SACRAMENTO, Calif. – With the Big Sky Conference season winding down to the final two weeks, the Weber State University women’s soccer team returns to the road looking to gain valuable points in the league standings.
The Wildcats will take on Sacramento State at 2:30 p.m. on Friday at Hornet Field in Sacramento, Calif., and then travel to Hillsboro, Ore., on Sunday at 2 p.m. to take on current league-leader Portland State at Hillsboro Stadium.
Weber State is 10-7-2 all-time against Sacramento State and has won two of the last three matchups, including a 1-0 win at Wildcat Soccer Field in Ogden last season.
The Hornets are currently in second place in the Big Sky standings with 11 points after posting a 3-1-2 record during their first six matches of conference play. Sacramento State is 5-5-4 overall, and is coming off a weekend that saw it capture a 3-1 win over Southern Utah before a 0-0 draw with Northern Arizona.
Weber State is 8-6-3 all-time against Portland State. The Wildcats and Vikings last met in the semifinals of the 2011 Big Sky Conference tournament in Greeley, Colo., with Weber State edging Portland State 4-3 on the seventh attempt from the spot in penalty kicks after a scoreless regulation and overtime.
The Vikings have won three straight matches against the Wildcats in regular season play, including a 1-0 result last season in Hillsboro.
The Vikings are coming off a 1-0-1 showing last week that saw them draw Northern Arizona 0-0 before trouncing Southern Utah 4-0.
Portland State (4-1-1 13 points Big Sky, 6-6-2 overall) will host Idaho State on Friday before facing the Wildcats on Sunday.
Weber State is currently 3-2-0 (9 points) in Big Sky play and sits in fifth place in the league standings, just one point behind Northern Colorado and Montana, who each have 10.
The top four teams in the league will earn a berth in the Big Sky tournament, which will be hosted by the regular season champion during the first weekend of November.
Freshman forward Mackenzie Harrison, who scored her team-best fourth goal during Weber State’s 1-0 win over Idaho State on Saturday, leads the Wildcats with nine total points. Harrison, a native of Kaysville, has recorded a team-high 37 shots and placed 21 on goal in 14 matches.
Harrison’s total is tied for the sixth-most scored by a Weber State player as a freshman, and is tied for the third most in the Big Sky this season.
Two of Harrison’s four goals have been match winners, and both of those have come during conference play in wins at Eastern Washington and at home against Idaho State.
Freshman central midfielder Chansi Crompton leads Weber State, and is tied for the lead in the Big Sky, with five assists this season. It’s also tied for the most assists in Wildcat women’s soccer history by a freshman. Crompton has tallied two of those five assists during Big Sky play.
Freshman central defender Brecken Holbrook is also coming of a pair of strong performances during Weber State’s last two matches, scoring the match-winning assist in a 1-0 win over Southern Utah on Sept. 30 and then tallying the assist on Harrison’s match-winner against Idaho State last weekend.
The Wildcats defense has allowed just two goals in five Big Sky matches, and has earned shutouts in its last two outings.
Junior goalkeeper Ryann Waldman has a 1.10 goals-against-average with 14 goals allowed in 13 matches. The Milton, Wash.-native has 59 saves and an 80.8 save percentage.
After this weekend’s matches, Weber State will return home to face North Dakota and Northern Colorado at Wildcat Soccer Field to wrap up the regular season.
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