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WAC WOMEN'S SOCCER PLAYERS OF THE WEEK ANNOUNCED
Seattle U's Natasha Howe and CSU Bakersfield's Jen Padilla have been named Western Athletic Conference Women's Soccer Offensive and Defensive Players of the Week, respectively, for the week of Oct. 24-30.
Howe, a senior from Mission Viejo, Calif. (Mission Viejo HS), recorded her first career hat trick in Seattle University's 3-1 win at Utah Valley on Friday night. Howe scored to tie the game in the 16th minute, and then tallied a pair of goals in a 2:09 span of the second half to secure the victory. This was the first hat trick by a Seattle U player since Oct. 7, 2012. With the win, SU finished the regular season 7-0-0 in WAC play, securing a fourth consecutive WAC regular season title.
Padilla, a sophomore from Elk Grove, Calif. (Franklin HS), set a school record with 13 saves in a 1-1 tie vs. Grand Canyon on Saturday night, allowing only a penalty kick goal. The tie was enough to earn the ‘Runners second place in the WAC standings, which gives them a bye in the first round of the WAC Women's Soccer Tournament. Padilla made seven saves in the first half of the match and added four in the overtime periods to thwart a GCU attack which outshot CSUB 23-5. On the year, Padilla also set CSUB records for wins (eight) and shutouts (four).
Other offensive nominees included: Grand Canyon sophomore forward McKenzie Cook had five shots vs. CSUB on Saturday … NM State forward Aileen Galicia scored the game-winning goal as the Aggies defeated UTRGV on Saturday to clinch the No. 5 seed in the WAC Tournament … Utah Valley freshman forward Breanna DeWaal had two shots, one on goal, in a loss to Seattle U on Friday.
Other defensive nominees included: Grand Canyon junior goalkeeper Blakely Fraasch allowed just one goal and made three saves in a 1-1 tie vs. CSUB … NM State freshman goalkeeper Raeann Garcia allowed no goals and made five saves in the second half of a win over UTRGV that clinched the No. 5 seed in the WAC Tournament for the Aggies … Seattle U junior defender Stephanie Spiekerman keyed the Redhawks' defense in a 3-1 win over Utah Valley … Utah Valley senior defender Kalli Suesue anchored the Wolverines' defense against Seattle U.
SEATTLE U REIGNS AGAIN
Seattle U clinched its fourth-straight WAC regular season title with a perfect 7-0-0 record. The Redhawks have won three of their titles outright and tied UMKC for the conference crown in 2014.
SEATTLE U'S RECORD STREAK
The Redhawks' unbeaten streak in WAC regular season play was extended to 23-straight matches with a 3-1 victory over Utah Valley on Friday night, making it the longest such streak in WAC history. The last time the Redhawks didn't receive a full three points was a 0-0 tie vs. UMKC on Oct. 4, 2015. The mark tops SMU's 22-match unbeaten streak in regular season play that ran from Oct. 17, 1999 to Nov. 1, 2002.
The win also extended SU's WAC regular season winning streak to 14 matches, just one off the WAC record. SU last lost in the WAC to Grand Canyon on Oct. 10, 2014, which ended the Redhawks' WAC record 15-match winning streak.
Since losing three times in their inaugural WAC campaign in 2012, the Redhawks have lost just once in their last 39 WAC regular season matches.
CSUB SETS WINS RECORD
With eight wins in the regular season, CSU Bakersfield set a Division I program record for most wins in a season. The ‘Runners also posted their best finish in the WAC, finishing in second place with a 4-2-1 conference record.
SEATTLE U UP TO FOURTH, UTAH VALLEY TENTH IN NSCAA WEST REGION
Seattle U continued to climb of the NSCAA West Region rankings this week, moving up to the fourth, the highest position in the poll for a WAC team this season. The Wolverines fell to No. 10 after the loss to SU, but have been in the top 10 all but two weeks this season.
NOT SO SUDDEN DEATH
UMKC refuses to lose in extra time, as the Roos have either won or tied 20-straight matches that went to overtime. UMKC extended the streak with a 0-0 tie vs. Grand Canyon on Oct. 14. The last time UMKC lost in overtime was a 2-1 defeat at Missouri State on Sept. 16, 2011.
SHOTS FIRED
UTRGV is fourth in the NCAA in shots on goal per game (9.06) and is seventh in the nation in shots per game (18.39).
WAC WOMEN'S SOCCER TOURNAMENT ON THE WDN
All five matches of the 2016 WAC Women's Soccer Tournament in Kansas City, Mo. will be broadcast live on the WAC Digital Network. Play-by-play during the tournament will be T.J. Jackson and the analyst will be FC Kansas City's Shea Groom.
November 3 (Thursday)
Match 1: No. 4 Utah Valley vs. No. 5 NM State, 4 p.m. CT (WDN)
Match 2: No. 3 UMKC vs. No. 6 UTRGV, 7 p.m. CT (WDN)
November 4 (Friday)
No. 1 Seattle U vs. Match 1 Winner, 4 p.m. CT (WND)
No. 2 CSU Bakersfield vs. Match 2 Winner, 7 p.m. CT (WDN)
November 6 (Sunday)
Championships Match, 1 p.m. CT (WDN)
Tune in to catch the matches live at www.WACSports.com/live.