United Athletic Conference

 

 

Grand Canyon's McKenzie Cook and Abby Burton have been named the Western Athletic Conference Women's Offensive and Defensive Players of the Week, respectively, for Sept 10-16.

 

Cook, a senior forward from Silverdale, Wash. (Klahowya Secondary) led the Lopes' offense and tallied eight points. She placed four goals in the back of the net over a two-win weekend. Cook scored two goals in a 4-1 victory against Portland State. She was also responsible for both goals in a 2-1 win over Cal State Fullerton. Cook finished with 11 shots throughout the weekend, seven being on goal.

 

Burton, a redshirt senior goalkeeper from Peoria, Ariz. (Liberty), made ten saves in two victories for Grand Canyon. She snagged two saves against Portland State and eight more against Cal State Fullerton to clinch the 2-1 win. The senior played all 180 minutes and averaged a save percentage of .833.

 

Other offensive nominees: Desarae Felix of California Baptist scored her fourth goal of the season and third goal in the Lancers' last three games in a 2-0 victory against Southern Utah… Chicago State's Sara Quevedo scored two goals and added an assist against Western Illinois… Kansas City's Lexie Howard became the program leader in career goals and points with her 33rd career goal against Oklahoma State… Shentatious Knox of UT Rio Grande Valley scored her first career goal against No. 14 Texas.

 

Other defensive nominees: Romy Salvador of California Baptist grabbed one save against Southern Utah for a 2-0 shutout… Kansas City's Abby Small anchored the defense in a win over Iowa State and added a goal and an assist. 

 

Grand Canyon went 2-0 over the weekend and was the only WAC team to do so. The Lopes defeated Portland State 4-1 on Thursday and Cal State Fullerton 2-1 on Sunday. Grand Canyon was led by McKenzie Cook who had two goals in each game. California Baptist also tallied a win in their only match this weekend. The Lancers topped Southern Utah 2-0. 

 

WAC teams played in just two overtime matches this past week. Seattle U lost 3-2, against Idaho in the 92nd minute of play. CSU Bakersfield defeated Saint Mary's in the second overtime. Aminah Settles found the back of the net in the 105th minute to seal the win. 

 

UT Rio Grande Valley, Kansas City, and Utah Valley faced ranked opponents this week. UTRGV lost to No. 11 Texas but is the first team this season to hold the Longhorns scoreless in the first half. Kansas City dropped a 2-1 decision to No. 15 Oklahoma State. Despite the loss, Kansas City had two athletes top the school record books. Lexie Howard scored her 33rd career goal and Reighan Childers assisted it for the 19th of her career to both become all-time leaders in program history. Utah Valley lost 3-0 to newly ranked No. 23 Colorado.

 

Kansas City sits atop the team leaders in seven categories. The Roos have tallied the most shots with 141 in nine games. California Baptist holds the highest shots per game average with 18.29. Kansas City has scored the most goals with 21 and earned the most points with 61. The Roos are averaging 2.33 goals per game and 2.11 assists per game. Chicago State has made the most saves with 76 and a 9.50 per-game average. California Baptist leads in shutouts with four and corner kicks at 42. 

 

Individually, Grand Canyon's McKenzie Cook has taken the most shots with 40 but Leahi Manthei of Seattle U averages the most shots per game with 4.17. Kansas City's Kelsey Mothershead has tallied the highest points at 19 and Jessie Ray of Seattle U has the best average wtih 2.50 per game. Lexie Howard of Kansas City has the most assists with six and is averaging the highest assists per game at 0.67. Romy Salvador of California Baptist holds the best goals against average with just 0.54 and best save percentage at 0.846. Chicago State's Audra Wisehart has made the most saves with 54 and averages the most saves-per-game with nine.

 

WAC teams played in three matches this past week against teams that played in the NCAA Tournament last year.  Utah Valley lost 3-0 to No. 23 University of Colorado. UT Rio Grande Valley fell 2-1 against No. 11 ranked Texas. Kansas City was defeated by No. 15 ranked Oklahoma State, 2-1. 

 

The 37th Annual Women's College Cup will be held at Wakamed Soccer Park, Cary, N.C., Nov. 30 and Dec. 2.  Last year's WAC champs, Utah Valley, fell short in their 2017 first round match up against Stanford. The Wolverines were defeated 9-1 by the 2017 National Champions.

 

COLLEGE CUP DATES

First Round (64)

Nov. 9-11, 2018

On campus sites TBD

 

Second Round (32)

Nov. 16, 2018

On campus sites TBD

 

Third Round (16)

Nov. 18, 2017

On campus sites TBD

 

Quarterfinals (8)

Nov. 23-24, 2017

On campus sites TBD

 

Women's College Cup

Nov. 30 and Dec. 2, 2018

Wakemed Soccer Park

Cary, N.C.

 

The WAC Digital Network will broadcast over 60 games this season including all five games of the 2018 WAC Women's Soccer Tournament in Orem, Utah.