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GRAND CANYON'S BENEDETTI AND SEATTLE U'S ROUTH TAKE HOME PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Grand Canyon's Milla Benedetti and Seattle U's Ashley Routh have been named the Western Athletic Conference Women's Offensive and Defensive Players of the Week, respectively, for Oct. 23-29.
Benedetti, a senior defender from Tampa, Fla. (Cambridge Christian), made the most while playing forward in the 3-0 victory over CSU Bakersfield. In the 56 minutes she saw the field, she netted the game-winning goal in the tenth minute when she flicked the ball and slotted it in the back of the net. The Lopes became the first team at Grand Canyon to secure a spot in a postseason tournament since the Lopes transitioned to Division I.
Routh, a redshirt sophomore goalkeeper from Edmonds, Was. (Meadowdale), recorded six saves in the 2-0 victory over Utah Valley. She saw the pitch for 81 minutes and faced 11 shots. With her help, Seattle U clinched the fourth seed in the post season tournament.
Other offensive nominees: Kansas City's Kara Priest recorded her first career hat trick in the 8-0 victory over Chicago State… Seattle U's Leahi Manthei posted the game-winning goal and an assist after coming off of the bench in the 2-0 win over Utah Valley… UT Rio Grande Valley's Gina Steiner scored her first goal of the weekend to tie the game 1-1 and then scored the game-winning goal in the 3-2 victory over NM State.
Other defensive nominees: Grand Canyon's Blakely Fraasch recorded two saves in the 3-0 shutout victory over CSU Bakersfield to clinch a spot in the tournament… Kansas City's Maddi Cipolla helped the defense all 90 minutes in recording the 8-0 victory over Chicago State… UT Rio Grande Valley's Tuva Rolstad Nilsen defensively helped keep NM State to seven shots with four of those on goal in the 3-2 victory.
TOP DRAWER TEAM
Milla Benedetti was placed on the honorable mention list for the Top Drawer Team of the Week for her performance last week. Her game-winner was what sent Grand Canyon to their first post-season appearance since their transition to Division I. It as a must win game to extend their season and she was the difference maker. With her goal, her teammates scored two more to secure the sixth seed in the WAC Tournament.
LET'S TALK NUMBERS
NM State leads the WAC with 42 goals and 120 points while Utah Valley is on top of the leader board with 300 shots, 138 corner kicks and is tied with NM State with 36 assists. Kansas City has the most shutouts with 11 and has the best goals against average (0.79).
Individually, Kansas City's Lexie Howard leads the league with twelve goals on the season as well as game-winning goals with six. NM State's Devin Hart leads with nine assists and 31 points. Kansas City's Erin Roth has the best goals against average with 0.36 while Chicago State leads the nation with 103 saves. Roth and NM State's Dmitri Fong both have five shutouts.
In WAC matches only, Utah Valley leads with 119 shots and is tied with UT Rio Grande Valley and Kansas City with 16 assists. Chicago State leads the conference with 77 saves in conference play while Kansas City has recorded a conference best six shutouts. Kansas City also leads with 20 goals in just seven games.
Individually in the WAC, NM State's Aileen Galicia leads the conference with seven goals and 18 points. UT Rio Grande Valley's Tuva Nilsen leads with five assists and Grand Canyon's McKenzie Cook has taken a conference best of 29 shots. NM State's Dmitri Fong recorded 50 saves and Kansas City's Erin Roth tallied three shutouts.
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. With Grand Canyon placing sixth in the standings, they no longer have to wait and are officially entering postseason play.
WHAT'S TO COME
First round of the tournament features No. 5 NM State taking on No. 4 Seattle U and No. 3 UT Rio Grande Valley taking on host No. 6 Grand Canyon. The last time NM State and Seattle U faced off NM State came out victorious with a score of 2-1 on the road. Earlier this season UT Rio Grande Valley shutout Grand Canyon in a 1-0 decision for their first conference game this season.
HAT TRICK
Kansas City's Kara Priest recorded a hat trick in the 8-0 victory over Chicago State for the final game of the season. With the win, the Roos went undefeated in conference play going into the post season. She is the fifth WAC women's soccer student-athlete to record a hat trick this season.
CSU BAKERSFIELD'S GREEN SHOWING SOME "CLASSâ€
CSU Bakersfield women's soccer student-athlete Maja Green was 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.
Unfortunately, she wasn't chosen to be one of the ten finalists.
COMING TO YOU LIVE
The WAC Diginal Network will broadcast all five games of the 2017 WAC Women's Soccer Tournament in Phoenix, Arizona.