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ROBERTS AND CASTILLO NAMED WAC PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Seattle U's Michael Roberts and UT Rio Grande Valley goalkeeper Leo Castillo have been named Western Athletic Conference Offensive and Defensive Players of the Week, respectively, for Sept. 28 - Oct. 4.
Roberts, a senior forward from Issaquah, Wash. (Issaquah HS), scored three goals and assisted on two others as the No. 24 Redhawks won their first two WAC matches of the season. Against Missouri-Kansas City, Roberts scored twice and assisted on another in a 5-1 win on Friday night. He followed that up with a goal and an assist in a 2-0 win over Air Force on Sunday afternoon.
Castillo, a junior goalkeeper from Houston (Tyler JC), has been a consistent force for the Vaqueros all season long and played an integral part in Sunday's 1-0 win at UNLV. Against the Rebels, he made five saves to collect his second shutout of the season. On Friday night, he made six saves at Grand Canyon, allowing one goal in a 1-0 loss.
Other offensive nominees: CSU Bakersfield's Julian Zamora scored twice in a 3-2 loss at Incarnate Word and again on Sunday in a 2-0 win over Pacific ... Grand Canyon's Alberto Sanchez Garcia scored in both of the Lopes' wins over UTRGV and Houston Baptist … Incarnate Word's O'Neal Moore scored twice in UIW's 3-2 win over Bakersfield on Wednesday … UT Rio Grande Valley's Teemu Vaarakallio scored his first career goal to give the Vaqueros a 1-0 win at UNLV … Utah Valley's Skyler Milne scored the game-winner in overtime against Air Force and then assisted on the game-winner and scored again in a 3-0 win over Missouri-Kansas City.
Other defensive nominees: CSU Bakersfield's Oscar Gloveus made four saves to help the Runners shutout Pacific on Sunday ... Grand Canyon's Kendyl Day recorded his first shutout of the season in a 1-0 win over UTRGV and made six saves in a 3-1 win over Houston Baptist … Incarnate Word's Alex Hoyl played all 180 minutes for the Cardinals as UIW went 1-1 on the weekend … Seattle U's Shane Haworth recorded his fifth shutout against Air Force and played 72 scoreless minutes against Missouri-Kansas City … Utah Valley's Giovanny Vazquez led the Wolverine defense that limited UMKC to just one shot on goal in UVU's 3-0 win on Sunday.
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
One week into WAC play, Seattle U continues to lead the league in shots (207), points (66), goals (25), goals allowed (6) and goals against average (0.55). Incarnate Word holds the lead in assists with 18 and UTRGV has the most saves with 52.
Individually, Grand Canyon's Alberto Sanchez Garcia has a WAC-best 44 shots this season. Incarnate Word's Noah Keats leads the conference with 19 points and is tied with Seattle U's Hamza Haddadi for the lead in goals with eight. UIW's Dylan Kelly and Utah Valley's Aaron Meyer are tied for the lead in assists with six each.
In goal, Seattle U's Shane Haworth leads the WAC in goals against average (0.46), save percentage (.839) and shutouts (5). UTRGV keeper Leo Castillo leads the league in saves with 47 in nine matches played.
REPPING THE RPI RANKINGS
Seattle U climbed six spots in the official RPI rankings, announced by the NCAA on Monday morning, sitting at 10th. Utah Valley fell four spots to 30 but still sits in a good spot after a pair of wins at home. UNLV fell 44 spots to 71 while Grand Canyon climbed 11 spots to 110. Air Force is at 135, followed by CSU Bakersfield (136), UMKC (154), San José State (156), Incarnate Word (169), Houston Baptist (173) and UTRGV (180.)
IN THE POLLS
A pair of wins to open up WAC play propelled both Seattle U and Utah Valley up the national polls this week. Seattle U's highest ranking is at 10th in the Top Drawer Soccer Top 25. The Redhawks are ranked 13th in the College Soccer News Top 30 and 19th in the National Soccer Coaches' Association of America (NSCAA) Top 25. Utah Valley moved up to 23rd in the NSCAA Top 25 and the Wolverines made their debut in the CSN Top 30, also at 23rd.
REGIONALLY RANKED
Seattle U may sit in front of Utah Valley in the national polls but it is the Wolverines who are abover the Redhawks in the NSCAA West Regional Ranking. UVU remains second behind Denver while Seattle U is third behind Utah Valley. UNLV remains fifth despite a loss to UTRGV while Grand Canyon appears in the pool at eighth. Incarnate Word dropped one spot but remaining in the poll at 10th.
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).