United Athletic Conference

UT Rio Grande Valley's William Akio and Houston Baptist's JP Becerra have been named Western Athletic Conference Offensive and Defensive Players of the Week, respectively, for March 8  through March 14.

 

Akio, a senior forward from Calgary, Alberta, Canada, scored a pair of goals in the Vaqueros' 3-1 in over UNLV on Saturday. Four of his five shots were on goal as his seventh-career game-winning goal kept UTRGV undefeated on the season.

 

Becerra, a sophomore goalkeeper from El Paso, Texas, had nine saves in the Huskies' 1-1 draw against San Jose State. It was a season-high in saves for the keeper who now ranks second in the WAC in saves with 27.

 

Other offensive nominees: California Baptist's Tete Vacas assisted twice in the Lancers' big 5-0 win against Dixie State … Grand Canyon's Marco Afonso played 64 minutes in the Lopes' 1-0 win over UIW on Saturday … San Jose State's Rudi Castro scored the Spartans' lone goal in a 1-1 draw at Houston Baptist.

 

Other defensive nominees: California Baptist's Jordan Lane led the Lancer defensive unit in a 5-0 win over Dixie State … Grand Canyon's George Tasouris recorded his second consecutive shutout in a 1-0 win at UIW on Saturday … San Jose State's David Sweeney made a pair of saves in the Spartans' double-overtime draw at Houston Baptist … UT Rio Grande Valley's Trevor Schneider made two saves against UNLV to help UTRGV stay unbeaten on the season.

 

The weekly schedule is already underway with Seattle U holding on to beat Air Force, 1-0, on Tuesday afternoon. On Friday, Utah Valley visits UNLV and California Baptist visits 24th-ranked Grand Canyon.  Saturday's features include Houston Baptist at Dixie State and UT Rio Grande Valley at San José State while Sunday matches up UIW and Seattle U.

 

Heading into Tuesday, Seattle U leads the league in shots (105), saves (34) and corners (38). California Baptist  is the leader in points (37), goals (13), assists (11), and shutouts (3). UT Rio Grande Valley has the lead in goals allowed (2) while CBU boasts the top goals against average (0.47).

 

Individually, CBU's Luis Mueller has the lead in shots (23). Three players, UTRGV's William Akio, GCU's Justin Rasmussen and CBU's Bryan Iliohan are tied for the lead in both points (9) and goals (4). SJSU's Rudy Casto continues to lead in assists (4). In goal, UNLV's Miguel Duenas Jr. boasts the top GAA (0.29) and save percentage (.929). SU's Akili Kasimholds the lead in saves (34) and is one of six keepers with two shutouts each.

 

Grand Canyon head coach Schellas Hyndman announced that this spring season will be the final one of his successful career. In addition to over 500 collegiate wins at Eastern Illinois, SMU and GCU, he was head coach at FC Dallas for six years, earning 2010 MLS Coach of the Year honors.

 

A positive COVID-19 test within the Dixie State men's soccer program forced the Trailblazers to cancel a pair of games in California. DSU's non-conference match at San Diego State on Feb. 11 and its WAC match at California Baptist on Feb. 13 were both scrapped.

 

Due to restrictions in Santa Clara County that did not allow San José State to practice for much of January, the Spartans have elected not to play their first two WAC games of the season. The affected matches include UIW on Feb. 6 and at Air Force on Feb. 13. 

 

Positive COVID-19 test results forced California Baptist to cancel its first two matches of the season. The Lancers were scheduled to open the 2020-21 season on Wednesday at Pacific before visiting Las Vegas for the WAC opener against UNLV. It was later announced that the CBU at UNLV match will now take place on March 22 in Las Vegas.

 

With a perfect 4-0-0 record on the season, Grand Canyon cracked the United Soccer Coaches Top 25, coming in at 24th. The Lopes, as well as Seattle U, are also among those receiving votes in the College Soccer News Top 30.

 

While the Pac-12 holds the top three spots in the latest United Soccer Coaches Far West Regional Poll, the remaining seven spots belong to the WAC. Grand Canyon leads the way at fourth, followed in order by UT Rio Grande Valley, California Baptist, Seattle U, Utah Valley, UNLV and San José State.

 

The 2020-21 season marks the initial WAC campaign for three head coaches in the league. Dixie State head coach Jonny Broadhead leads the Trailblazers into the Division I era in his fourth season in St. George. UIW's Kiki Lara returns to his alma mater after leading Eastern Illinois. UT Rio Grande Valley's Bryheem Hancock was the final coach hired for the season, coming to the valley in November after serving as head coach at Radford for the last three seasons.

 

Seattle U is the preseason favorite to win the 2020-21 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 Redhawks received nine of 11 first-place votes and 98 total points to earn the preseason nod. Utah Valley was selected second with a first-place vote and 81 points. Air Force was selected third with 79 points, followed by Grand Canyon, who earned fourth with the final first-place vote and 65 total points. UNLV was selected fifth with 63 points, followed by San José State in sixth points. California Baptist earned the seventh spot with 54 points, followed by UT Rio Grande Valley in eighth, Houston Baptist in ninth, UIW in 10th and newcomer Dixie State in 11th. 

 

Seattle U's Noe Meza and Alex Acton-Petronotis 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.

 

Meza and Acton-Petronotis were joined on the Preseason All-WAC squad by teammates James Morris and Akili Kasim. San José State was the only other team with multiple players honored as forward Rudi Castro and midfielder Max Allen each picked up the preseason recognition. Also earning recognition were Air Force's Tristan Trager, Grand Canyon's Esai Easley, UNLV's Billy Jones, UT Rio Grande Valley's William Akio and Utah Valley's Mark Brown.

 

The 2020-21 WAC Men's Soccer Tournament will feature the top six teams on April 13, 17, and 19 at Johann Memorial Field in Las Vegas. The top two teams in the regular-season standings will receive byes straight to the semifinals.