United Athletic Conference

Abilene Christian's Natalie Jones and Grand Canyon's Hannah Edwards have been named TicketSmarter Western Athletic Conference Offensive and Defensive Players of the Week, respectively, for August 16 through August 22.

 

Jones, a junior midfielder from Lubbock, Texas, scored both of ACU's goals on the week as the Wildcats opened the season with an overtime loss at NM State and a win at UTEP. Against the Aggies, she scored the equalizing goal in the 77th minute to force the game into extra time and then put the ball in the net in the 22nd minute of Sunday's match at UTEP to give ACU the 1-0 win. She became the first Wildcats since 2011 to score in each of the first two matches of the season and moved into eighth place in ACU history with 15 career goals.

 

Edwards, a senior defender from Aurora, Colo., became GCU's all-time leader in minutes played on Sunday against Central Arkansas with over 6,576 minutes played. She also helped lead the Lopes to a pair of shutout victories with a 3-0 shutout victory on opening night against Southeastern Louisiana and then a 5-0 win over UCA on Sunday. GCU allowed just a combined 12 shots in the two matches, compared with 56 shots on offense as the Lopes started the season 2-0.

 

Other offensive nominees: Dixie State's Whitley Griffiths scored the game-winner in the 88th minute of the Trailblazers' 2-1 season-opening win at UNLV on Thursday and then scored again on Sunday against New Mexico … Grand Canyon's Dani Babb led the Lopes with two goals in the opening week of play, scoring a goal apiece in Thursday's 3-0 win over Southeastern Louisiana and Sunday's 5-0 win over Central Arkansas … Lamar's Isela Ramirez scored the first goal and assisted on the game-winning goal in a 3-1 win over Grambling on Thursday afternoon … NM State's Corey Kizer picked an opportune time to move into the Aggies' top-ten scoring list, putting in the overtime game-winner in the 93rd minute of Thursday's 2-1 win over Abilene Christian … UT Rio Grande Valley's Shentatious Knox scored her first goal of the season in a 3-1 loss at South Dakota State on Sunday … Utah Valley's Nicole Ray scored the game-winning goal in a 2-0 shutout win over Pac-12 foe Arizona in Friday's season opener.

 

Other defensive nominees: Abilene Christian's Lily Foster recorded her first career shutout on Sunday at UTEP, making six saves in a 1-0 win … Dixie State's Kayla Gonzales was in net for the Trailblazers' season-opening win over UNLV, making six saves and allowing just one goal in a 2-1 victory … NM State's Thalia Chaverria played like a veteran in her first collegiate match, helping the Aggies give up just five shot attempts in a 2-1 overtime win over Abilene Christian … Seattle U's Michelle Adam secured the backline as the Redhawks went 1-1 in Oregon, suffering a 1-0 loss at Oregon State before bouncing back with a 2-0 win at Portland State … Utah Valley's Heather Stainbrook helped anchor the UVU defense to a clean sheet in a 2-0 shutout win over Arizona, holding the Wildcats to just one shot on the night.

 

It's another busy weekend around the WAC with 23 matches between Thursday and Sunday. Among the highlighted matches is Seattle U playing at defending national champion Santa Clara on Thursday, Utah Valley hosting 25th-ranked Southern California on Saturday and UT Rio Grande Valley heading to sixth-ranked TCU on Sunday.

 

Through the first weekend of play, Grand Canyon leads the league in shots (56), points (25), goals (8), goals per game (4.00), assists (9), assists per game (4.50), least goals allowed (0), goals against average (0.00) and shutouts (2). Sam Houston holds the top spot in saves (26) while Utah Valley is the leader in corner kicks (14). 

 

Individually, GCU's Marleen Schimmer is the leader in shots (16) and shots per game (8.00). The quartet of GCU's Dani Babb, DSU's Whitley Griffiths, ACU's Natalie Jones and UVU's Heather Stainbrook are all tied for the lead in boths goals (2) and points (4). In net, GCU's Jordan Ferguson and SU's Madison Waguespack are tied for the lead in goals against average (0.00) and save percentage (1.000). SHSU's Abby DeLozier is the leader in saves (22) and saves per game (11.00). 

 

Following a short offseason and an influx of new programs, Stephen F. Austin is the preseason favorite to win the 2021 Western Athletic Conference Southwest Division while Utah Valley is the coaches' pick to win the WAC West Division in a vote of the league's 12 head coaches, who could not vote for their own team or players. 

 

WAC-newcomer Stephen F. Austin received three first place votes to edge out Abilene Christian and Lamar for the top spot with 22 points, compared with two first place votes and 18 points for the Wildcats and one first place vote and 18 points for the Cardinals. UT Rio Grande Valley was picked fourth, followed by Sam Houston in fifth and Chicago State in sixth.

 

In the west, defending WAC champion Utah Valley received four first place votes and 24 total points to edge out rival Seattle U for the first spot. The Redhawks received one first place vote and 21 points to take second, followed by Grand Canyon, with the final first place vote and 17 points, in third. California Baptist takes fourth, NM State is fifth and Dixie State is sixth.

 

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.

 

The 2021 WAC Women's Soccer Tournament will feature the top three teams from each division on November 3, 5, and 7 at Elmer Gray Stadium in Abilene, Texas. The two divisional winners will receive byes to the semifinal round with the second place team taking on the third place team from the other division in the first round.

 

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. Also joining the WAC in 2022 will be Southern Utah with the Thunderbirds moving all their athletic programs from the Big Sky Conference to the WAC effective July 1, 2022.