The Western Athletic Conference named their
All-Tournament team following the championship game and Seattle University
women’s soccer’s Stephanie Verdoia (Salt Lake City, Utah) and Melissa Busque
(St. Bruno, Quebec, Canada) were named to the 12-person team. Texas State also
had two honorees, Denver had three, and tournament champion Utah State had
four, as well as the MVP.
“I was happy to see two of our players made the
all-tournament team,” said head coach Julie Woodward. “Stephanie and Melissa
were both involved in our goals that were scored. Overall, they had a pretty
solid tournament, especially considering our opponents may have put a little
more defensive pressure on them. It was a great experience being a part of the
conference tournament, and we look to build upon that in this offseason.”
The Redhawks (9-9-2) clinched their spot in the WAC
Tournament in their first year in the league with their 2-1 victory over New
Mexico State on Friday, Oct. 26. They received the No. 5 seed in the tournament
and were joined by No. 1 Utah State, No. 2 Denver, No. 3 Texas State, No. 4
Louisiana Tech, and No. 6 Idaho.
They recorded their first WAC Tournament victory in the
quarterfinals versus Louisiana Tech, 2-1, as Verdoia scored both goals for
Seattle U in the win, including her fourth game-winner of the season. She
finished the year with a team-leading 10 goals, 21 points, 57 shots, and four
game-winning goals.
In the semifinals, the Redhawks played a tough game
against eventual tournament winner, Utah State, trading penalty kicks before
giving up the game-winning goal in the 89th minute to fall, 2-1. Busque
was taken down in the box resulting in Seattle U’s penalty kick, taken by Julia
Besagno. She also led the team with three shots, all on goal.
Busque concluded the season with four goals, four
assists, 12 points, 35 shots, and one game-winning goal, ranking or tying for
second on the team in each category.
All-Tournament Team
Lynsey Curry, Texas State
Emma Staley, Texas State
Stephanie Verdoia, Seattle U
Melissa Busque, Seattle U
Kalie Vaughn, Denver
Jessy Battelli, Denver
Kaitlin Bast, Denver
Jennifer Flynn, Utah State
Jackie Tillotson, Utah State
Ashlyn Mulford, Utah State
Taryn Rose, Utah State
MVP
: Natalie Norris, Utah State
