This Week in WAC Women's Soccer - Oct. 15
This Week in WAC Women's Soccer - Oct. 15
CSUB'S MARTINEZ AND GCU'S GARTHWAITE NAMED PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
CSU Bakersfield's Jordan Martinez and Grand Canyon's Lauren Garthwaite were selected as the Western Athletic Conference Women's Offensive and Defensive Players of the Week for Oct. 7-14, respectively.
Martinez, a junior defender from Covina, Calif., shined against preseason favorite Kansas City as she bagged her first career hat trick. She netted her first goal of the day and second of the season in the 12th minute off an assist from Aryana Harvey. The three-goal outing brings her season point total to nine, good for third amongst the CSU Bakersfield roster. Martinez joins Sarah Bonney of UT Rio Grande Valley as the only other conference player to record a hat trick this season.
Garthwaite, a freshman goalkeeper from Riverside, Calif., picked up her second shutout of the season as GCU defeated the 'Roos of Kansas City. She nabbed six saves in Grand Canyon's lone match of the weekend as the Lopes kept one of the league's best offenses out of the goal. Garthwaite now ranks third in the conference with 61 saves on the season.
Other offensive nominees: Rola Badawiya of California Baptist scored the game-winner at home in a win over Chicago State... Grand Canyon's Dani Babb netted her first career goal in a 2-0 win over Kansas City... Leahi Manthei of Seattle U accounted for a combined six points as the Redhawks went 2-0 at home behind her two-goal, two-assist weekend... Emily Zapata of UT Rio Grande Valley picked up three points as she assisted a goal and scored one of her own in a win over Chicago State... Utah Valley's Nicole Olanda scored the game-winner as the Wolverines brought CBU's seven-game win streak to a halt.
Other defensive nominees: CSU Bakersfield's Andrea Neves snagged four saves and held KC to just one goal in a win... Seattle U's Rachel Bowler anchored the Redhawk backline as they picked up two shutout victories over conference opponents CSU Bakersfield and NM State... Kinga Szemik registered her fifth clean sheet of the season in a 2-0 win over Chicago State... Utah Valley's Allie Jara secured back-to-back shutouts as the Wolverines picked up wins over NM State and California Baptist.
BY THE NUMBERS
With two weeks of conference play in the books, California Baptist leads the league in shots taken (236). Conference front-runner Seattle U is the league leader in goals (27), points (75) and assists (15). The Cougars of Chicago State lead the conference in saves (115). Meanwhile, California Baptist and UT Rio Grande Valley share the lead for least goals allowed (12) and the Lancers lead the conference in goals-against average (.840).
Individually, Jessie Ray of Seattle U leads the conference in shots (54). Kansas City's Rylan Childers leads the league in three major offensive categories as she is out front in goals (9), points (24) and assists (6). Judith Sorribes of Chicago State is the league leader in saves (103). Of goalies that have played in one-third of their team's minutes, Romy Salvador of California Baptist holds the best goals-against average (0.59) while UT Rio Grande Valley's Kinga Szemik leads the conference in shutouts with 5 clean sheets.
QUICK GLANCE
This weekend's slate will include eight games played across Friday and Sunday. The weekend opens up as Utah Valley travels east to take on Chicago State while NM State hosts CSU Bakersfield. After defeating Kansas City last week, Grand Canyon will be looking to take down another strong conference opponent as they get Seattle U at home to close play on Friday night.
Sunday's group of games will kick off at 1 p.m. CT as Utah Valley battles Kansas City and CSU Bakersfield faces UT Rio Grande Valley. Later in the afternoon, California Baptist adds to Grand Canyon's tough stretch as they travel to Phoenix to face the Lopes.
KC'S SMALL NAMED SENIOR CLASS AWARD® CANDIDATE
Kansas City senior defender Abby Small has been selected as one of 30 women's candidates for the Senior CLASS Award®. The total list of candidates is comprised of 60 NCAA men's and women's soccer student-athletes who excel both on and off the field.
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.
Small, a two time Academic All-WAC selection, was selected to the United Soccer Coaches Scholar All-Region second team in 2018. As an electrical and computer engineering major, Small currently has a 3.64 cumulative GPA.
Small exemplifies leadership on and off the field as one of the SAAC (Student-Athlete Advisory Committee) and SALC (Student-Athlete Leadership Council) leaders and representatives for Kansas City. Through SALC, Small volunteers with Children's Mercy Hospital and donates to the Greater KC Boys & Girls Club.
Academically, Small is a member of IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers), a member of SWE (Society of Women Engineers) and a member of Engineers without Borders.
Starting 67 of a possible 68 games in which she has played, Small has proved to be an anchor on the Roos strong defense. A two-time All-WAC First Team selection, Small was named the Preseason WAC Defensive Player of the Year for the second year in a row. She is a part of a Kansas City team that is coming off its second consecutive WAC regular-season title. At the time of nomination, Small and the Kansas City defense was ranked 44th in the nation in goals-against average (.547).
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.
The group of 30 candidates will be narrowed to 10 finalists midway through the regular season. Those 10 finalists will be placed on an official ballot that is distributed through a nationwide voting system. One female candidate who best exemplifies excellence in the four C's of community, classroom, character and competition will be selected.
The Senior CLASS Award winners will be announced during the 2019 NCAA Women's College Cup® championships in December.