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GCU'S JACKSON, UVU'S JENSEN NAMED PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Grand Canyon's Niki Jackson and Utah Valley's Mitch Jensen have been named Western Athletic Conference Offensive and Defensive Players of the Week, respectively, for Oct. 3 - 9.
Jackson, a junior forward from Phoenix (Cactus Shadows HS), recorded his second hat trick of the season on Thursday, scoring all three of the Lopes' goals in a 3-2 win at Houston Baptist. All three of his goals gave GCU a lead as the WAC-leader in points and goals scored in the 16th, 36th and 87th minutes. He also leads the conference in shots, averaging 4.36 per game.
Jensen, a junior goalkeeper from Kaysville, Utah (Davis HS/Western Wyoming CC), made his first two career starts for UVU and recorded shutouts in both to help the Wolverines pick up a pair of WAC wins. On Thursday, he made one save to preserve a 3-0 victory over CSU Bakersfield. On Saturday, he made two saves as the Wolverines managed a second-half goal to hold off UT Rio Grande Valley, 1-0.
Other offensive nominees: Air Force's Tucker Bone scored the game-winning goal in Saturday's win at Grand Canyon to keep the Falcons undefeated in WAC play … Seattle U's David Olsen scored a goal and assisted on another in Thursday's 2-1 win at San José State … UT Rio Grande Valley's Ilias Kosmidis scored his first-career goal in Thursday's 2-1 win over UNLV … Utah Valley's Karson Payton scored the game-winner in Saturday's 1-0 win over UTRGV and also assisted on a score in Thursday's 3-0 win over CSU Bakersfield.
Other defensive nominees: Air Force's Cameron Duley locked down the GCU offense on Saturday to help the Falcons earn the 1-0 win in Phoenix … CSU Bakersfield's Nicolas Clever tied a career-high with nine saves in Saturday's win over San José State … Grand Canyon's Hector Montalvo played all 180 minutes and held opponents to just eight shots on goal in two matches … Seattle U's Sam Langston was integral in the Redhawks' sixth shutout of the season on Saturday against Houston Baptist … UT Rio Grande Valley's Esa Aalto made seven total saves as the Vaqueros went 1-1 on the week.
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
Seattle U leads the conference table with 12 points and is also leading the WAC in shots (178). Air Force leads the league in points (85), goals (29) and assists (27). Utah Valley has allowed a conference-low 10 goals this season for a 0.83 goals against average while San José State has a league-high 70 saves.
Individually, Grand Canyon's Niki Jackson used his second hat trick of the season to take over the lead in shots (48), points (19) and goals (9). Air Force's Austin Dewing and Utah Valley's Karson Payton are tied for the lead in assists with five each. SU's Jordan Hadden holds the lead for goals-against average (0.25) and save percentage (.917). SJSU's Nedin Tucakovic has a WAC-high 68 saves in 13 matches played.
In WAC game, Grand Canyon holds the lead in shots (65) while Seattle U leads in points (32), goals (11), assists (10), goals allowed (1), goals-against average (0.25) and shutouts (3). CSU Bakersfield and San José State are tied for the lead in saves with 20.
Individually, GCU's Jackson leads in shots (24) and is tied with UNLV's Danny Musovski for the lead in goals (3). Musovski also holds the lead for points with seven. Five players have recorded two assists in conference play. Utah Valley's Mitch Jensen has the low goals-against average in conference play at 0.00, also leading with a perfect save percentage. SJSU's Tucakovic has a WAC-high 19 saves this season.
STARTING TO SEPARATE
Two weeks into the conference schedule, we are already seeing who look to be the main contenders. Seattle U sits atop the table with four wins and 12 points and will travel to UMKC on Friday before playing host to Grand Canyon on Sunday. Air Force is three points back of Seattle U as the Falcons will play their first WAC home games of the season this weekend, hosting Utah Valley on Friday and CSU Bakersfield on Sunday. In addition to making a stop in Colorado, Utah Valley will also travel to UMKC on Sunday as the Wolverines look for crucial points. UNLV hosts Grand Canyon on Friday in the Rebels' lone match of the week.
NATIONALLY RANKED
Utah Valley remains just outside the NSCAA Coaches Poll but is second among those receiving votes. The Wolveriens moved up three spots to 21st in the Top Drawer Soccer Top 25 and one spot in the College Soccer News Top 30 to 23rd. Air Force joins UVU in the CSN Top 30, debuting at 29 while Seattle U is among those receiving votes in the same poll.
REPPING IN THE RPI
Utah Valley fell five spots in the RPI rankings, still sitting at a solid position of 20. Air Force continued to fly up the rankings, using a win at GCU to move to 41st in this week's rankings. Seattle U dropped four spots to 47 as the WAC continues to be well represented at the top.
BEST IN THE WEST
The NSCAA West Region Rankings stayed nearly identical this week as Utah Valley remains third and Seattle U is fourth. Air Force moved back up to fifth, trading places with Omaha. Denver is the top ranked team in the region, followed by Loyola-Chicago.
FOR THE AGES
San José State's Rory Knibbs is just three points back of the all-time mark for points in WAC matches, set by Tulsa's Donivan Bradshaw from 1996 to 1999. He sits just one goal back of Bradshaw but he has company as UNLV's Danny Musovski is three goals back of Knibbs on the all-time WAC scoring list. SJSU's Jonathan Colunga is one assist back of SMU's Daniel Hernandez (1996-97) on the WAC assist list while CSU Bakersfield netminder Nicolas Clever is just two saves away from tying Air Force keeper Rich Cullen (1996-98) for most saves all-time.
CONFERENCE CALL
As a conference, the WAC is third nationally in goals (169) and assists (150), trailing only the Atlantic Coast and the Big East. The WAC is also third in the nation in saves (494).
THANK YOU FANS
Grand Canyon is currently fourth nationally in attendance, having drawn an average of 3,206 fans in each of their six home matches. Utah Valley is 15th with an average of 2,038 fans in the Wolverines' first five home matches.
TIP OF THE HAT
Grand Canyon's Niki Jackson scored the WAC's first hat trick of the season on Sept. 15, scoring three goals in a 3-0 win over IUPUI.
RAINED OUT
After playing 45 minutes, the season opener between Central Arkansas and UMKC was officially cancelled with UCA leading 1-0 after a storm went through Kansas City, causing flash floods throughout the city.
BJORNETHUN, OLSEN HIGHLIGHT PRESEASON ALL-WAC SQUAD
Seattle U defender Kyle Bjornethun and forward David Olsen were selected as WAC Preseason Defensive and Offensive Player of the Year respectively in a vote of the league's 11 head coaches, who could not vote for their own team or players. Redhawks midfielder Sergio Rivas joining his teammates on team. Utah Valley had three players as Skyler Milne, Paul Hoffmeister and Alex Neff all picked up preseason honors. UNLV and San José State each had two players with the Rebels represented by Danny Musovski and Richard Garness and the Spartans represented by Rory Knibbs and Jonathan Colunga. Grand Canyon's Amer Sasivarevic represented the Lopes to round out the 11-player squad.
THREE NAMED TO MAC HERMANN WATCH LIST
Seattle U's Kyle Bjornethun and David Olsen and UNLV's Danny Musovski are among those on the watch list for the 2016 Missouri Athletic Club's (MAC) Hermann Trophy. Olsen was a semiThrough 10/10ist for the 2015 WAC Hermann Trophy, Bjornthun was the 2015 WAC Defensive Player of the Year and Musovski earned 2015 WAC Offensive Player of the Year honors. All three were also named NSCAA All-Americans last season with Olsen earning First Team honors and Bjornethun and Musovski each picking up Second Team honors.
PRESEASON ALL-AMERICANS
After helping the Redhawks bust onto the national scene last season, Seattle U forward David Olsen and defender Kyle Bjornethun were named First Team Preseason All-Americans by CollegeSoccerNews.com. UNLV forward Danny Musovski was also recognized, earning second team honors.
Bjornethun also earned First Team honors from Top Drawer Soccer. Olsen was a Second Team selection in the TDS Preseason Best XI while Musovski and Utah Valley's Alex Neff earned third team honors. Grand Canyon defender Hector Montalvo rounded out the WAC players honored, being named to the Freshman First Team.
PLAYING THE BEST
The WAC has eight non-conference games against participants from the 2015 NCAA Men's Soccer Tournament. Seattle U is playing two postseason participants, traveling to both Akron and Dartmouth. San José State is also taking on two postseason schools on the road, traveling to defending champion Stanford and Santa Clara. UIW will tak on SMU, Air Force meets Cal Poly, UT Rio Grande Valley plays Cal State Fullerton and UMKC heads to Creighton.
COMING TO YOU LIVE
The WAC Digital Network will broadcast 28 regular season games and all five games of the 2016 WAC Men's Soccer Tournament in Orem, Utah.