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WAC WOMEN'S SOCCER PLAYERS OF THE WEEK ANNOUNCED
Seattle U's Isabelle Butterfield and Stephanie Spiekerman have been named Western Athletic Conference Women's Soccer Offensive and Defensive Players of the Week, respectively, for the week of Sept. 26-Oct. 2.
Butterfield, a sophomore forward from Bellevue, Wash. (Bellevue HS), scored her first goal of the season on Saturday night at Championship Field, leading Seattle U to a 1-0 victory over Utah Valley in a non-conference match. Butterfield found the net in the 56th minute against the Wolverines. Karli White sent a ball into the mix from the left corner, which Hope Fleckner settled in the middle of the box. Unable to get shot off herself, Fleckner tapped the ball to Butterfield who scored from six yards out. Butterfield played the entire 90 minutes and had three total shots, as SU earned a measure of revenge over UVU in a rematch of last season's WAC Women's Soccer Tournament final. The win moved SU to 5-5-1 on the season. This is Butterfield's second career WAC Player of the Week honor.
Spiekerman, a junior from Seattle, Wash. (Bishop Blanchet HS), anchored the Redhawks' back line in their lone match of the week - a 1-0 shutout of Utah Valley in a non-conference match. The shutout was SU's fifth of the season, which ranks second in the WAC. Spiekerman played the entire 90 minutes and was key to holding UVU to just six shot attempts, only two on goal. The Redhawks have allowed just nine total goals in 11 matches, good for a 0.84 GAA. This is Spiekerman's second WAC Player of the Week honor this year.
Other offensive nominees included: NM State senior midfielder Gabby Campbell had two assists in the Aggies' final non-conference match, a 4-0 win against Arizona Christian … Utah Valley junior forward Alexis Peterson came off the bench to score the overtime game-winning goal in the Wolverines' 2-1 victory over Grand Canyon.
Other defensive nominees included: Utah Valley senior defender Kalli Suesue anchored a Wolverines' defense that allowed just two goals in two matches on the week.
WAC PLAY BEGINS THIS WEEK
Every WAC team begins conference play this week with one home and one road match, beginning a seven-game, single-round robin schedule that will finish up on Oct. 29. Due to a change in the number of conference matches from last year (10-7), several WAC teams have already played matches against conference foes that were counted as non-conference matches.
The top six eligible teams in the standings will be the participants in the 2016 WAC Women's Soccer Tournament (Grand Canyon is ineligible due to its transition from Division II to Division I). The WAC Women's Soccer Tournament will be held in Kansas City, Mo., Nov. 3-4 and 6, hosted by UMKC.
SEATTLE U, UTAH VALLEY RANKED IN NSCAA WEST REGION
Seattle U and Utah Valley both moved back into the top 10 of the NSCAA West Region rankings this week. SU moved up to No. 9 on the strength of a 1-0 victory over UVU. The Redhawks had been out of the rankings since earning the No. 10 spot in the Week 3 poll. The Wolverines went 1-1 to move up to No. 10, and have been in the top 10 all but two weeks this season.
FROM ZERO TO 16 REAL QUICK
UTRGV freshman forward Sarah Bonney's 16-point week from Sept. 19-25 (seven goals, two assists) vaulted her up the UTRGV record books. Bonney now ranks second in goals in a season (seven), is tied for third in career points (16) and is tied for second in career goals (seven) in program history. Bonney recorded the first hat trick (three goals), haul (four goals) and glut (five goals) in program history. It was also the most goals by anyone in the NCAA this season and more than UTRGV (7-2-1) had ever previously scored as a team in any single match.
After going scoreless on 16 shots (seven on goal) over the first eight matches, Bonney is now UTRGV's leading scorer with 16 points (seven goals and two assists). She ranks 31st in the NCAA in goals, 39th in goals per match (0.70), tied for 46th in points and tied for 48th in points per match (1.60). She also leads the WAC in points, points per match, goals, and goals per match.
GOING TO NEED SOME NEW CAPS
UTRGV freshman forward Sarah Bonney's five goals on Sept. 23 wasn't the only offensive explosion during the week of Sept. 19-25, as UMKC sophomore forward Kelsey Mothershead also recorded a hat trick in Sunday's 4-0 victory over Oral Roberts. After going almost four weeks without a hat trick before NM State's Aileen Galicia poured in three goals vs. Idaho State, it occurred three times in as many weeks for WAC players.
SHOTS FIRED
On the strength of the offensive performance in its last two wins, UTRGV moved to first in the NCAA in shots on goal per game (10.4) and second in shots per game (22).
PROTECT THIS HOUSE
With a 2-1 overtime win vs. Grand Canyon in a non-conference match on Sept. 26, Utah Valley extended its home unbeaten streak to 14 matches. UVU hasn't been defeated at Clyde Field since Nov. 1, 2014, falling 2-0 to Seattle U in the final regular season match of the season. The Wolverines are 12-0-2 in matches played at home during the streak. The Wolverines will put the streak on the line next against CSU Bakersfield as conference play opens on Friday.
NOT SO SUDDEN DEATH
UMKC's 1-1 draw against Creighton on Aug. 21 marks the 17th-straight game that went to overtime for the 'Roos that they have either won or tied. The last time UMKC lost in overtime was a 2-1 loss at Missouri State on Sept. 16, 2011.
COMING TO YOU LIVE
The WAC Digital Network will broadcast 27 regular season matches and all five matches of the 2016 WAC Women's Soccer Tournament in Kansas City, Mo.
There will be three matches on the WDN this weekend:
Friday: UMKC at UTRGV, 7 p.m. CT
Sunday: NM State at UMKC, 1 p.m. CT
Sunday: Utah Valley at Grand Canyon, 12 p.m. PT
Tune in to catch the matches live at www.WACSports.com/live.
2016 WAC TOURNAMENT
The WAC Women's Soccer Tournament will be held in Kansas City, Mo., Nov. 3-4 and 6, hosted by UMKC. The top six eligible teams will participate (Grand Canyon is ineligible due to its transition from Division II to Division I).
2016 NCAA COLLEGE CUP
The 35th Annual Women's College Cup will be held Dec. 2 and 4 at a location TBD. Last year's WAC champs, the Utah Valley, came up just short in its first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance. The Wolverines lost a hard-fought 1-0 decision to 13th-ranked BYU on Nov. 14 in front of 3,663 fans at South Field.
The loss wrapped up a record-setting and historic season for Utah Valley (14-7-1), which won a school-record 14 matches and won its first-ever WAC Tournament championship.