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KNIBBS AND NEFF NAMED WAC PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
San José State forward Rory Knibbs and Utah Valley defender Alex Neff have been named Western Athletic Conference Offensive and Defensive Players of the Week, respectively, for Aug. 31 through Sept. 6.
Knibbs, a junior from London, England (Bradfield College), scored the hat trick to lead the Spartans to a 4-2 win over visiting Sacramento State. The trifecta came in a stretch of just seven and a half minutes as he led SJSU from being down 0-2 to up by a goal at 3-2. The offensive output tied his single game career-high, which occurred in last season's 4-1 win over Massachusetts.
Neff, a junior from South Weber, Utah (Northridge HS), once again led the Wolverines to a pair of wins on the road as he earns defensive honors for the second straight week. He helped limit opponents to just four shots on goal, including zero allowed in a 3-0 win over Saint Joseph's. He was named Most Outstanding Defensive Player at the Johann Memorial Classic as UVU improved to 4-0 on the young season.
Other offensive nominees: UNLV's Danny Musovski was named Johann Memorial Classic Most Outstanding Player after scoring twice in a win over Saint Joseph's on Friday … Houston Baptist's Marcelo Acuna scored both goals for the Huskies this weekend as HBU split a pair of games in Edinburg … Air Force's Tucker Axhoj scored a gaol and assisted in the game-winner in Friday's 2-1 win over Evansville and also scored in Sunday's loss to Drake … Incarnate Word's Noah Keats scored the game-winning goal in Sunday's 2-1 win Central Arkansas …Utah Valley's Lucas Cawley scored the game-winning goal on a bicycle kick in the 98th minute of Friday's 2-1 win over Pacific … Missouri-Kansas City's Wes White scored his first goal of the season as the Kangaroos knocked off SIU-Edwardsville for the second straight season …Seattle U's Michael Roberts scored twice in Friday's 3-0 win over Northwestern … CSU Bakersfield's Christian Duarte scored the lone goal in Sunday's 1-1 tie at Sacramento State … UTRGV's Isidro Martinez scored his first career goal in Friday's 1-1 tie with Buffalo.
Other defensive nominees: CSU Bakersfield's Nicolas Clever made 12 total saves, allowing just two goals, as the Roadrunners went 1-0-1 on the weekend … Incarnate Word's Kieran O'Boyle made 15 saves while allowing two goals over two matches as the Cardinals went 1-1-0 on the week … Missouri-Kansas City's Roberto Albuquerque scored a goal while anchoring the defense that allowed just four shots on goal in the Roos 2-0 win over SIUE … Houston Baptist's Chance Pope saw his first collegiate action, playing the final 50 minutes against Buffalo as HBU won in overtime, 1-0 … Seattle U's Shane Haworth recorded his second shutout of the season over Northwestern and allowed just one goal in the loss to Cal Poly … UTRGV's Archie Massen was named Defensive MVP of the UTRGV Tournament as the Vaqueros went 0-1-1.
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
Through the first two weeks of the 2015 season, Seattle U leads the conference in shots (72), points (22) and goals (9). Grand Canyon is tops in goals per game at 2.50 while UTRGV has the most assists with seven. Utah Valley has allowed just one goal in four games and leads the WAC with a 0.24 goals-against average. Incarnate Word leads in saves with 19 while Houston Baptist has been whistled the most with 50 fouls.
Individually, UNLV's Kevin Partida has a WAC-high 15 shots this season. GCU's Alberto Sanchez-Garcia is averaging a conference-best 4.50 shots per game. Seattle U's Hamza Haddadi has a conference-high 11 points this season while San José State's Rory Knibbs is posting a WAC-best 3.00 points per game. Haddadi leads the conference with five goals already this season while SJSU's Alex Alcarez has assisted on a league-best three goals this season. Missouri-Kansas City keeper Henrik Regitnig has a 0.00 goals-against average through 90 minutes and Incarnate Word's Kieran O'Boyle has made a conference-best 18 saves in three games. Utah Valley's Collin Partee and Seattle U's Shane Haworth have each posted two shutouts this season to top the WAC.
EVERYBODY WINS
The WAC is one of just two conferences in the country that has all teams sitting at .500 or better in the win percentage column. The only other conference that can boast the feat is the Atlantic Coast Conference.
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 dominated the first NSCAA West Regional Ranking, holding down five of the 10 sports. Utah Valley was the highest WAC school in the rankings, taking third behind Denver and Omaha. Air Force is sixth, followed by Seattle U at seventh. CSU Bakersfield is ninth while Missouri-Kansas City rounded out the regional poll at 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.
18 YEARS LATER...
When UTRGV forward Olli Tynkkynen scored the first goal in Friday's win over Huston-Tillotson, it marked the newly-resumed program's first goal since Oct. 22, 1997 and the first score under the UTRGV banner.
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.