Soccer team drops WAC Championship
The Cinderella run of the Nevada women’s soccer team finally ended Sunday afternoon with a 1-0 loss to Boise State in the Western Athletic Conference championship game in Boise. The loss snapped a season-high five-game winning streak for the Wolf Pack.
Nevada finished its season at 10-12 with a 5-6 record in WAC play. The Wolf Pack improved tremendously since soccer head coach Jaime Frias’ debut season in 2008, when it finished 3-14-3 with a 2-4-1 WAC record.
Nevada made it to Sunday’s championship game by knocking off the New Mexico State Aggies 1-0 on Thursday and the San Jose State Spartans 2-1 in overtime on Friday. Friday’s win exacted a bit of revenge for the Wolf Pack, which lost to San Jose State 3-1 in Reno on Oct. 16.
Frias was very upbeat about the improvement his team showed this year.
“(I’m) extremely proud of the group,” he said. “We’ve had to work really, really hard to turn this (program) around. When I say ‘we,’ it’s the players, the coaching staff, the trainers: everyone that was involved.”
Nevada goalkeeper Marie Cove, forward Natalie Ratnavira and midfielder Anabelle Allen made the All-WAC Tournament team.
Frias called the postseason selections a real testament to all their hard work.
“They’ve all matured tremendously as players throughout the course of the season,” he said. “I think they peaked right at the right time.”
Junior midfielder Alyx Sacks said the improvement from last season was “unbelievable.”
“We knew we were a competitive team all along and we were better than our record indicated,” she said. “Everyone else got to see it, especially after this weekend.”
With three seniors leaving and 10 of its top 11 leading scorers returning, the Wolf Pack already has high expectations for 2010.
“(Yesterday’s loss) definitely leaves you hungry,” Sacks said. “We’re going to get after it more next year. We’re going to come back with a lot of fire, that’s for sure.”
Frias agreed with Sacks and is “extremely excited” for next season to begin.
“You salivate at the mouth,” he said. “You can’t wait for August to roll around.”
Nevada begins its spring training immediately after its return from winter break.
“Winter break is like their summer vacation,” Frias said. “They’ll get about four to six weeks off of little to no work, which lets their bodies rejuvenate and recoup. Once January hits and they report back, we hit the ground running with preseason training.”
Sacks said she actually trains for the season the hardest in the summer months.
“The summertime is our most aggressive training time,” she said. “We train on our own with a really strict regimen and package that (the coaching staff) gives us. We have really tough fitness tests that we have to complete (in August). As an individual, you need to make sure that you are completely fit and ready to play next year.”
Chris Muller can be reached at sports@nevadasagebrush.com.
Related Posts:
Leave A Comment
Latest Comments
- feetxxxl: any 1john1 witness testifies that the goodness in ...
- feetxxxl: the principles of the new covenant of christ attes...
- Sean: Jacob, Be very careful in your reading of CL...
- Jacob Neely: ...sorry to have not included this before... Ti...
- Jacob Neely: Cleveland, if you are reading this, learn how SCOT...
- Jacob Neely: If anyone wants to look up the case Patrick mentio...
20 Responses to “Soccer team drops WAC Championship”
No offense your team had a losing season and one of the worst RPI’s in the nation. Your team had one good weekend of results. Obviously you did not watch this team play over the weekend. The results were not indicative of their play. They were lifeless and emotionless like they did not want to be there in the championship game. Go Broncos.
Report this comment
Girls, ignore SaddleUP, an obvious wacko soccer parent. You’ve met the “type” all through your club life. Shake your head and hope they get some “professional” help. I attended all three games this weekend and you girls played great games against New Mexico and especially San Jose State. BSU played at a very high level on Sunday and got a deserved result. Wish them luck against UCLA. I’ve seen UCLA play in person several times this year and BSU will need more than a miracle to keep up with UCLA’s speed, technical ability, skill and phyisical play. Hopefully BSU won’t get hammered 5-0 like Fresno State did last year when UCLA’s reserves played most of the second half. Great season ladies and with the loss of only three seniors, you should have a strong season next year. Rock n Roll. . .GO PACK!!!
Report this comment
Sorry Dad. I am not a parent. I am a Boise fan who watched the game. I also watched the other game in Boise in regular season where we beat you handily. Your post is sorry. You accuse someone for having an opinion. Your teams RPI is a joke. Your RPI of 180 is sorry. A losing season is great to you? You must not have won much in your life. Division I athletics are not pom poms and sorities. Get a life Dad. This team had a LOSING record. So what that they beat New Mexico State. They are a FIRST YEAR program and UNR barely beat them. Have some standards and maybe your team will too. The team looked like it could care less if they won on Sunday. Do not look like they even enjoy being there. Please apologize for calling me a whacko. Your daughter must be embarassed at your level of maturity.
Report this comment
Sorry SaddleUP, but maybe wacko didn’t cover it . . .how about if we also include, a few bricks short of a load. You gotta have a screw loose to be so obsessed with the Nevada soccer team. Do you spend this much time on the college newspaper websites of the teams that beat BSU this year in WAC soccer: New Mexico State (1st Year program), Idaho (never qualifies for WAC Tournament) and Utah State? Oh, by the way, these are the same teams that Nevada beat this year. Funny thing, but the last time I looked, BSU and Nevada had the same WAC League record this year: 5-3. Also, you have 4 posts on the Reno Gazette Journal website about the game. Whoa, you got way too much free time if you are reading and posting to all the local and college newspapers of the soccer teams that play in the WAC. With this much free time, I think your support of BSU athletics would be better spent helping BSU Football move up in the BCS standings. Hopefully, BSU football goes to a BCS bowl game so Nevada soccer/athletics can get a nice BCS check. GO PACK!!!
Report this comment
Well Dad. I am excited that we made the NCAA’s for the first time ever! Of course I am going to check out the opposing teams right up on the game. I though my commentary may be helpful for those who could not watch the game. If Susie was really Johnny would you be congratulated your son on a great season with a losing record? Don’t think so. This is not pom poms, dad. Division I athletes are not satisfied with losing records. Yes, even women. By the way, last I checked Boise State had a winning record. UNR not so much. Boise State’s RPI 145. UNR’s 180. That means you guys are not even in the top 50% of the teams in the country. Great standards, Dad.
Report this comment
SaddleUP, I’m a little confused. Checked out the student newspaper websites of the other two teams BSU beat in the WAC Tournament (Fresno St. and Utah St.) and not a word from you. Were their games that outstanding against BSU not to warrant a comment? Was there nothing you could share with the other two teams that BSU beat? However, when it comes to Nevada soccer: four posts in the Reno Gazette Journal and five posts in the Sagebrush. What is the weird, over-the-top obsession with Nevada soccer? Are you a Nevada soccer stalker?
Hey, at least we can agree on few things:
Nevada and BSU both had the same 5-3 record in WAC League play.
The three teams (Idaho, NM St. and Utah St.) that beat BSU, lost to Nevada in league play.
BSU beat Nevada in the WAC Tournament Final by the most minimal of scores: 1-0.
Finally, I have attached below the link to UCLA’s student newspaper. This should give you a head start in sharing your thoughts with UCLA fans on, let’s say, UCLA not scoring enough goals against BSU. Or whatever. On the other hand, hopefully BSU does well against UCLA which will reflect well on the WAC. GO PACK!
http://beta.dailybruin.com/categories/sports/womens-soccer/
Report this comment
How do you know if I have posted? You assume I use the same name. I do not have much value to add to the Boise papers since their reporters were at the Game! Unlike here. I thought I would offer an in-person account. We beat you for the championship. I am excited. This is a first for us. Just came here and RGJ once. But you keep me coming back for more. See you in Boise for the other kind of football in a couple of weeks. We beat you twice and you ignore the RPI data!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Report this comment
SaddleUp, aka, Nevada Soccer Stalker.
How does one know you didn’t post a comment on the student newspaper websites of the two teams (Fresno St. and Utah St) BSU beat in the WAC Tournament? Easy . . . there are no posts; which means it doesn’t matter what name you post with if there are no posts! Should have checked the websites!!! So since you didn’t post to the sites of two teams BSU beat in the WAC Conference but you post on three different Sagebrush articles, it begs the question: what is the obsession with Nevada soccer?
Earlier you belittled a Nevada win over New Mexico State: “ They are a FIRST YEAR program and UNR barely beat them.” Funny, but when I checked BSU’s website, I noticed BSU LOST to New Mexico State. Also, what about the 3-1 loss to perennial non-WAC Tournament qualifier Idaho? How do you explain these losses in the context of RPI? Was BSU experiencing low RPI during these losses?
As for BSU football, I’m a little torn between wanting Nevada to win and cashing a BCS check. But since Nevada is already bowl eligible with 6 wins, it won’t hurt too much if BSU wins and Nevada gets to cash the BCS check. It’s the best of both worlds. . .Nevada gets to go to a bowl game and we also get BCS money. GO PACK!!!
Report this comment
and people wonder why Nevada fans can’t stand BSU fans, they are intrusive, disruptive, rude, mean, cold, arrogant, etc. I have yet to meet a BSU fan with any class, so good job sports teams for putting the school on the map and getting the WAC some media attention but you should be ashamed of fans like Saddle Up they just disgrace the sport, kinda like that one guy…..LaGarrett Blount. This article was just an announcement, so thanks for your horribly biased opinion and please leave the site
Report this comment
Dad, Why the name calling? So much maturity for a parent.
End of season RPI is a measure of the total season. UNR’s is putrid.
I explained why I came to the Reno papers and why I came back. I did not need to check those other papers. I simply said that I knew I had little to offer since the local papers would have had their reporters at the game. Reno likely would not have due to the distance. We beat you in the championship. Nobody else. Get it?
Yes we lost to the lowly NMSU. Everyone takes a divot. You on the otherhand got overwhelmed by Idaho (see your boxscore-ouch!). A lucky win even you have to admit. Idaho is our in-state rival and those games are always a battle.
The fact is we had a great overall season and won the championships. We beat you twice and overwhelmed you in both games. The boxscores say it all. I think it is funny that UNR thinks a losing season is a good season but that is life for you Renoites. Maybe if Susie was Johnny your expectations would be different. Cheer for my broncos against UCLA. We need all the help we can get.
What a sell out that you would take a check over a victory in football. I won’t be back daddy.
Report this comment
SaddleUp maybe “Nevada Soccer Stalker” is a little strong, but your obsession with the Nevada soccer team seems a bit over the top. You know, all the posts to the Sagebrush and Reno Gazette Journal, which, by the way, had a reporter at the championship game that BSU deservedly won.
If BSU (RPI #145)losses to Idaho (RPI #214) and New Mexico State (RPI #173) can be explained as a “divot” and a “battle,” then I guess Nevada’s Idaho trip in regular season play can be called the “medical miracle.” That weekend, two thirds of the players on the field had the flu. Tough to run when you have a temperature and are throwing up. Dodged a bullet in Moscow, got hammered in Boise.
Checked the RPI for the teams and compared them to last year. Nevada went from #270 to #180, a move of 90 spots. BSU went from #206 to #145, a move of 61 sports. Does Nevada get any “style points” for moving up more places this year than BSU? Here’s a thought, if Nevada is “putrid at #180,” what was BSU last year at #206?
Anyway, Nevada soccer is on the rise. After all the turmoil in 2007 and a couple of coaching changes, the team came together this year to finish strong. Credit should be given to the coaching staff that took a team with only 3 wins last year to 10 wins this year and a place in the WAC Tournament Final. GO PACK!!!
PS Hopefully BSU does well today against UCLA. GO WAC!!!
Report this comment
Just chiming in here. But Nevada Soccer has had 7 losing seasons in 9 years. There is no credit to this coaching staff. They have had nothing but losing since they got here. There are top notch recruiting classes in this program thanks to the previous regime. Notice hardly any of this new staff’s players ever see the pitch. This new coach has done nothing but alienate players and drive the program back to losing seasons. This team was GREAT for a couple of years. It fell back to loserville because this new staff is not up to snuff. Look around the WAC this year it was very weak. The winning soccer team at Nevada was beating up on Pac 10 teams. This program under Frias is celebrating wins over start up program New Mexico State. How the mighty have fallen.
Report this comment
SaddleUP has to be the former soccer coach Terri Petraw. That would explain why this person is so obsessed with the Nevada girls soccer team. She’s so angry about being fired that she has to talk badly about the team. Terri needs to get a life.
Report this comment
Can’t be the case JN. Saddle Up gave a play by play of the game in Boise on another post and the RGJ. Dont think she was there. Your venom is obvious. She was the straw that stirred the drink. She is a winner. The program sucks dirt since she left. See her blog to know the truth about the AD and why she is gone. 7 losing seasons out of 9 is sorry. Groth messed this program up bad. Saddle Up posted facts. If you think those are saying bad things about the team then I guess the team is bad.
Report this comment
Here is some help for you JN.
We’ve seen examples of faculty and staff, coaches, police officers, and citizens who have evidence of criminal violations and they’ve suffered massive retaliation at the hands of the whole University of Nevada, Reno retaliation apparatus that protects the upper-level administrators.
Groth knew that terminating someone a few days after offering them a multi-year contract and raise is irrational and retaliatory. She lied under oath to conceal her retaliation.
Also, the whistleblower decision was remanded after evidence of perjury, falsification of evidence, and concealment of documents by Athletic Director Groth was presented on appeal.
Perjury is a category D felony for which a court shall sentence a convicted person to imprisonment in the state prison for a minimum term of not less than 1 year and a maximum term of not more than 4 years.
- Excerpts from the transcript of the hearing on public corruption at the University of Nevada, Reno.
Report this comment
Today our coach Jaime Frias resigned. Promise all you we’ll be winning it next year. How can anyone say our coaching staff wasn’t good? Yes we had a loosing season, but compare our record from last year to this year. Jaime and the staff definately flipped this program around. Our pre season schedule wasn’t easy either, probably the hardest schedule in the WAC which is why our record isn’t great. And half the team DID have the flu when we went to Idaho. I’m not one to make excuses though. And Nevada had the best freshman class coming in and only 2 out of 10 played. Five freshman players red shirted due to injury, but they will all return next season and we will for sure be smashing yall next year
Report this comment
Didn’t this program win the championship before this staff got here? Just sayin. How do you call that a turnaround unless you desire to go backward. .
Report this comment
UNR Player can’t wait to see you girls play next year. With more players healthy, you should have a great season. Whoever gets a chance to coach your team next year is walking into a great situation especially after setting UNR records in WAC wins and consectitive wins this year.
Report this comment
Hey Lacktoo- to completely get a new staff and rebuild a team up within 2 years is impressive. We won like 3 games last year and made the chamionship game this year. They rebuilt this program. Every team goes through ups and downs, and when we were down Jaime and the staff brought it back up very quickly. Don’t worry though, you’ll see how we’re going to put Nevada on the map next year. UNR Supporter thanks for the support, it’s for people like you who motivate us to bring home the title!! I’m done with chatting with yall! Peace!!
Report this comment
sooo what was the score of the BSU v. UCLA game? rough loss there saddleup eh? Leave Nevada alone. It is a great team with great tallent. Obviously you are not an athlete and do not understand the major transition a team must go through when a new coaching staff is brought in. This Nevada team is the most tallented in the WAC by far.
Report this comment