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SEATTLE U SWEEPS WEEKLY HONORS AS RAY AND CURRY TAKE HOME PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Seattle U's Jessie Ray and Mackenzie Curry have been named the Western Athletic Conference Women's Offensive and Defensive Players of the Week, respectively, for Sept. 18-24.
Ray, a sophomore forward from Portland, Ore. (Grant High School) found the back of the net off of a Portland State goal kick which was redirected by Kelsey Vogel over the backline on top of the 18-yard box. Ray turned with the ball at her feet and hammered the shot to gain a 1-0 lead in the 18th minute of the match. Portland State found the equalizer in the 62nd minute in the double overtime tie. Adding this goal to her stats, she now leads the WAC with seven goals on the season and ranks 25th nationally in total goals. This is the second time this season Ray has been named WAC Offensive Player of the Week.
Curry, sophomore goalkeeper from Irvine, Calif. (Northwood High School) was not called upon much in the first 89 minutes of regulation by only seeing one shot on goal but forced overtime with two key saves in the last minute against Portland State. She only saw one more shot on goal during the first overtime period. Curry also had seven saves in the double overtime 2-1 loss against Gonzaga. She competed in all 211:23 that her team participated in this past weekend.
Other offensive nominees: Chicago State's Mariela Alba scored her second goal of the season in the 50th minute against Indiana State… CSU Bakersfield's Sophie Freeman tallied her first goal of the season and the only goal for CSUB for the weekend in the 78th minute with her head off of a free kick against UC Riverside… UT Rio Grande Valley's Andreya Barrera found the back of the net to give her team a 1-0 lead in the 14th minute against Oral Roberts but it did not seem to be enough to pull off the win.
Other defensive nominees: Chicago State's Audra Wisehart saw a lot of action against Butler as she made a WAC-high 12 saves in the match and adding those saves puts her as WAC leader in saves (56) and eighth in the nation in saves per game (8.00)… CSU Bakersfield's Jordan Bertram had 12 saves on the weekend which eight of them were to stop UC Riverside which puts her at second in the WAC with total saves (52).
TOP OF THE CHARTS
As a team NM State tops the WAC charts in both total points (57) and total goals (20). Grand Canyon leads the WAC in total shots (176) and Seattle U has the most total assists (21). Defensively UT Rio Grande Valley has the best goals against average (1.03), Chicago has a hefty lead in saves (108), and Kansas City and NM State are tied with four shutouts.
Individually Seattle U's Jessie Ray holds the top of the leader board in goals (7) and is tied with Kansas City's Lexie Howard in points (15). Utah Valley's Breanna DeWaal has the most shots (45) and her teammate Hannah Bruce is tied with NM State's Devin Hart is tied with four assists on the season. Chicago States Audra Wisehart tied her teammate Gabby Klemp with a game high of 12 saves this past weekend against Butler.
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, the organization announced today.
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.
UTAH VALLEY TAKING ON NO. 23 MONDAY
Utah Valley will travel to College Station to take on No. 23 Texas A&M Oct. 2 at 7 p.m. CT. Texas A&M also extended their season last year in the NCAA Tournament as they took down TCU before they were eliminated by penalty kicks to Southern California who ended up taking the title in 2016. Texas A&M is currently 6-2-1 in the season and on a two-game winning streak. They will take on Arkansas on Friday before hosting Utah Valley.
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 weekend Utah Valley lost to Brigham Young 3-0. BYU extended their season last year in the NCAA Tournament by a few games. They beat UNLV in the first round 2-0, took down Oklahoma in the second round 2-1 and fell to South Carolina in the final round before the quarterfinals 1-0.
WAC teams will play in three more matches against teams that played in the NCAA Tournament last year.
Sept. 29 NM State at SMU, 5 p.m. CT
Sept. 29 Kansas City at Illinois State, 7 p.m. CT
Oct. 2 Utah Valley at Texas A&M, 7 p.m. CT
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.