This Week In WAC Men's Soccer - Sept. 21
This Week In WAC Men's Soccer - Sept. 21
2022 WAC Men's Soccer Release - Sept. 21
CALIFORNIA BAPTIST, GRAND CANYON TIED AT 3-3-1
Entering the final full week of nonconference play, California Baptist and Grand Canyon have been the top two men’s soccer programs in the WAC with matching 3-3-1 records as of Sept. 21. The Lancers have put together an impressive 3-0-1 mark in home matches thus far in the 2022 campaign.
GRAND CANYON GOES TO THE WIRE WITH UC SANTA BARBARA
Grand Canyon picked up a key nonconference result in a spirited 2-2 draw at No. 18 UC Santa Barbara on Sept. 17, holding the lead until late in the contest before an equalizer from the hosts spoiled the potential win for the Lopes. Alec LaBarge served up the primary assist on a Samuel Lossou goal to kickstart the scoring at 13:33, and LaBarge tallied an unassisted goal of his own at 18:18 for the 2-0 GCU lead. UCSB kept the run of play relatively even and scratched back with goals in the 39th and 88th minutes to salvage the draw.
ENGELS MAKES AN IMPACT FROM THE UTRGV DEFENSE
UTRGV defender Jan Engels was a key player on both sides of the field for the Vaqueros during an impressive 4-1 win over Omaha on Sept. 17. Engels had a hand in three of the four goals on the day for UTRGV, serving the primary assist on the first two goals before hitting the back of the net on his own to extend the lead to 3-0 in the 48th minute. Engels captured conference offensive player of the week accolades following his four-point effort that also saw UTRGV limit Omaha to six total shots and two attempts on goal in the victory.
SNAGGING BRACES IN THE WAC
Houston Baptist’s Bryant Farkarlun became the fifth different player from the WAC this season with a two-goal performance during a Sept. 17 game with Eastern Illinois. Other conference players with a brace thus far this season are HBU’s Ethan Giwa-McNeil (Cal Poly, Sept. 5), CBU’s Bryan Iliohan (Gonzaga on Sept. 1), GCU’s Alec LaBarge (No. 4 UCLA on Sept. 5) and Seattle U’s Declan McGlynn (No. 4 Notre Dame on Aug. 25).
THE BATTLE FOR VARIOUS CONFERENCE STATISTICS LEADS
As of matches on Sept. 20, HBU’s Bryant Farkarlun took over the conference lead with nine points (three goals, three assists) across seven matches. Air Force’s Thaddaeus Dewing was the WAC leader with four goals scored in six contests to pace the conference. CBU’s Nolan Premack sat atop the league’s goals against average (0.83) and save percentage (.808) charts after his first six matches of 2022.