United Athletic Conference

 

California Baptist's Rola Badawiya and NM State's Makenna Gottschalk were selected as the TicketSmarter Western Athletic Conference Offensive and Defensive Players of the Week for March 1 through March 7, respectively.

 

Badawiya, a senior forward from Riverside, California, turned in a pair of monster performances last week as the Lancers went on to sweep Chicago State. On Thursday, Badawiya recorded a brace with her first goal coming just four minutes after kickoff. She added to her goal total again on Saturday as she tallied a hat trick and scored what proved to be the game-winner in the fifth minute against the Cougars. On the season, Badawiya leads the conference in both goals (5) and points (12).

 

Gottschalk, a junior from Broomfield, Colo., helped carry the Aggies to a 2-1 road victory over Grand Canyon behind a season-high 11 saves. Gottschalk allowed just one goal on 14 shots from the Lopes in the second half to help NM State match its conference win total from a year ago just five matches into the season.

 

Other offensive nominees: Seattle U's Ava Benedetti led the Redhawks to a road sweep of Dixie State as she notched the game-winner in both matches, including an overtime goal on Thursday… UT Rio Grande Valley's Kryssie Rivera recorded her first career goal as she scored the Vaqueros' lone goal against Utah Valley on Thursday… Utah Valley's Nicole Ray recorded her first two collegiate goals last week as she notched the game-winner during the Wolverines' sweep of UT Rio Grande Valley.

 

Other defensive nominees: California Baptist's Romy Salvador recorded her third and fourth shutouts of the season as she held Chicago State scoreless over two games… Dixie State's Hollee Herick tallied 13 saves as the Trailblazers battled with Seattle U in a pair of home matches… Seattle U's Michele Adam anchored a Redhawk backline that gave up just one goal in 184 minutes of play against Dixie State… UT Rio Grande Valley's Maile Lunardi recorded 16 saves last week as she improved her save percentage to a WAC-best .905… Utah Valley's Isabel Jones-Dawe collected her fifth shutout of the season as she held UT Rio Grande Valley without a goal on Saturday.

 

A full slate of two-game weekend matches are on tap this Thursday and Saturday, encompassing all three of the time zones in the WAC. Chicago State (Central Time), NM State, Utah Valley (Mountain Time), and Seattle U (Pacific Time) are hosting Dixie State, UT Rio Grande Valley, California Baptist, and Grand Canyon, respectively.

 

Grand Canyon and UT Rio Grande Valley are playing on the road for the first time during the league season this weekend, while California Baptist is playing just its second and third league matches away from home. Chicago State, meanwhile, will play its home openers and Seattle U will get just its second and third matches on home turf when it hosts Grand Canyon.

 

Weekend series sweeps ruled the results column last weekend, as all three two-game sets resulted in 2-0 weekends. Five of the seven conference contests last weekend were won by the visiting team, as Seattle U and Utah Valley were victorious twice away from home and NM State won its single match at Grand Canyon.

 

A pair of seven-goal victories last week helped California Baptist extend its WAC lead in goals (20), assists (19), points (59), goals per game (2.86), assists per game (2.71), points per game (8.43), and shots per game (21.14), and the Lancers regained the top spot in the conference in total shots with 148. Four teams — Utah Valley, California Baptist, Seattle U, and UT Rio Grande Valley — have all allowed just four goals or fewer to this point in the season, with UVU surrendering just three tallies in eight contests. The Wolverines, with a 0.36 goals-against average, are also tops in the circuit with five shutouts after extending their shutout streak to 346 minutes, 53 seconds with a 1-0 win at UTRGV last Saturday.

 

Individually, Utah Valley's Sadie Brockbank and NM State's Xitlaly Hernandez remain tied atop the goal-scoring leaderboard with four each, with eight players sharing the third spot with three goals apiece. Brockbank is still the WAC frontrunner with 10 total points, 1.25 points per game, and 35 total shots. California Baptist's Ari Coronado has taken the lead in assists with three, while 10 players have two assists each to tie for second in that department. Isabel Jones-Dawe of Utah Valley (0.34) boasts the top goals-against average in the WAC, while also ranking second in save percentage at .875. Maile Lunardi of UT Rio Grande Valley owns the best save percentage (.905) and the most shutouts in the conference (three), while ranking second behind Jones-Dawe with a 0.48 GAA.

 

Only one non-conference match remains on the 2020-21 WAC women's soccer docket, and it's an in-state battle next Wednesday. Utah Valley visits nationally-ranked Brigham Young in the UCCU Crosstown Clash at Provo, Utah, on March 17.

 

WAC members are 7-14-4 in non-conference matches, with two wins each against Conference USA, the Southland Conference, and non-Division I foes, with one win versus the West Coast Conference.

 

Seattle U is the preseason favorite to win the 2020-21 Western Athletic Conference women's soccer title in a vote of the league's eight head coaches, who could not vote for their own team.

 

The Redhawks received five of eight first-place votes for 46 total points to earn the preseason nod by just two points over Utah Valley, who collected the remaining three first-place votes and 44 points. California Baptist was picked third with 37 points, followed by Grand Canyon in fourth with 31 points. UT Rio Grande Valley is predicted fifth with 25 points, followed by NM State in sixth, Dixie State in seventh and Chicago State in eighth.

 

WELCOME (AND WELCOME BACK) TO THE WAC 

Dixie State head coach Molly Rouse will lead the Trailblazers into their Division I era after serving two seasons at an assistant at Minnesota. Also donning a new color, but not new to the WAC, is Grand Canyon head coach Chris Cissell, who came to GCU after nine seasons at Kansas City, where he claimed 102 victories, three WAC regular-season titles and two WAC Coach of the Year honors.

 

The 2020-21 WAC Women's Soccer Tournament will feature the six eligible teams on April 13, 17, and 19 at GCU Stadium in Phoenix. The top two teams in the regular-season standings will receive byes straight to the semifinals. Six of the eight soccer-playing members of the WAC will compete in the tournament, as California Baptist and Dixie State are not yet eligible to compete in the championship.

 

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. The nationwide search for a head coach is ongoing and the finalist will be named this spring, allowing for a full year of recruitment before beginning the inaugural soccer season.

 

On Jan. 14, the WAC announced the addition of five new schools in the near future. Abilene Christian, Lamar, Sam Houston, Stephen F. Austin were all offered and accepted membership invitations and will join the WAC on July 1, 2021. Southern Utah also received and accepted a membership invitation, and will join the league on July 1, 2022. With the additions, the WAC will have six schools in Texas, more than any other conference in the country, and three schools in Utah, also a national best.