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KEATS AND KAMDEM NAMED WAC PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Incarnate Word forward Noah Keats and UNLV defender Bradley Kamdem have been named Western Athletic Conference Offensive and Defensive Players of the Week, respectively, for Sept. 7-13.
Keats, a senior from Exeter, England (The King's School), scored twice for the Cardinals as UIW went 1-1 in Phoenix. He scored in a 2-1 loss against Sacramento State but came back two days later, scoring against Green Bay to help his team earn the 2-0 win. Keats has collected three game-winning goals this season, helping the Cardinals to a 3-2 record after starting 0-5 last year.
Kamdem, a senior from Paris, France (Huntington University), led the Rebels defense to a pair of wins in Utah as UNLV outscored opponents 6-1 on the weekend. In addition to his defensive role, he scored in each match to help his team clain the Holiday Inn Express Invitational Tournament title as he was named to the All-Tournament team.
Other offensive nominees: CSU Bakersfield's Christian Duarte scored in Friday's 3-2 loss to nationally-ranked Loyola Marymount … Grand Canyon's Alberto Sanchez Garcia scored the game-tying goal on a penalty kick against Sacramento State … Houston Baptist's Marcelo Acuna recorded his second three-point match of the season in a 2-1 win over Milwaukee … Missouri-Kansas City's Roberto Albuquerque scored in Sunday's 2-1 win at Central Arkansas … UNLV's Danny Musovski assisted on the first goal against Bradley before scoring an insurance goal later in the game … Seattle U's Kyle Bjornethun scored the game-winner in a 1-0 battle at Santa Clara … UT Rio Grande Valley's Carlos Acevedo scored the game-winning goal against Presbyterian … Utah Valley's Austin Buxton scored in Friday's 4-1 win over Mercer.
Other defensive nominees: CSU Bakersfield's Nicolas Clever made seven saves to secure the shutout on Sunday at CSUN … Grand Canyon's Jaime Olabarria helped lead the Lopes to their first shutout of the season on Friday against Green Bay … Houston Baptist's Darrell Johnson helped pace the Huskies defense in two tough matches in Spokane … Incarnate Word's Alfredo Zendejas was part of the defensive team that allowed just eight shots on goal in two games … Missouri-Kansas City's Ryan Tome helped the Roos go 1-0-1 on the weekend, combining for the shutout against Missouri State and allowed just one goal at Central Arkansas … Seattle U's Shane Haworth earned the shutout with just one save in a 1-0 win at Santa Clara … UT Rio Grande Valley's Leo Castillo earned his first shutout of the season in Sunday's 2-0 win at Presbyterian … Utah Valley's Skyler Milne was named to the Holiday Inn Express All-Tournament team.
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
With every team having played at least four times, UNLV leads the WAC in shots (102), points (32), goals (tied with Utah Valley at 12), and assists (tied with Houston Baptist at 8). Seattle U leads the league in goals allowed at two, as well as goals against average (0.40). UTRGV has the most saves with 28 while Utah Valley leads the conference in corners with 38.
Individually, Grand Canyon's Alberto Sanchez Garcia leads the WAC in shots with 25. Seattle U's Hamza Haddadi has the lead in points (11) and goals (4). UMKC's Felipe Cepeda, SJSU's Alex Alcaraz and UVU's Aaron Meyer are tied for the lead in assists with three each. UMKC keeper Henrik Regitnig posts the top GAA (0.00) and save percentage (1.000) while Incarnate Word's Kieran O'Boyle holds the lead in saves at 24.
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.
REGIONALLY RANKED
The WAC continues to control the NSCAA West Region poll. Utah Valley is the top WAC school at third and the Wolverines will have a chance to move up as they play at Denver, the top ranked team, on Sunday. UNLV is ranked fourth after securing their third and fourth-straight wins last week. Seattle U is sixth, followed by Missouri-Kansas City (seventh), Grand Canyon (ninth) and Air Force (10th).
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.
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