WAC TEAM-BY-TEAM NOTES

Denver Pioneers (3-1-1, 0-0-0 WAC)
Denver picked up a 1-0 road win at Saint Louis last week ... Denver will play its first matches at CIBER Field in 2012 this weekend when it hosts the DU Invitational ... the Pioneers will host the 25th match of the DU and Colorado rivalry on Friday at 7 p.m. MT, before hosting UC Irvine on Sunday at 1:15 p.m. ... senior Katy Van Lieshout (Boulder, Colo.) scored her first goal of the season in the 89th minute of Friday’s 1-0 shutout over Saint Louis ... the Pioneers have not allowed a goal in the last 283:11 ... sophomore defender Sam Harder (Centennial, Colo.) is the only Pioneer to play every minute this season (470) ... senior goalkeeper Lara Campbell (Anchorage, Alaska) could tie the school record for goalkeeper wins with a pair of victories this weekend. 

Idaho Vandals (2-4-0, 0-0-0 WAC)
Idaho went 0-2 last week with a 2-0 loss to Idaho State and a heart-breaking 3-2 double-overtime loss to Montana at the Bronco Invitational … Idaho senior goalkeeper Liz Boyden made 11 saves over the weekend to put her at 301 in her career. She becomes the eighth woman in WAC history to make 300 career saves and the second Vandal. With two more stops, she’ll become Idaho’s all-time saves leader … senior forward Chelsea Small scored her 34th career goal and registered her 80th career point on Sunday against Montana … Small needs just three more goals and 14 more points to crack the all-time WAC top-10 in those categories.

Louisiana Tech Lady Techsters (4-1-1, 0-0-0 WAC)
Louisiana Tech went 1-1-1 last week ... the Lady Techsters opened the week with an 11-0 win at Louisiana College ... the team then tied Troy on the road at 1-1 in double overtime ... LA Tech then closed out the week with a 1-0 loss to Jacksonville State at the Troy Tournament ... in the match versus Louisiana College, Heather Fitzgerald became only the eighth Lady Techster ever to record a hat trick, while Erica Stewart became only the fourth Lady Techster ever to record three assists in one game ... Tech set a program record for most second half goals versus Louisiana College with seven ... Tech placed three players on the Trojan Classic All-Tournament team held in Troy, Ala. – midfielder Lindsay Brough, and defenders Mo Rockwell and Mette Rudolfsen ... this week, LA Tech hosts UALR on Friday before traveling to play South Alabama on Sunday.

New Mexico State Aggies (1-2-1, 0-0-0 WAC)
The Aggies won their first game of the season with a 1-0 decision over Southern Utah in its second match of the UC Riverside Tournament in Riverside, Calif., Sept. 2 ... sophomore forward Katelyn Smith scored her first career goal en route to the victory, and sophomore forward Layla Todd recorded the assist ... in the first overtime match of the season, the Aggies tied UC Riverside, 1-1, in a double overtime contest, Aug. 31 ... sophomore forward Layla Todd scored the first goal of the season for the Aggies in their first match of the UC Riverside Tournament ... NM State posted a season-high eight shots on goal ... the Aggies host Sam Houston State and Weber State this week.

San Jose State Spartans (2-2-1, 0-0-0 WAC)
San Jose State went 1-1 last week ... the Spartans opened the week with a 1-0 win at home against Pacific before falling 3-1 at UC Davis ... Mikaella Meibock is in the midst of a three-game goal scoring streak, and has six points over that span ... the four goals are her first four major collegiate goals ... she also has a team-high 16 shots in five games played and started ... this week, San Jose State hosts Nevada on Friday before welcoming UC Riverside on Sunday.

Seattle U Redhawks (3-2-0, 0-0-0 WAC)
Seattle U went 1-0 last week with a 1-0 victory at home against Portland State ... freshman goalkeeper Brianna Smallidge recorded her first complete game shutout versus Portland State on Sept. 2 ... Stephanie Verdoia scored her first goal of the season, the winning goal in the team’s 1-0 victory over Portland, and Melissa Busque notched her first career assist for the Redhawks on the same goal ... the Redhawks outshot the PSU Vikings, 14-9, with 11 of those shots coming in the second half of the match ... the Redhawks have now won 3 straight home games, as they hit the road for four straight road games ... this week, Seattle U travels to play Gonzaga on Sunday at 1 p.m. PT.


UTSA Roadrunners (1-4-0, 0-0-0 WAC)
UTSA came from behind to earn its first win of the season on Friday night against Eastern Michigan ... the Eagles jumped out to an early 1-0 lead before the Roadrunners scored twice in the first six minutes of the second half for the victory ... junior Maria Jose Rojas, UTSA’s leading scorer a year ago, netted her first goal of the 2012 campaign on Friday night ... her strike in the 51st minute proved to be the game-winner, the sixth of her career, and was her 15th with the Roadrunners ... freshman goalkeeper Katarina Pus made nine saves on the weekend to bring her season total to 23 ... Pus has started all five matches for UTSA and has at least four stops in all but one contest this season ... UTSA hosts Baylor (5-1) at 7 p.m. on Sunday.

Texas State Bobcats (2-3-1, 0-0-0 WAC)
Texas State went 1-1-1 last week ... the Bobcats defeated Prairie View A&M 3-0 on Tuesday night ... the team then tied Houston Baptist 1-1 in double overtime on the road before dropping a 2-1 decision at Rice on Sept. 2 ... five different players scored goals for the Bobcats last week, including Serena Hines, Sydney Curry, Gabbi Cottee, Tori Hale and Taylor Kelley ... Hines, Curry and Cottee also had an assist on the week as each led the team with three points last week ... Caitlyn Rinehart picked up the shutout in goal in the win over Prairie View A&M ... this week, Texas State hosts Central Michigan on Friday before traveling to play TCU on Sunday.

Utah State Aggies (4-1-1, 0-0-0 WAC)
Utah State went 1-1-0 last week ... the Aggies opened the week with a 1-0 loss to Big Sky foe Northern Colorado ... the team then bounced back with a 2-1 overtime victory at Utah Valley ... junior midfielder Kendra Pemberton got on the board with an assist and and the game-winning goal in the win against Utah Valley ... for the week, Pemberton had nine shorts, four on goal ... she ended the week with one goal and one assist for three points ... Jade Tarver also recorded a goal last week, while Taryn Rose recorded an assist ... this week, Utah State will compete in the Viking Classic in Portalnd, Ore. ... the team will face Eastern Washington on Friday before taking tournament host Portland State on Sunday.

WAC NOTES

WAC SOCCER PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Offensive: Heather Fitzgerald, Jr., MF, Louisiana Tech
Firtzgerald came off the bench to score a hat trick in Tuesday’s match against Louisiana College, leading the Lady Techsters to an 11-0 victory over the Wildcats. The three goals tie the LA Tech record for most goals in a single game with seven previous Techsters. Fitzgerald recorded five shots on goal over her two games last week. She registered 2.50 shots per match. 

Other offensive nominees included: New Mexico State sophomore forward Layla Todd ... San Jose State freshman forward Mikaella Meibock ... Seattle U sophomore forward/Midfielder Stephanie Verdoia ... UTSA junior forward Maria Jose Rojas ... Utah State junior midfielder Kendra Pemberton.

Defensive: Mette Rudolfsen, Fr., D, Louisiana Tech
Rudolfsen anchored the LA Tech defense to a pair of shutouts last week. Rudolfsen played every minute of a double-overtime scorless draw against Troy and helped the Lady Techsters to a shutout win over Louisiana College. She was named to the Trojan Classic All-Tournament team for her play against Troy and Jacksonville State last week.

Other defensive nominees included: New Mexico State senior defender Courtney Irwin ... Utah State sophomore defender Taryn Rose.

Goalkeeper: Mikaela Bitner, Jr., GK, New Mexico State
Bitner recorded a shutout in a 1-0 win over Southern Utah. She played all 90 minutes in the victory and recorded seven saves. After missing the 2011 season due to injury, Bitner returned for a win and a 0.00 goals against average.

Other goalkeeper nominees included: Louisiana Tech freshman Corina Brown ... Seattle U freshman Brianna Smallidge ... Utah State senior Ashlyn Mulford.

WEEK 3 RECAP
Denver and Seattle U each went 1-0-0 on the week as DU defeated Saint Louis 1-0 on the road and SU downed Portland State 1-0. The wins marked both Denver and Seattle U’s third wins of the year. New Mexico State picked up its first win of the year with a 1-0 victory over Southern Utah. The Aggies also tied UC Riverside 1-1 in double overtime last week. Louisiana Tech went 1-1-1. The Lady Techsters defeated Louisiana College 11-0 with Heather Fitzgerald coming off the bench to record the WAC’s third hat trick of the season. Texas State also went 1-1-1with a 3-0 shutout over Priarie View and a tie against Houston Baptist.

LA TECH'S FITZGERALD BECOMES THIRD WAC PLAYER TO RECORD HAT TRICK
For a third straight week, a WAC player has recorded a hat trick. Louisiana Tech’s Heather Fitzgerald came off the bench to record three goals in an 11-0 road victory at Louisiana College, tying the LA Tech single game record of three goals. Seattle U’s Taylor Ritzman and Melissa Busque have also recorded hat tricks this season.

2012 NCAA COLLEGE CUP
The 32nd Annual Women’s College Cup will be held Nov. 30 and Dec. 2,
2012, in San Diego, Calif., at the University of San Diego Torero Stadium.
Last season, the WAC had one team compete in postseason play with
Utah State falling in the fi rst round to Auburn.