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UTAH VALLY SWEEPS WEEKLY HONORS AS SMITH AND BRUCE TAKE HOME PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Utah Valley's Tori Smith and Hannah Bruce have been named the Western Athletic Conference Women's Offensive and Defensive Players of the Week, respectively, for Sept. 25- Oct. 1.
Smith, senior forward from Sandy, Utah (Jordan High School) played a major role in the non-conference match up to take down WAC preseason favorite Seattle U 3-0. Smith scored the game-winner in just the second minute of play as she received a pass into the box and hit the left upper 90. To add to her first goal of the season, she later assisted the other two goals of the match. Smith recorded four points on the match while she played 79 minutes and recorded three shots.
Bruce, sophomore defender from Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia (Auburn Drive High School) helped anchor the defense to its first shutout win of the season. Bruce made numerous key defensive stops and organized the defense to allow two shots in the match with only one on frame. She also earned an assist on the second goal of the match.
Other offensive nominees: NM State's Audriana Chavez scored her sixth goal on the season in the 2-1 loss to SMU… UT Rio Grande Valley's Sarah Bonney scored the fastest goal in program history for the game-winner and tallied on an assist in the 6-0 victory over Texas Lutheran.
Other defensive nominees: Kansas City's Liz Mann was a strong defensive force for a team who only allowed one goal and helped her team produce a shutout while playing all 180 minutes at the defensive midfield position… NM State's Dmitri Fong faced 43 shots and recorded a season-high 13 saves in the 2-1 loss to SMU… UT Rio Grande Valley's Katherine Stokely was strong on defense and helped her team produce a shutout over Texas Lutheran and only allowed two shots on goal.
HEADING INTO CONFERENCE PLAY
To kickoff conference play, Seattle U will hit the road to take on Chicago State before going to Kansas City to finish the weekend. CSU Bakersfield is traveling to NM State before hitting the road to UT Rio Grande Valley. Grand Canyon will start at UTRGV then travel to NMSU. Utah Valley is first going to Kansas City and will finish the weekend at Chicago State. There will be no more non-conference opponents for the next four weeks heading into the WAC Tournament.
LET'S TALK NUMBERS
NM State leads the WAC with 24 goals and 69 points while Utah Valley is on top of the leader board with 181 shots and 86 corner kicks. Kansas City has the most shutouts with five but UT Rio Grande Valley has the best goals against average (0.95).
Individually, Seattle U's Jessie Ray, Kansas City's Lexie Howard, and NM State's Audriana Chavez each have seven goals on the season while Howard and Chavez are also tied with the most points (17). NM State's Devin Hart and Utah Valley's Hannah Bruce each have five assists. Chavez and CSU Bakersfield's Kamari Hines each have four game-winning goals and Utah Valley's Breanna DeWaal leads the WAC with 49 shots. Defensively, Kansas City's Erin Roth has the best goals against average (0.64) and NM State's Dmitri Fong has the best save percentage (0.907). Fong also has four shutouts and Chicago State's Audra Wisehart has made 65 saves this season.
NO TIME WAS WASTED
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. UTRGV came out with a 6-0 victory before taking on conference opponent Grand Canyon this coming Friday.
USC RECOGNITION
September 19th Kansas City's Lexie Howard was named United Soccer Coaches Women's Soccer Player of the Week. She was also the WAC Offensive Player of the Week for the second time when she the honor. The USC recognizes athletes for their on-field accomplishments at the intercollegiate level by naming one male and one female at all three NCAA levels and the Junior College levels.
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 consistentlyshown they can compete while never finding themselves lower thanfourth in the ranks at the end of each season. Along with this eligibility, GrandCanyon was chosen to host this upcoming WAC tournament and is eligible toplay in the NCAA tournament.
COMPETITION FROM 2016 NCAA TOURNAMENT
This past Friday, NM State took on SMU who saw their season extend last year and lost in the first round of the NCAA Tournament to Oklahoma 1-0. NM State came up short as all three goals were scored in the first 30 minutes of the match. NM State faced 43 shots with 15 on goal and the game-tying goal occurred in the 25th minute.
Kansas City also took on a 2016 NCAA Tournament participant Illinois State on Friday. They advanced to the second round using penalty kicks to get past Michigan before being knocked out by Duke, 3-1. Kansas City held them until the lone goal in the 33rd minute of the match. The shots ratio was in favor of Illinois State 19-11 and 10-5 on goal as well as 5-0 advantage on corner kicks.
Monday, Utah Valley took on No. 23 Texas A&M who fell to Southern California last year in the second round of the tournament. In the first round, Texas A&M took down TCU 1-0. Utah Valley was holding the Aggies to a draw until a penalty kick was called in the 65th minute of the match which was the difference maker as Utah Valley took the 1-0 loss on the road. The Wolverines were outshot 24-9 with 12-5 on goal and the corner kicks were also in favor of the Aggies 21-3.
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.