WAC TEAM-BY-TEAM NOTES

Denver Pioneers (10-1-4, 2-0-2 WAC)
Denver defeated New Mexico State 3-0 on the road last week in the team’s lone match of the week ... the Pioneers wrap up their regular season home slate this weekend, hosting UTSA and Texas State ... last weekend’s victory stretched the Pioneers’ unbeaten streak to 14 matches ... senior forward Kaitlin Bast is fifth in program history in points and goals with 88 and 34, respectively ... Kristen Hamilton moved into sixth in DU history in points (86) and seventh in goals with 33 ... head coach Jeff Hooker earned his 300th DU coaching win on Friday, and his 280th DU women’s win. 

Idaho Vandals (4-12-1, 1-3-1 WAC)
Idaho went 1-1 during the week, starting with its fourth shutout of the season in a 2-0 win over San Jose State … despite outshooting Utah State in on-target attempts, Idaho fell to the Aggies, 3-1, on Sunday … senior forward Chelsea Small moved into the WAC all-time top-10 with her 37th career goal over the weekend … Small also extended her Idaho school record to 15 career game-winners … senior keeper Liz Boyden earned her school-record 15th career shutout on Thursday ... Idaho travels to play Louisiana Tech on Sunday.

Louisiana Tech Lady Techsters (12-1-3, 3-0-1 WAC)
Louisiana Tech picked up a pair of conference road wins this past week with a 2-0 win at Texas State and a 1-0 overtime victory at UTSA ... the two shutout wins marked the first time in LA Tech history that the team has swept a road weekend in conference ... the two wins this past weekend gave LA Tech 11 shutouts on the season, breaking the previous record of 10 back in 2008 ... the win on Sunday at UTSA gave LA Tech its third straight conference win, another first for the program ... previously the team had only ever won two straight conference games ... the victory over the Roadrunners was the first time the Lady Techsters have ever won a match while being a player down ... ... senior defender Mo Rockwell moved into third place all-time in most career games started with 67.

New Mexico State Aggies (2-10-3, 0-3-1 WAC)
New Mexico State dropped a 3-0 decision at home to Denver before stepping out of WAC play to defeat CSU Bakersfield 1-0 in overtime at home ... the overtime win against CSU Bakersfield marks the seventh overtime match of the season for the Aggies ... sophomore defender Alexys Brownell headed a ball into the net for her first career goal and her first-ever game winner ... Brownell had a game-high four shots on goal in the win over CSU Bakersfield... junior goalkeeper Jessica Schutter recorded the shutout, which was her first of the year and the fourth of the season for the Aggies ... this week, New Mexico State travels to play Texas State on Friday before returning home to host UTSA on Sunday.

San Jose State Spartans (4-10-1, 2-4-0 WAC)
San Jose State went 1-1-0 last week ... the team opened the week with a 2-0 setback at Idaho ... the Spartans rebounded with a 2-1 win at home over Seattle U ... freshman defender Rachel Docherty scored her first-ever collegiate goal in the 2-1 win over Seattle U ... junior midfielder Megan Molina registered her second goal of the season, a game-winner in the Spartans’ win over the Redhawks ... this week, San Jose State travels to play Utah State on Friday before returning home to host a non-conference match against Sacramento State.

Seattle U Redhawks (7-7-1, 2-2-1 WAC)
Seattle U went 0-2 last week ... the Redhawks dropped a 2-1 overtime decision at home to Utah State before falling 2-1 at San Jose State ... Stephanie Veroia led the Redhawks last week with five shots, including two on goal over the two matches ... Julia Besagno also had a goal ... Kat Prati had four shots last week ... Brianna Smallidge led the team in the box with eight saves over the two contests ... this week, Seattle U travels to play Louisiana Tech on Friday.

UTSA Roadrunners (2-10-2, 1-2-2 WAC)
UTSA played its third overtime contest in five conference matches on Sunday ... the Roadrunners, who now have played the most overtime matches in program history, are 0-1-2 in extra sessions this season ... freshmen Anisa Patterson and Kirby Wright scored their first goals of the season in Thursday’s loss to CSU Bakersfield ... UTSA now has had nine different players score its 12 goals on the campaign ... freshman goalkeeper Katarina Pus continutes to lead the conference with 78 saves and 5.57 saves per match ... UTSA will play its final road contests of the regular season this weekend with matches at Denver (Oct. 19) and New Mexico State (Oct. 21).

Texas State Bobcats (5-10-1, 2-3-0 WAC)
Texas State lost for the third time this year when outshooting their opponent, as the Bobcats outshot La. Tech, 9-7 .. Friday’s game against New Mexico State will be the final home gam of the year for Texas State ... the Bobcats will honor seniors Emma Staley, Taylor Kelley, Andrea Mauk, Serena Hines, Taylor Person and Alissa Scott ... all six seniors for the Bobcats have earned all-conference honors at some point in their career.

Utah State Aggies (9-2-6, 4-0-2 WAC)
Utah State went a perfect 2-0 last week ... the Aggies defeated Seattle U 2-1 in overtime in Seattle ... the team then picked up a 3-1 victory at Idaho ... last year through 17 matches, the Aggies held a stellar 12-4-1 record and were 4-1 in WAC matches ... this season, USU is 9-2-6 overall with a 4-0-2 conference mark ... despite the early-season scoring troubles,  Utah State is only four goals behind last year’s goal total through the samenumber of matches ... the Aggies have allowed three less goals than they had at this point last season ... Ashlyn Mulford and Jeannie Woller have allowed 10 total goals this season, where Mulford and Molli Merril gave up 13 at this mark last season ... USU hosts San Jose State on Friday.


WAC NOTES

WAC SOCCER PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

Offensive: Jade Tarver, So., F, Utah State

Tarver had a goal and two assists off the bench in two Utah State road wins last week. In the Aggies’ 2-1 overtime win at regionally-ranked Seattle U, Tarver had the assist on the game-winning goal in the 99th minute. In USU’s 3-1 win at Idaho, Tarver scored a goal in the first half against the Vandals. She then helped secure the win with an assist on USU’s third goal of the match. For the week, Tarver had five points to help USU improve to 9-2-6 overall and 4-0-2 in WAC play.

Other offensive nominees included: Denver junior forward Kristen Hamilton … Idaho senior forward Chelsea Small … New Mexico State sophomore defender Alexys Brownell … San Jose State junior midfielder Megan Molina.

Defensive: Andrea Weng, So., D, Louisiana Tech

Weng anchored a Louisiana Tech backline that recorded a 2-0 shutout victory at Texas State. Weng also helped the LA Tech defense to a second-straight road shutout in a 1-0 overtime win at UTSA, playing nearly half the match a player down. In the first overtime period at UTSA, Weng assisted the game-winning goal to give the Lady Techsters the 1-0 victory. Weng and the LA Tech defense faced 13 corner kicks over the two matches last week while not allowing a goal.

Other defensive nominees included: New Mexico State senior defender Courtney Irwin … San Jose State freshman defender Rachel Docherty … Utah State sophomore defender Taryn Rose.

Goalkeeper: Corina Brown, Fr., GK, Louisiana Tech

Brown recorded back-to-back shutouts on the road against WAC foes Texas State and UTSA, registering six saves in the overtime thriller in San Antonio and four more saves in San Marcos. Brown was strong in the box against UTSA despite being a player down for nearly half the match. Brown defended against 13 total corner kicks from the combined matches. She collected 10 saves over the two matches without giving up a goal.

Other goalkeeper nominees included: New Mexico State junior Jessica Schutter … Utah State senior Ashlyn Mulford.

WEEK 9 HIGHLIGHTS
Utah State continues to claim its spot at the top of the league standings after defeating both Seattle U and Idaho on the road last week. With the two wins, USU now has a four-point lead at the top of the WAC standings. Jade Tarver led the Aggies last week with a goal and two assists off the bench. Louisiana Tech also picked up a pair of road wins last week to take over second place in the WAC with 10 overall points now. The Lady Techsters recorded two shutouts last week and they were honored defensively as both Corina Brown and Andrea Weng were given WAC player of the week honors. Denver went 1-0 last week with a 3-0 win at New Mexico State. DU’s Kristen Hamilton had two goals and an assist in the win.

DENVER RANKED 23rd-NATIONALLY THIS WEEK
For the fourth-straight week, Denver has earned a spot in the Soccer America women’s top-25 poll The Pioneers are ranked No. 23 this week,  up one spot from last week. The Pioneers are sandwiched between Missouri at No. 22 and Notre Dame at No. 24. The Pioneers are also receiving votes in both the NSCAA poll and the Soccer Times top-25 poll. In the NSCAA West Regional Poll, Denver is ranked fifth.

WAC TOURNAMENT
The 2012 Western Athletic Conference Soccer Tournament will be held at the Chuck and Gloria Bell Soccer Field on the campus of Utah State University in Logan, Utah Nov. 1-2 and 4. Tickets may be purchased by calling the Utah State ticket office at (435) 797-0305.

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.