This Week in WAC Women's Soccer - April 13
This Week in WAC Women's Soccer - April 13
EVES, LUNARDI NAMED PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Utah Valley's Breanna Eves and UT Rio Grande Valley's Maile Lunardi were selected as the TicketSmarter Western Athletic Conference Offensive and Defensive Players of the Week for April 5 through April 11, respectively.
Eves, a freshman midfielder from Springville, Utah, tallied the first goal of her collegiate career as she helped the Wolverines take down Dixie State and secure the No. 1 seed in the upcoming WAC Tournament. Eves also assisted on Jenna Shepherd's game-winner in the 12th minute against the Trailblazers.
Lunardi, a junior from Highland Park, Ill., recorded her fifth shutout of the season as she led the Vaqueros to a 2-0 record last week. Lunardi tallied eight total saves in 180 minutes in the net for UTRGV. Against Dixie State on Tuesday, she made five stops to help the Vaqueros earn a 3-0 win.
Other offensive nominees: Chicago State's Barbara Castellanos scored the Cougars' lone goal in Friday's match against UT Rio Grande Valley… Grand Canyon's Raeanne Jones scored the game-winner and assisted on the Lopes only other goal to lead GCU to a 2-0 win over NM State… Seattle U's Gabe Jillings notched the game-winner in the Redhawks battle with California Baptist on Friday… UT Rio Grande Valley's Gina Steiner recorded her second career multi-goal match of her career as she scored a pair of goals against Chicago State on Friday.
Other defensive nominees: Grand Canyon's Hannah Edwards played all 90 minutes for the Lopes to help GCU record its second straight shutout… Utah Valley's Jenna Shepherd anchored the Wolverines to a 3-0 shutout win over Dixie State… Seattle U's Madison Waguespack tallied four saves as she led the Redhawks to a 1-0 victory over California Baptist.
OPENING WHISTLE
The WAC Tournament begins today after a feverish final week of the regular season last week. Utah Valley and Seattle U finished with identical 10-2-2 conference records, with UVU earning the top seed for the conference tournament, and California Baptist was third with an 8-4-2 record. Grand Canyon (7-4-1) and UT Rio Grande Valley (7-6-1) both finished with 22 points, followed by NM State, Dixie State, and Chicago State.
PHOENIX BOUND
The 2020-21 WAC Women's Soccer Tournament is on tap this week, as GCU Stadium in Phoenix hosts this season's conference championship. NM State and UT Rio Grande Valley kick the tournament off at 3 p.m. (PT) Tuesday in the quarterfinals, followed by a match-up between Chicago State and host Grand Canyon at 7 p.m. (PT). Thursday's semifinals will feature the winner of NMSU-UTRGV against top-seeded Utah Valley at 3 p.m. (PT), with the CSU-GCU winner squaring off against second-seeded Seattle U at 7 p.m. The championship match between the two semifinal winners will take place at 2 p.m. (PT) on Saturday, April 17. All games will be shown on ESPN+... California Baptist and Dixie State are not participating in this year's conference tournament, as they are not yet eligible to compete in the championship.
ALL-CONFERENCE TEAMS ANNOUNCED
Seattle U boasted the Offensive Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year, while Utah Valley and Grand Canyon also won specialty awards to highlight the 2020-21 WAC Women's Soccer all-conference teams. Sydney Carr of Seattle U was named Offensive Player of the Year, and teammate Hallie Bergford was tabbed as Freshman of the Year for the Redhawks. UVU defender Jenna Shepherd was chosen as Defensive Player of the Year, while Grand Canyon coach Chris Cissell, in his first season with the Lopes, was voted as conference Coach of the Year. For the entire all-conference team, please see page 4 of this week's release.
Six players who had been on the preseason all-conference squad were ultimately chosen to the end-of-season all-WAC first-team. Emily Zapata (UT Rio Grande Valley), Marleen Schimmer (Grand Canyon), Amber Tripp (Utah Valley), Michele Adam (Seattle U), Erin Gallagher (California Baptist), and Jenna Shepherd (Utah Valley) appeared on both all-conference teams, as had been chosen by conference coaches.
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
In the final statistics of the 2020-21 regular season, California Baptist and Seattle U found themselves at the top of the conference in nearly every offensive category. The Lancers and Redhawks finished with an identical total of 112 points in 17 matches, with CBU leading in assists (38) and Seattle U leading in goals (38). Utah Valley ranked third in points (103) and goals (36), while listing fourth in assists (31). California Baptist was tops in shots (327)... California Baptist, Utah Valley, and UT Rio Grande Valley all allowed just 15 goals during the regular season to tie for the top mark in the WAC, and each of those three schools had team goals-against averages below 1.00. UVU led that department at 0.80, totaling a league-high nine shutouts, followed by UTRGV (0.81) and CBU (0.85)... Chicago State led the WAC, and ranked among the national leaders, with 125 total saves and an average of 7.81 stops per game.
Seattle U's Sydney Carr, the WAC Offensive Player of the Year, enters the postseason with 16 goals and 38 points, claiming conference-leading honors in both categories. Dixie State's Whitley Griffiths finished second in the loop with 10 goals and 21 points... Three players — Jaycee Iranshad of Grand Canyon, Amy Aquino and Taylor Summit of California Baptist — totaled seven goals each during the regular season to rank third in that department, and each of those three is listed among the top five in the WAC in point scoring as well... Leahi Manthei and Carr of Seattle U were one-two in assists, with seven and six helpers, respectively... California Baptist's Romy Salvador led the WAC with a 0.64 goals-against average and ranked third with a .821 save percentage. Grand Canyon's Jordan Ferguson was second with a 0.68 GAA and led the way with a .857 save percentage, while Maile Lunardi of UT Rio Grande Valley, a four-time Defensive Player of the Week this season, was third in goals-against (0.87) and second in save percentage (.843). Lunardi also lead the WAC with three regular-season shutouts.
NON-CONFERENCE REVIEW
WAC members finished 7-15-4 in non-conference matches, securing two wins each against Conference USA, the Southland Conference, and non-Division I foes. The other non-league win came versus the West Coast Conference.
PRESEASON REVIEW: SEATTLE U WAS PICKED TO WIN 2020-21 TITLE
Seattle U was 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 had 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. Those two schools ultimately finished tied for the most points in the final regular-season standings (32) with identical 10-2-2 records.
WELCOME (AND WELCOME BACK) TO THE WAC
Dixie State head coach Molly Rouse led 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.
COMING SOON
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.
IT'S BIGGER IN TEXAS (AND UTAH)
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.
EVES, LUNARDI NAMED PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Utah Valley's Breanna Eves and UT Rio Grande Valley's Maile Lunardi were selected as the TicketSmarter Western Athletic Conference Offensive and Defensive Players of the Week for April 5 through April 11, respectively.
Eves, a freshman midfielder from Springville, Utah, tallied the first goal of her collegiate career as she helped the Wolverines take down Dixie State and secure the No. 1 seed in the upcoming WAC Tournament. Eves also assisted on Jenna Shepherd's game-winner in the 12th minute against the Trailblazers.
Lunardi, a junior from Highland Park, Ill., recorded her fifth shutout of the season as she led the Vaqueros to a 2-0 record last week. Lunardi tallied eight total saves in 180 minutes in the net for UTRGV. Against Dixie State on Tuesday, she made five stops to help the Vaqueros earn a 3-0 win.
Other offensive nominees: Chicago State's Barbara Castellanos scored the Cougars' lone goal in Friday's match against UT Rio Grande Valley… Grand Canyon's Raeanne Jones scored the game-winner and assisted on the Lopes only other goal to lead GCU to a 2-0 win over NM State… Seattle U's Gabe Jillings notched the game-winner in the Redhawks battle with California Baptist on Friday… UT Rio Grande Valley's Gina Steiner recorded her second career multi-goal match of her career as she scored a pair of goals against Chicago State on Friday.
Other defensive nominees: Grand Canyon's Hannah Edwards played all 90 minutes for the Lopes to help GCU record its second straight shutout… Utah Valley's Jenna Shepherd anchored the Wolverines to a 3-0 shutout win over Dixie State… Seattle U's Madison Waguespack tallied four saves as she led the Redhawks to a 1-0 victory over California Baptist.
OPENING WHISTLE
The WAC Tournament begins today after a feverish final week of the regular season last week. Utah Valley and Seattle U finished with identical 10-2-2 conference records, with UVU earning the top seed for the conference tournament, and California Baptist was third with an 8-4-2 record. Grand Canyon (7-4-1) and UT Rio Grande Valley (7-6-1) both finished with 22 points, followed by NM State, Dixie State, and Chicago State.
PHOENIX BOUND
The 2020-21 WAC Women's Soccer Tournament is on tap this week, as GCU Stadium in Phoenix hosts this season's conference championship. NM State and UT Rio Grande Valley kick the tournament off at 3 p.m. (PT) Tuesday in the quarterfinals, followed by a match-up between Chicago State and host Grand Canyon at 7 p.m. (PT). Thursday's semifinals will feature the winner of NMSU-UTRGV against top-seeded Utah Valley at 3 p.m. (PT), with the CSU-GCU winner squaring off against second-seeded Seattle U at 7 p.m. The championship match between the two semifinal winners will take place at 2 p.m. (PT) on Saturday, April 17. All games will be shown on ESPN+... California Baptist and Dixie State are not participating in this year's conference tournament, as they are not yet eligible to compete in the championship.
ALL-CONFERENCE TEAMS ANNOUNCED
Seattle U boasted the Offensive Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year, while Utah Valley and Grand Canyon also won specialty awards to highlight the 2020-21 WAC Women's Soccer all-conference teams. Sydney Carr of Seattle U was named Offensive Player of the Year, and teammate Hallie Langford was tabbed as Freshman of the Year for the Redhawks. UVU defender Jenna Shepherd was chosen as Defensive Player of the Year, while Grand Canyon coach Chris Cissell, in his first season with the Lopes, was voted as conference Coach of the Year. For the entire all-conference team, please see page 4 of this week's release.
Six players who had been on the preseason all-conference squad were ultimately chosen to the end-of-season all-WAC first-team. Emily Zapata (UT Rio Grande Valley), Marleen Schimmer (Grand Canyon), Amber Tripp (Utah Valley), Michele Adam (Seattle U), Erin Gallagher (California Baptist), and Jenna Shepherd (Utah Valley) appeared on both all-conference teams, as had been chosen by conference coaches.
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
In the final statistics of the 2020-21 regular season, California Baptist and Seattle U found themselves at the top of the conference in nearly every offensive category. The Lancers and Redhawks finished with an identical total of 112 points in 17 matches, with CBU leading in assists (38) and Seattle U leading in goals (38). Utah Valley ranked third in points (103) and goals (36), while listing fourth in assists (31). California Baptist was tops in shots (327)... California Baptist, Utah Valley, and UT Rio Grande Valley all allowed just 15 goals during the regular season to tie for the top mark in the WAC, and each of those three schools had team goals-against averages below 1.00. UVU led that department at 0.80, totaling a league-high nine shutouts, followed by UTRGV (0.81) and CBU (0.85)... Chicago State led the WAC, and ranked among the national leaders, with 125 total saves and an average of 7.81 stops per game.
Seattle U's Sydney Carr, the WAC Offensive Player of the Year, enters the postseason with 16 goals and 38 points, claiming conference-leading honors in both categories. Dixie State's Whitley Griffiths finished second in the loop with 10 goals and 21 points... Three players — Jaycee Iranshad of Grand Canyon, Amy Aquino and Taylor Summit of California Baptist — totaled seven goals each during the regular season to rank third in that department, and each of those three is listed among the top five in the WAC in point scoring as well... Leahi Manthei and Carr of Seattle U were one-two in assists, with seven and six helpers, respectively... California Baptist's Romy Salvador led the WAC with a 0.64 goals-against average and ranked third with a .821 save percentage. Grand Canyon's Jordan Ferguson was second with a 0.68 GAA and led the way with a .857 save percentage, while Maile Lunardi of UT Rio Grande Valley, a four-time Defensive Player of the Week this season, was third in goals-against (0.87) and second in save percentage (.843). Lunardi also lead the WAC with three regular-season shutouts.
NON-CONFERENCE REVIEW
WAC members finished 7-15-4 in non-conference matches, securing two wins each against Conference USA, the Southland Conference, and non-Division I foes. The other non-league win came versus the West Coast Conference.
PRESEASON REVIEW: SEATTLE U WAS PICKED TO WIN 2020-21 TITLE
Seattle U was 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 had 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. Those two schools ultimately finished tied for the most points in the final regular-season standings (32) with identical 10-2-2 records.
WELCOME (AND WELCOME BACK) TO THE WAC
Dixie State head coach Molly Rouse led 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.
COMING SOON
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.
IT'S BIGGER IN TEXAS (AND UTAH)
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.