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UIW'S OSBOURNE, UMKC'S ERRICO NAMED PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
UIW's Ryan Osborne and Kansas City's Filippo Errico have been named Western Athletic Conference Offensive and Defensive Players of the Week, respectively, for Aug. 28 - Sept. 3.
Osborne, a senior forward from Nottingham, England (The Becket School), assisted on a go-ahead goal in an eventual 2-2 tie with Cornell and scored the first goal in a 2-1 win over Oakland at the SMU Tournament in Dallas. His goal against Oakland came on his only shot on goal as the Cardinals improved to 2-1-1 on the young season.
Errico, a sophomore goalkeeper from Verona, Italy (Romano Guardini), made a season-high seven saves while collecting his third shutout of the season in a 0-0 tie with Rutgers. He is the only starting keeper in the WAC to not allow a goal this season and already sits in a tie for sixth on the Roos' single-season shutout list.
Other offensive nominees: Air Force's Luis Martinez scored an insurance goal in Friday's 2-0 win over Drake … CSU Bakersfield's Henry Nguyen scored on his first collegiate shot in his first collegiate game to give the ‘Runners a 1-0 overtime win at Sacramento State … Grand Canyon's Niki Jackson scored his second goal of the season in a 3-1 loss at Wisconsin … Houston Baptist's Dominick Faletto scored the game-winning goal in the Huskies 2-1 win over St. Bonaventure … Kansas City's Eric McWoods recorded a team-high six shots in Sunday's scoreless tie with Rutgers … UT Rio Grande Valley's Isidro Martinez scored the Vaqueros' goal in a 1-1 tie with St. Bonaventure on Friday night.
Other defensive nominees: Air Force's Trey Pujats helped the Falcon defense hold their opponents to just one goal in two games … Houston Baptist's Harrison Veith earned the win against St. Bonaventure, allowing one goal with five saves in 108:02 minutes played … UT Rio Grande Valley's Michael Faber earned all-tournament honors and played all 200 minutes on the back line as the Vaqueros earned a tie with St. Bonaventure and a close 1-0 loss to nationally-ranked Omaha.
UP NEXT
The WAC has another tough week on non-conference play on the docket. Preseason favorite UNLV looks to have the most challenging week, hosting 23rd-ranked Pacific in the Rebels' home opener on Friday night before traveling to 25th-ranked UCLA three days later for some Monday Night Futbol. Seattle U makes the cross-state trip to 22nd-ranked Gonzaga while Grand Canyon hosts an undefeated Evansville team on Thursday before heading to 23rd-ranked Pacific on Sunday. UT Rio Grande Valley will be in the Land of Lincoln for matches with Northern Illinois and Loyola-Chicago while Kansas City will look to stay unbeaten on Friday night against Memphis. Saturday's lone match should also be a good one with Army making the trip to Air Force for a rivalry matchup between two strong teams.
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
Two weeks into the season, Air Force has flown to the top of the statistical standings in several categories. The Falcons lead the WAC in shots (64), points (18), assists (6) and are tied with CSU Bakersfield and UIW for the lead in goals (6). Kansas City has earned some notice across the league, leading the WAC in goals per game (1.67), goals allowed (0), goals against average (0.00) and shutouts (3). UIW currently has the most saves in the WAC with 17.
Individually, UMKC's Eric McWoods is the early leader in shots (14), shots per game (4.67), points (6), points per game (2.00) and is one of six players with two goals and six players with two assists. Teammate Filippo Errico is leading the WAC between the pipes, holding a 0.00 goals against average with a 1.000 save percentage and a league-high three shutouts. UIW keeper Brendan Brown has 17 saves to lead the WAC.
ON THE MAP
The WAC took a little bit of a hit in the national polls but the league is still represented in three of the four national polls. In the College Soccer News Top 30, Utah Valley is ranked 27th and Seattle U is 29th. UVU is also among those receiving votes in the United Soccer Coaches Top 25 while Air Force is among those under consideration in the Top Drawer Soccer Top 25.
IL MURO
Kansas City sophomore goalkeeper Filippo Errico is having an eccezionale start to the season, posting three straight shutouts to open the 2017 campaign. He is one of seven keepers in the country with a perfect save percentage and his three total shutouts rank him third behind Michigan State's Jimmy Hague and Bowling Green's Anthony Mwembia, who each have four.
UPSET CITY
The WAC opened up the 2017 season with five matches against teams ranked in the United Soccer Coaches Top 25 and picked up three wins while falling in double-overtime in a fourth. Utah Valley earned a 1-0 win over 16th-ranked Akron on Friday night. Air Force outlasted 23rd-ranked Florida Gulf Coast, 3-2, on Sunday while Seattle U extended its 18-match home winning streak with a 1-0 win over 20th-ranked New Mexico. Grand Canyon played 14th-ranked Creighton tough in Omaha before falling 1-0 in double-overtime.
HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE
Seattle U's 1-0 win over 20th-ranked New Mexico on Aug. 27 was the Redhawks' 18th-straight home win, which leads the nation. Perennial ACC power Wake Forest is second with a 12-match home winning streak.
GIVE THE FANS WHAT THEY CAME TO SEE
The 4,351 fans that showed up at Clyde Field on opening night to watch Utah Valley defeat Akron, 1-0, is the seventh-largest crowd in NCAA Division I men's soccer this season and it gives UVU the early lead in national attendance. UNLV also played in front of a large crowd on opening night as 4,385 fans game to Merlo Field to see the Rebels knock off host Portland, 3-2, in double overtime.
WASHED OUT
The anticipated arrival of Hurricane Harvey cancelled the HBU Invitational, which was set to feature Houston Baptist and UT Rio Grande Valley taking on Gonzaga and Bradley.
BEST IN THE WEST
The WAC has four teams in this week's United Soccer Coaches West Region Poll. Utah Valley dropped a spot but still sits third. Air Force moved up a spot to fourth. Seattle U stayed put at sixth and Kansas City made its debut at eighth.
UNLV PICKED TO WIN 2017 TITLE
UNLV is the preseason favorite to win the 2017 Western Athletic Conference men's soccer title in a vote of the league's 11 head coaches, who could not vote for their own team.
The Rebels collected five first place votes and 90 total points to take the top spot. Defending regular season champion Utah Valley earned three first place votes and was just a point back at 89 to earn the second spot while Seattle U earned the remaining three first place votes to total 87 points for third. 2016 tournament finalist Air Force was picked fourth with 72 points followed closely by Grand Canyon in fifth with 70 points. CSU Bakersfield was sixth with 54 points and San José State was selected seventh, followed by UT Rio Grande Valley in eighth and UIW in ninth. Houston Baptist and Kansas City tied for 10th to round out the poll.
AUNE, MUSOVSKI HIGHLIGHT PRESEASON ALL-WAC SQUAD
UNLV forward Danny Musovski and Seattle U defender Nathan Aune were selected as WAC Preseason Offensive and Defensive Player of the Year respectively in a vote of the league's 11 head coaches, who could not vote for their own players.
Musovski is joined on the Preseason All-WAC squad by midfielder teammate Timo Mehlich while Aune is joined by midfielder teammate Sergio Rivas. Air Force has three players as forward Austin Dewing, midfielder Tucker Bone and goalkeeper John Wendt were all honored. Utah Valley had a pair selected as forward Paul Hoffmeister joined defender Giovanny Vazquez on the squad. Grand Canyon forward Niki Jackson and CSU Bakersfield defender Jamie Carey-Morrell rounded out the 11-member team.
THREE NAMED TO MAC HERMANN WATCH LIST
Utah Valley's Paul Hoffmeister, Grand Canyon's Niki Jackson and UNLV's Danny Musovski are among those on the watch list for the 2017 Missouri Athletic Club's (MAC) Hermann Trophy. Hoffmeister was a third-team All-American as a junior, Jackson was the 2016 WAC Offensive Player of the Year and Musovski earned 2016 WAC Tournament MVP honors.
HOFFMEISTER, MUSOVSKI NAMED PRESEASON ALL-AMERICA
A pair of WAC men's soccer players will open the year as preseason All-Americans as Utah Valley's Paul Hoffmeister was named a first team selection and UNLV's Danny Musovski earned second team honors by College Soccer News. The duo was also named to the Top Drawer Soccer Preseason Best XII Third Team.
READY TO ROLL
After playing through a four-year transition period to NCAA Division I, both Grand Canyon and UIW are eligible for the postseason this year. The Lopes are predicted to finish fifth in the regular season while the Cardinals are ninth in the preseason coaches poll.
LUCKY SEVEN
With all 11 men's soccer teams eligible for the postseason in 2017, the WAC tournament field has expanded from six teams to seven teams. The tournament also added an extra rest day between the first round and semifinal round. The regular season champion and top seed will receive the only bye in the tournament, with the other teams beginning play on Wednesday, Nov. 8 in Las Vegas. Semifinals will be played on Friday, Nov. 10 with the championship game set for 1 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 12.
PLAYING THE BEST
The WAC has 23 non-conference games against participants from the 2016 NCAA Men's Soccer Tournament. UNLV, a 2016 postseason participant itself, is one of three schools to play four NCAA participats, making trips to Portland, New Mexico and UCLA and hosting Pacific. Utah Valley has four non-conference matches against postseason participants, hosting Akron and CSUN and traveling to San Diego State and Washington. Seattle U also has four with home games against New Mexico, Mercer and Washington and a road trip to Portland. San José State opens the season hosting defending national champion Stanford and will travel to both CSUN and Pacific. Grand Canyon will travel to Creighton and Pacific and host CSUN. UT Rio Grande Valley takes on Loyola Chicago on a neutral field at Northern Illinois before returning home to take on San Diego State later in the season. UIW will also face San Diego State in Edinburg. Air Force takes on Florida Gulf Coast at home while CSU Bakersfield travels to Pacific.
COMING SOON
California Baptist is scheduled to join the WAC for 2018-2019 competition. They will begin their four year transition process to Division 1. This will make them ineligible to compete in post season tournaments (WAC and NCAA) until 2022-2023 season. They will be coming from the Pacific West Conference where they won five championships (M&W Cross Country, W. Basketball, W. Golf, and Softball) during 2016-2017 season.
ON THE AIR
The WAC Digital Network will broadcast 88 regular season games and all six games of the expanded 2017 WAC Men's Soccer Tournament in Las Vegas.