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NM STATE'S HART AND KANSAS CITY'S SMALL TAKE HOME PLAYER OF THE WEEK
NM State's Devin Hart and Kansas City's Abby Small have been named the Western Athletic Conference Women's Offensive and Defensive Players of the Week, respectively, for Oct. 2-8.
Hart, redshirt senior forward from Albuquerque, N.M. (Hope Christian High School) recorded two goals and an assist on the weekend for five points. She assisted the equalizer in the 88th minute to send the 2-2 game into overtime against CSU Bakersfield. After two overtime periods, there was nothing that got past either goalkeeper so the game resulted in a tie. Hart scored the first goal against Grand Canyon in the 13th minute of the match but ten minutes later they responded with a goal of their own. In a match that saw two overtime periods, it was Hart again that found the back of the net as she slipped it past the goalkeeper in the 102nd minute for the “Golden Goal.â€
Small, sophomore defender from Kansas City, Mo., (St. Teresa's Academy) was the leader of the defensive unit that shutout both Utah Valley (3-0) and Seattle U (3-0). She saw the pitch all 180 minutes over the weekend and helped her team allow 15 shots with only four of those on frame. Small was a big part in handing Seattle U their first conference loss since 2014 and broke their 15 game regular season conference winning streak.
Other offensive nominees: Kansas City's Kelsey Mothershead scored a goal in both the 3-0 win over Utah Valley and the 3-0 Seattle U defeat this past weekend… Seattle U's Madeline Racine recorded a goal and three assists in the 6-1 victory over Chicago State for a career-high of five points… UT Rio Grande Valley's Andreya Barrera scored both game-winners in the 1-0 victory over Grand Canyon and when they defeated CSU Bakersfield 2-0… Utah Valley's Breanna McCarter was the second WAC player this season and just the fifth player in program history to record a hat trick in the 9-0 victory over Chicago State as well as recorded an assist.
Other defensive nominees: NM State's Dmitri Fong faced 40 shots and recorded 13 saves for the weekend in both double-overtime matches this past weekend… UT Rio Grande Valley's Tuva Rolstad Nilsen anchored the defense to two shutout victories and has helped extend UTRGV's shutout streak to 315:29, which is the third-longest streak in the history of the program… Utah Valley's Libby Weber made key defensive stops as a defensive midfielder to only allow 15 shots with eight of those on frame for the weekend.
TOP DRAWER TEAM
Kansas City's Abby Small has found herself on the Top Drawer Team of the Week for the week of Oct. 2-8. She was one of four defenders on the Top Drawer Team for her performance in the defeats of Utah Valley and Seattle U both resulting in 3-0 victories.
LET'S TALK NUMBERS
NM State leads the WAC with 28 goals and 81 points while Utah Valley is on top of the leader board with 217 shots, 102 corner kicks and 30 assists. Kansas City has the most shutouts with seven but UT Rio Grande Valley has the best goals against average (0.82).
Individually, Kansas City's Lexie Howard scored another goal this past weekend to pull her away with eight goals while Seattle U's Jessie Ray and NM State's Audriana Chavez each have seven goals on the season. NM State's Devin Hart had a five point weekend putting her at the top of the leaderboard with 20 points. Hart and Utah Valley's Tori Smith each have six assists. Chavez and CSU Bakersfield's Kamari Hines each have four game-winning goals and Utah Valley's Breanna DeWaal leads the WAC with 51 shots. Defensively, Kansas City's Erin Roth has the best goals against average (0.52) and NM State's Dmitri Fong has the best save percentage (0.886). Fong and UT Rio Grande Valley's Erica Gonzalez also has four shutouts and Chicago State's Audra Wisehart has made 65 saves this season.
HAT TRICK
Utah Valley's Breanna McCarter is just the second WAC women's soccer player to score a hat trick this season. She scored her first goal against Chicago State in the 14th minute. In the second half she found the back of the net in the 53rd minute and completed the hat trick in the 62nd minute. McCarter became the fifth Wolverine in the program's history to record a hat trick. Seattle U's Leahi Manthei was the only other WAC player to score a hat trick back in September when she scored four out of the five goals to become victorious over Idaho.
RECORDS
Friday night, Seattle U tied their own WAC record of 15 straight wins in regular season conference play. With the win, they also extended their unbeaten streak to 24 games dating back to the 2014 season. Both streaks came to an end this past Sunday when they dropped a 3-0 game to Kansas City.
CSU Bakersfield's Aminah Settles reset the CSUB Division I career points when she scored a goal in the opening minute when her team tied with NM State this past weekend, making the new record 46 points. Her goal also made her tied with the previous record holder with 19 career goals.
NO TIME WAS WASTED
CSU Bakersfield's Aminah Settles slipped one past NM State with only 36 seconds taken off of the clock on Friday in the double-overtime tie. That goal would put her at the top of CSUB's record books for points and tied for goals.
UT Rio Grande Valley finished their non-conference schedule with a victory over Texas Lutheran. Sarah Bonney scored the quickest goal in program history as she found the back of the net with just 41 seconds off of the clock. Bonney got the pass from Dianah Ansah and ricocheted it into the goal for the game-winner.
READY TO GO
Grand Canyon is finally done with their four season wait and is now eligible for post season play. Since joining the WAC in 2013, Grand Canyon has consistently shown they can compete while never finding themselves lower than fourth in the ranks at the end of each season. Along with this eligibility, Grand Canyon was chosen to host this upcoming WAC tournament and is eligible to play in the NCAA tournament.
CSU BAKERSFIELD'S GREEN SHOWING SOME "CLASS"
CSU Bakersfield women's soccer student-athlete Maja Green is one of 30 candidates for the Senior CLASS Award.
To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence: community, classroom, character and competition. An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School®, the Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities.
Green will graduate this spring with a degree in business administration. She currently holds a 3.62 cumulative grade-point average and is on pace to graduate cum laude. She has earned Academic All-WAC honors in each of her first three seasons at CSU Bakersfield and is expected to complete her fourth season with the honor as well.
Green has been at the heart of every community service event in which the team has been involved. Whether it's reading in schools or coaching young players at clinics, she goes above and beyond to make it the best experience for everyone. As a captain, she also has helped the team organize events in the community and communicate the importance of them.
Even as a defender, Green ranks on the school's top 20 all-time list in career points and goals. She is on pace to break the CSUB Division I record for matches started and minutes played. She has been a constant fixture on the CSUB back line and has helped the Roadrunner defense transform into a formidable wall. Prior to her arrival at CSUB, the 2013 squad allowed its opponents to score nearly three times as many goals. A year ago, with Green leading the effort, the ‘Runners narrowed the gap to only five goals difference. She has been honored by the WAC several times including first team All-WAC (2016), second team All-WAC (2014) and being named preseason All-WAC twice in her career.
The 30 candidates will be narrowed to 10 finalists midway through the regular season, and those 10 names will be placed on the official ballot. Ballots will be distributed through a nationwide voting system to media, coaches and fans who will select a winner. The Senior CLASS Award winners will be announced during the 2017 NCAA Men's and Women's College Cup® championships in December.
COMING TO YOU LIVE
The WAC Diginal Network will broadcast over 60 games this season including all five games of the 2017 WAC Women's Soccer Tournament in Phoenix, Arizona.