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Ten WAC women's soccer players have been named to the 2021 United Soccer Coaches All-Pacific Region team. Utah Valley garnered four honorees, Grand Canyon and Stephen F. Austin garnered two while California Baptist and Lamar has one each.

 

Grand Canyon's Hannah Edwards is the only WAC women's soccer player to earn a spot in the first team after leading the Lopes' defensive line that allowed only 24 goals made against in 22 mathes throughout the season.

 

Five WAC women earned second-team honors. Utah Valley dominated with Jenna Shepherd, Sadie Brockbank and Amber Tripp earning three out of the five, along with them are Grand Canyon's Marleen Schimmer and Stephen F. Austin's Caylon McMillan.

 

Four others earned thrid-team honors which included Stephen F. Austin's Carli Aurthurs, California Baptist's Devyn Kelsey, Lamar's Christine Kitaru and Utah Valley's Heather Stainbrook.

 

The All-America teams are expected to be announced on Thursday, Dec. 2.

 

No. 11 USC (14-3-2) pounced on visiting GCU with Pac-12 Midfielder of the Year Croix Bethune's hat trick in the first nine minutes and never relented for a 6-0 first-round win Saturday at Soni McAlister Field.

 

The Lopes (16-4-2) used all of their travel squad's position players in the first half, as head coach Chris Cissell gave his WAC regular-season and tournament champions a feel of the national stage that they hope to revisit. GCU entered Saturday with the nation's sixth-leading offense was stymied by the Trojans, a program making its eighth consecutive NCAA tournament appearance and in search of its third national championship.

 

USC matched its postseason record for goals scored after Bethune had a foot in the Trojans' first five goals. The junior scored in the fourth, seventh and ninth minutes to run her season tally to 16, the last of which came when she went 30 yards down the middle and beat two defenders and the goalkeeper for a 3-0 lead.

 

The Lopes tried to dig in at 3-0 with a diving save from sophomore goalkeeper Jordan Ferguson and scoring opportunity on a give-and-go between junior forward Gianna Gourley and sophomore midfielder Reese Mendenhall, who gave strong efforts throughout the match.

 

USC only took seven first-half shots but scored a fourth goal in the 19th minute off an assist from Bethune, who assisted on another goal 1 /2 minutes into the second half for a 5-0 lead.

 

"We know we're a really good team, but we haven't played a team like this all year," Cissell said. "That's a different level of athleticism and a different level of speed. That's why they have two national championship banners over there."

 

After a free kick for GCU star senior Marleen Schimmer went off goal, USC added its final goal off winning a 50-50 ball in the 48th minute.

 

Ferguson made a pair of outstanding saves in the 82nd minute, covering up a defensive error on one shot before making a diving stop on the other.

 

USC held a shot advantage, 18-9, that showed just how the Trojans were with their 10 shots on goal.

 

The Lopes closed the game with a senior lineup that lifted the program to its first winning Division I season and the nation's greatest two-year rise, going from finishing 2019 at No. 279 in NCAA Rating Percentage Index to No. 37 this season.

 

The Grand Canyon Lopes are the 2021 WAC Tournament Champions. The Lopes went through Lamar with a 2-1 win in the semifinals and took down Utah Valley 3-0 to win the championship.

 

Lindsey Prokop was named tournament MVP after scoring the game winner in their 2-1 win over Lamar and scored the opening goal in their championship match. It is by no means a one man show, Mina Ghazizadeh recorded two assists in the championship match. WAC offensive player of the year Marleen Schimmer also played a big role bombarding the opposing teams' goal totaling 10 shots throughout two matches.

 

Following the WAC tournament Grand Canyon keeps their spot as league leaders in shots (367), points (178), goals (60), assists (58), and least goals against average (0.82). Utah Valley is the leader in shutouts (11) and corner kicks (119). Dixie State leads the league in saves (137). 

 

Individually, Grand Canyon's Schimmer is the league's top scorer (13). Schimmer is also the WAC leader in total shots (110), shots on goal (51), assists (14) and points (40). In the net, Lamar's Nicole Panis is the leader in saves (116). Kayla Gonzales is the leader in saves per game (7). Grand Canyon's Jordan Ferguson led the least goals against average (0.77) and save percentage (.824). 

 

Seattle U's Sydney Carr and UVU's Jenna Shephard were selected as the WAC Preseason Offensive and Defensive Player of the Year respectively in a vote of the league's 12 head coaches, who could not vote for their own team or players.

 

Carr represented the Redhawks on the Preseason All-WAC team whole Shephard was joined by teammates Sadie Brockback, Heather Stainbrook and Amber Tripp. California Baptist had two players honored as Erin Gallagher and Romy Salvador represented the Lancers. Also earning honors were Abilene Christian's Christina Arteaga, Dixie State's Whitley Griffiths, Grand Canyon's Marleen Schimmer and Stephen F. Austin's Jamie Jezierski. 

 

The Western Athletic Conference is a little bit bigger this season as Abilene Christian, Lamar, Sam Houston and Stephen F. Austin have all joined the party. Due to the increase from eight teams to 12 teams, the league will play in a divisional format this season with the top three teams from each division advancing to the WAC Tournament.

 

WAC women's soccer teams will take on some of the top teams in the nation this season with 17 non-conference games against opponents that participated in the 2020-21 NCAA Women's Soccer Tournament in North Carolina. Stephen F. Austin has the most daunting schedule, facing off against four postseason opponents. GCU is second with three matches scheduled against NCAA tournament teams. Sam Houston and Seattle U have two each.

 

As Tarleton continues its growth to NCAA Division I, the athletics department will be adding women's soccer with the expectation to begin play in the fall of 2022. Southern Utah will also join the WAC, with the Thunderbirds moving all their athletic grams from the Big Sky Conference to the WAC effective July 1, 2022.