United Athletic Conference

 

 

 

CSU'S BEALE AND GCU'S BURTON NAMED PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

Chicago State's Marissa Beale and Grand Canyon's Abby Burton have been named the Western Athletic Conference Women's Offensive and Defensive Players of the Week, respectively, for Aug. 13-19.

 

Beale, a freshman forward from Frazier Park, Calif. (Bakersfield Christian), made her presence known in her first collegiate match. She recorded two goals and four points in the Cougars' opening weekend contests against Youngstown State and Cleveland State. Beale notched her first career goal in the 68th minute of Chicago State's season opener against Youngtown. On Sunday, she scored the solo goal for the Cougars in the 85th minute of play with a rebound off a stopped shot.

 

 Burton, a graduate student from Peoria, Ariz. (Liberty), totaled 22 saves in Grand Canyon's opening weekend of play. In a double overtime battle against Gonzaga she had 15 saves, setting a GCU record for most saves for a goalkeeper since 2015. She followed it up with another overtime match against No. 21 Washington State, where she grabbed seven saves.  

 

Other offensive nominees: California Baptist's Miranda Hald scored the first goal of season and secured the win over Loyola (Md.) in the Lancers' first Division I game … Camryn Larson of Grand Canyon recorded her first career goal and the Lopes' single goal against Gonzaga … Kansas City's Lexie Howard netted a goal against Oakland and ended the weekend with four shots, two on goal … Aileen Galicia of NM State was responsible for the Aggies lone goal against Albany and had three shots, one on goal, against San Diego State.

 

Other defensive nominees: California Baptist defender Erin Gallagher assisted the Lancers' first goal of the season and helped post two shutouts … Audra Wisehart of Chicago State finished the weekend with 13 saves, stopping eight against Cleveland State… Kansas City's Anna Lillig totaled eight saves throughout two games, including seven against Saint Louis … Samantha Afonso of NM State played every minute of both games this weekend and held San Diego State to just one goal. DENVER – Chicago State's Marissa Beale and Grand Canyon's Abby Burton have been named the Western Athletic Conference Women's Offensive and Defensive Players of the Week, respectively, for Aug. 13-19.

 

HOT START

California Baptist was the only WAC team to go 2-0 over the weekend. The Lancers picked up their first Division I victory against Loyola (Md.), 1-0. They followed with a 1-0 double overtime win against Antelope Valley. 

 

IN THE BOOKS

UT Rio Grande Valley made school record books in their home opener against Texas Southern. UTRGV defeated Texas Southern 4-1 and recorded the most goals ever scored on an opening night. 

 

STATISTICALLY SPEAKING

California Baptist claimed the top spot in five team statistics after week one of play. CBU had the best goals allowed and goals against average with zero each. They also recorded the most shots with 37 and an average of 18.50. The Lancers hold the most shutouts with two and most corner kicks at 14. UT Rio Grande Valley also sits atop the team statistics in four categories. UTRGV tallied the most total points with 11 and goals per game with two. They hold first in assists per game and total assists with three. 

 

Individually, Seattle U's Jessie Ray leads six categories. Ray tallied the most shots per game with eight, total points with seven, and points per game at seven. She also has the most goals and goals per game with three each and grabbed first in game-winning goals with one. Grand Canyon's Abby Burton has the most total saves with 22 and saves per game averaging 11. 

 

NCAA OPPONENTS

WAC teams played six matches this weekend against teams who made an appearance in last year's NCAA Tournament. Seattle U claimed the only WAC victory, 3-0, over Eastern Washington. Two of the six matches went into overtime play.

 

WAC teams will play in five more matches against teams that played in the NCAA Tournament last year. Two matches hosted by WAC schools will be available to stream on the WAC Digital Network at www.wacsports.com/watch.

 

Aug. 31 Utah Valley at San Diego – 3 p.m. PT

Sep. 2 Kansas City vs Missouri State – 1 p.m. CT, (WDN)

Sept. 13 Utah Valley at Colorado – 3:30 p.m. MT

Sep. 14 UT Rio Grande Valley at Texas – 6 p.m. CT

Sep. 16 Kansas City vs Oklahoma State, 1 p.m. CT (WDN)