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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.
GETTING READY
The WAC went an even 8-8-5 in exhibition play, including UNLV playing to a 1-1 tie with No. 20 UC Irvine in a rematch of last season's NCAA Men's Soccer Tournament first round match.
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).
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 NCAA COLLEGE CUP
UMKC and the Kansas City Sports Commission and Foundation will host the 57th Annual Men's College Cup at Sporting Park in Kansas City, Kan., Dec. 11 and 13. Last season, UNLV represented the WAC in the NCAA Tournament. The Rebels fell at UC Irvine, 3-0, in the first round. The following is a list of sites and dates for the 2014 NCAA Tournament:
First Round (48)
November 19, 2015
On campus sites TBD
Second Round (32)
November 22, 2015
On campus sites TBD
Third Round (16)
November 29, 2015
On campus sites TBD
Quarterfinals (8)
December 4-5, 2015
On campus sites TBD
Men's College Cup
December 11 and 13, 2015
Sporting Park
Kansas City, Kan.