WAC TEAM-BY-TEAM NOTES

Denver Pioneers (2-1-1, 0-0-0 WAC)
Denver went 1-0-1 last week ... the team tied Wright State 1-1 in double overtime before taking down LIO Brooklyn 2-0 at the Omni Hotels Colorado Invitational in Boulder, Colo. ...  Denver got first-career goals from sophomore midfielder Nikki Pappalardo and freshman forward Taylor Ivins last weekend ... through the first four matches, the Pioneers have out-shot their opponents 61-23, and hold an 18-9 advantage in corners ... 23 players have seen action for Denver through the first four matches ... the Pioneers will play their first true road match of the season this Friday, as they travel to Saint Louis for a 6 p.m. MT kickoff.

 Idaho Vandals (2-2-0, 0-0-0 WAC)
Idaho split its games over the weekend ... despite starting strongly and going up 1-0 on Gonzaga, the team gave up a hard-luck goal on a deflection, then two more in a 15-minute period in a 3-2 loss ... the Vandals bounced back on Sunday to outshoot North Dakota State by a 24-4 margin in a 2-0 victory for their second shutout of the season ... the team’s loss against GU broke a 16-match winning streak when scoring at least two goals, dating back to the 2009 season ... on Sunday, senior Chelsea Small registered her 14th career game-winner, while senior Liz Boyden earned her 13th career shutout ... both totals extend their respective school records ... Idaho takes on Idaho State and Montana at the Bronco Invitational in Boise this week.

Louisiana Tech Lady Techsters (3-0-0, 0-0-0 WAC)
Louisiana Tech opened the 2012 season this past week with three wins ... the Lady Techsters defeated LSU-Shreveport 5-0 before downing Southern Miss 3-1 ... the team then ended the week with a 1-0 win over Central Arkansas ... after recording three saves versus Southern Miss, Caitlin Updyke became the all-time career leader in saves for Louisiana Tech this past week ... the win versus Southern Miss was the first victory ever against a Conference USA opponent ... true freshman forward Laura LeFevour recorded an assist in each of her first three games ... this week, LA Tech plays at Louisiana College on Tuesday before traveling to play Troy and Jacksonville State at the Trojan Classic in Troy, Ala.

New Mexico State Aggies (0-2-0, 0-0-0 WAC)
After taking last week off, the Aggie soccer team returns to the field in the UC Riverside Tournament, Aug. 31 and Sept. 2 in Riverside, Calif. ... NM State meets tournament host UC Riverside, Friday, Aug. 31 at 8 p.m. and then Southern Utah, Sunday, Sept. 2 at 11 a.m.

San Jose State Spartans (1-1-1, 0-0-0 WAC)
San Jose State is now off to its best start to a season since 2003 after a 3-0 win against CSU Bakersfield this past week  ... freshman Mikaella Meibock scored her first two career goals and sophomore Kacey Gricius recorded three points to lead the Spartans to the shutout over the CSU Bakersfield Roadrunners ...  Gricius opened scoring over CSUB nearly four minutes in to the first half when she skirted around a Bakersfield defender and kicked the ball past goaltender Tori Ornela ... the goal was Gricius’ first career goal ... this week, San Jose State hosts Pacific on Thursday before traveling to UC Davis on Sunday.

Seattle U Redhawks (2-2-0, 0-0-0 WAC)
Seattle U went 1-1-0 last week with a 2-1 loss at San Diego State and a 3-0 win over Eastern Washington ... Taylor Ritzman scored all 3 goals for the Redhawks, recording a hat trick versus Eastern Washington ... this was the second hat trick for the team so far this season ... Ritzman scored two goals versus Eastern Washington within 25 seconds of each other ... she has scored three of four goals on the season within less than three minutes of entering the game ... the Redhawks outshot their opponents 33-18 and outscored their opponents 3-2 in two matches over the weekend ... this week, Seattle U hosts Portland State on Sunday.

UTSA Roadrunners (0-3-0, 0-0-0 WAC)
UTSA fell to 0-3 on the season after a 2-0 defeat at No. 12 Texas A&M on Saturday ... the Roadrunners held the Aggies scoreless until Annie Kunz scored with just 18 seconds to go before halftime ... freshman goalkeeper Katarina Pus notched a career-high seven saves against Texas A&M to bring her season total to 14, which is tied for second in the league ... Pus and Utah State’s Ashlyn Mulford lead the conference by averaging 4.67 saves per contest ... the Roadrunners return to action this weekend for a pair of matches as part of the UTSA Classic. UTSA will face Eastern Michigan at 7 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 31 before a noon tilt versus Kent State two days later.

Texas State Bobcats (1-2-0, 0-0-0 WAC)
With a win over Prairie View A&M, Texas State wins its fourth home opener in the last five years ... the Bobcats have won three of the last four ... ironically the wins have come over two teams, Prairie View A&M (2011) and St. Mary’s (2008, 2009) ... transfer, Tori Hale has made an impact in her first three games as a Bobcat, recording an assist in each of her last two games, and nearly had one in the season opener at Sam Houston State ... she has already matched her assist production from last season ... last year at TCU she had two assists in 19 games ... Taylor Person was held scoreless in the 2011 season, after switching between midfielder and defender during the year ... she got back in the box score on Friday against Army, scoring off a Tori Hale cross, tying the game at 1-1 against Army ... this season Person has five shots, tying her for second on the team.

Utah State Aggies (3-0-1, 0-0-0 WAC)
Utah State went 1-0-1 last week ... the team tied Creighton 1-1 in double overtime before taking down Nebraska-Omaha 3-1 ... junior forward Mari Miyashiro was very efficient with two goals on two shots on goal for the Aggies, leading USU to a 3-1 win over Omaha ... she scored the first goal and the game-winning goal for the Aggies in the win over the Mavericks ... in Utah State’s double overtime tie against Creighton, Miyashiro had three shots ... for the week, she started two matches with two goals, five shots and 115 minutes played ... freshman Jeannie Woller came off the bench to help lead Utah State to its 1-0-1 record on the road last week ... Wollere played the second half and overtime in the tie against Creighton ... in the win against Omaha, she played the second half and earned the win.

WAC NOTES

WAC SOCCER PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Offensive: Taylor Ritzman, So., MF, Seattle U
Ritzman came off the bench to score a hat trick in Sunday’s game against Eastern Washington, leading the Redhawks to a 3-0 victory over the Eagles. Three of Ritzman’s four goals this season have come within just three minutes of entering the game. Ritzman’s first and second goals in Sunday’s match came just 25 seconds apart. She scored her three goals in just 31 minutes of play on Sunday.

Other offensive nominees included: Idaho senior forward/midfielder Jill Flockhart … Louisiana Tech freshman forward Laura LeFevour … San Jose State freshman forward Mikaella Meibock ... Utah State junior forward Mari Miyashiro.

Defensive: Mo Rockwell, Sr., D, Louisiana Tech
Rockwell anchored a defensive line that allowed only one goal in three games last week. The lone goal given up to Southern Miss came in the final seconds of the 90th minute. Rockwell helped the Lady Techsters to a pair of shutouts on the week with three wins over LSU-Shreveport, Southern Miss and Central Arkansas. Rockwell had the lead pass assist for the game-winning goal against Central Arkansas.

Other defensive nominees included: Denver sophomore defender Sam Harder … Idaho junior defender Chelsie Breen … Seattle U junior defender/midfielder Monuque Escalera … Utah State sophomore defender Taryn Rose.

Goalkeeper: Caitlin Updkye, Jr., GK, Louisiana Tech
Updyke registered two shutouts this past week over LSU-Shreveport and Central Arkansas. Updyke gave up only one goal in three matches on the week. She recorded 12 saves, including nine against Central Arkansas in a 1-0 victory.

Other goalkeeper nominees included: Idaho senior goalkeeper Liz Boyden … San Jose State freshman goalkeeper Emily Pryor ... Utah State freshman goalkeeper Jeannie Woller.

WEEK 2 RECAP
Louisiana Tech opened its season this past week with a perfect 3-0 record. The Lady Techsters defeated LSU-Shreveport, Southern Miss and Central Arkansas. San Jose State was also perfect last week with a 3-0 win over CSU Bakersfield. Denver and Utah State each went 1-0-1, while Idaho and Seattle U each picked up a win on the week.

ANOTHER HAT TRICK FOR SEATTLE U
For a second straight week, Seattle U had an individual player record a hat trick. This week, sophomore midfielder Taylor Ritzman scored three goals in a 3-0 win over Eastern Washington. Ritzman’s first and second goals were just 25 seconds apart. Last week, senior forward Melissa Busque had a hat trick versus St. Mary’s, scoring the first two goals of the match and adding a third on a corner kick in the second half.