The Western Athletic Conference announced the
2012 women’s soccer All-WAC teams, as selected by the conference’s nine head
coaches, at the league’s annual banquet Wednesday night. For Seattle
University, Stephanie Verdoia (Salt Lake City, Utah) and Melissa Busque (St.
Bruno, Quebec, Canada) were named to the First Team and Julia Besagno (Maple
Valley, Wash.) was named to the Second Team.
Verdoia leads Seattle U with eight goals, 17
points, 49 shots, and three game-winning goals in 2012. Her most notable
contest this season was the team’s 5-1 victory over Idaho in their first home
WAC match. She recorded a hat trick in the Oct. 7 match and was named the WAC
Offensive Player of the Week for the week of Oct. 1-7.
Busque is currently tied for second on the
team in goals (4), ranks second in points (12) and shots (31), and ranks first
with four assists. She recorded the program’s first NCAA Division I hat trick
in the team’s 5-1 win versus St. Mary’s on Aug. 19 and was the Redhawks’ first
WAC Offensive Player of the Week (Aug. 13-19). She also was named to the
CollegeSoccer360 Primetime Performer Honor Roll (Aug. 27 – Sept. 2) for her game-winning
assist in Seattle U’s 1-0 win versus Portland State.
Besagno has scored two goals for four points
so far in 2012, and had one game-winning goal on a penalty kick versus New
Mexico State to clinch the Redhawks’ place in their first WAC Tournament. She
has taken the only two penalty kicks for Seattle U this season, going 2-2.
Seattle U faces Louisiana Tech in the first
round of the WAC Tournament on Thursday, Nov. 1 at 1:30 p.m. PT. The winner of
the match faces host team Utah State on Friday, Nov. 2 at 1:30 p.m. PT. The
championship game will take place on Sunday, Nov. 4 at 12 p.m. PT. All five matches
will be video streamed for a fee on www.WAC.tv
for a one-time fee of $10.95. Live stats will be available for the SU matches
on www.GoSeattleU.com and for all
matches on www.utahstateaggies.com.
First Team All-WAC
Kristen Hamilton, F, Jr., Denver
Kaitlin Bast, F, Sr., Denver
Chelsea Small, F, Sr., Idaho
Stephanie Verdoia, F, So., Seattle U
Nicholette DiGiacomo, MF, Jr., Denver
Melissa Busque, MF, Sr., Seattle U
Mari Miyashiro, MF, Jr., Utah State
Sam Harder, D, So., Denver
Jessy Battelli, D, Jr., Denver
Natalie Norris, D, Sr., Utah State
Ashlyn Mulford, GK, Sr., Utah State
Second Team All-WAC
Emily Brennan, F, Jr., Louisiana Tech
Maria Jose Rojas, F, Jr., UTSA
Jennifer Flynn, F, Jr., Utah State
Katy Van Lieshout, MF, Sr., Denver
Jill Flockhart, MF, Sr., Idaho
Julia Besagno, MF, Jr., Seattle U
Mo Rockwell, D, Sr., Louisiana Tech
Megan Molina, D, Jr., San Jose State
Emma Staley, D, Sr., Texas State
Taryn Rose, D, So., Utah State
Lara Campbell, GK, Sr., Denver
Offensive Player of the Year: Kristen Hamilton, Jr., F, Denver
Defensive Player of the Year: Natalie Norris, Sr., D, Utah State
Freshman of the Year: Lynsey Curry, Fr., F, Texas State
Coach of the Year: Jeff Hooker, Denver
