 3-1 win over Houston Baptist on Thursday … Seattle U's Kyle Bjornethun scored the game-winner in a 3-2 win at defending champion UNLV … Utah Valley's Skyler Milne scored the game-tying goal in a 3-2 win over Grand Canyon.
Other defensive nominees: Incarnate Word's Alex Hoyl played all 180 minutes as the Cardinals earned a pair of wins over in-state rivals Houston Baptist and UTRGV … Seattle U's Shane Haworth made seven saves to record his 16th career shutout in Sunday's 1-0 win at Grand Canyon … Utah Valley's Connor Salmon scored his first career goal in a 3-2 win over Grand Canyon.
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
Heading into the final weeks of the regular season, Seattle U leads the WAC in shots (290), points (94), goals (36), goals allowed (13), goals against average (0.77) and are tied with Utah Valley for the lead in shutouts (7). Incarnate Word holds the lead in assists with 25 with UTRGV is tops in saves with 79.
Individually, Grand Canyon's Alberto Sanchez Garcia continues to lead in shots (66). UNLV's Danny Musovski is tops in points (25) and goals (11). Utah Valley's Aaron Meyer holds the lead in assists with eight.
In net, Seattle U's Shane Haworth leads the WAC in goals against average (0.71), save percentage (.797) and shutouts (7). UTRGV's Leo Castillo is tops in saves with 78.
PUNCHING THEIR TICKET
The 2015 WAC Men's Soccer Tournament field is starting to identify itself as teams are starting to clinch their trip to Kansas City. Seattle U and Utah Valley have both secured a spot in the tournament field with four more spots up for grabs over the next two weeks.
REPPING THE RPI RANKINGS
Seattle U moved up two spots in the latest RPI Rankings, announced by the NCAA on Modnay morning. The Redhawks now sit at 12. Utah Valley fell nine spots to 45 while UNLV climbed 14 spots to 50. CSU Bakersfield advanced five spots to 83 and Houston Baptist fell 15 places to 124. San José State moved up one spot to 139 followed by Air Force at 140. UMKC sits at 144 and Grand Canyon (148), Incarnate Word (157) and UTRGV (194) round out the WAC in the RPI.
IN THE POLLS
Seattle U now sits in the top 15 in all three major polls. The Redhawks are 13th in the Top Drawer Soccer Top 25, 14th in the College Soccer News Top 30 and 15th in the National Soccer Coaches' Association of America (NSCAA) Top 25. Utah Valley is among those receiving votes in the CSN Top 30.
REGIONALLY RANKED
In the NSCAA West Regional Ranking, the top two stayed the same as nationally-ranked Denver (8) and Seattle U (15) remained one-two. UNLV swapped places with Utah Valley, with the Rebels at three and Wolverines at four. CSU Bakersfield remained at nine to round out the WAC representatives in the poll.
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 250 goals. The WAC is also third in assists (197), third in saves (636), fourth in goals allowed (223) and second in game-winning goals (81).
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 was 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).