One and Done: In the first round of the NCAA women's soccer tournament, No. 16-ranked Stanford downed San Jose State, the 2000 Western Athletic Conference women's soccer tournament champion, 4-1, on Wednesday, November 8.
With the loss, the Spartans were eliminated from the NCAA tournament. Stanford advanced to the second round and will face No. 10 Brigham Young on Saturday, November 11 in Provo, Utah.
Making its 10th appearance in 11 seasons, Stanford scored two goals in the opening four minutes and never looked back. The Cardinal added another goal early in the first half and then scored on a penalty kick before the half. Senior Julie Brum, who took a pass from sophomore Jennifer Mescher and beat Cardinal goalkeeper Carly Smolak, scored San Jose State's lone goal.
San Jose State, who upset SMU and Tulsa in the WAC tournament to earn its first berth to the NCAA championships, ended the season with an overall record of 10-13-1.
The Cardinal is now 2-0 against the Spartans this season, and 3-0 lifetime. At the adidas Bay Area Classic on September 24, the Cardinal triumphed, 3-0. The other meeting was in 1998, when the Cardinal won 2-0.
Conference Tournament Recap: In first- round action, fourth-seed San Jose State shut out fifth-seed UTEP to advance to the semifinals against top-seed and regular-season champion SMU. The Spartans shocked the Mustangs, 4-2, to earn their first trip to the tournament finals with second-seed Tulsa as the opposition. The Hurricane had a first-round bye and faced sixth-seeded Fresno State in the second semifinal match. The Bulldogs sent third-seed TCU home, winning 2-1. In double overtime, Tulsa netted the game winner against Fresno State to earn its first trip to the conference finals. Continuing to play the role of spoiler, San Jose State handled Tulsa, 3-1, to earn the programs first berth to the NCAA tournament. The Spartans will face Stanford in first-round action on Wednesday, November 8 at Stanford.
All-Tournament Team: The following is a list of the 2000 WAC soccer all-Tournament team: Forwards: Jill Pearson (Sr., Fresno State), Reyna Green (Jr., Fresno State) and Julie Brum (Sr., San Jose State). Midfielders: Brandy Apodaca (Sr., San Jose State), Julie Davidson (Sr., Tulsa), Kristina Jacob (Jr., San Jose State), Nicole Lamb (Sr., SMU), Kelly Parker (So., UTEP), Beth Taruscio (Jr., Tulsa). Defender: Jackie Ostdiek (Sr., San Jose State). Goalkeeper: Eryn Meyer (So., San Jose State).
Breaking Into the Bracket: San Jose State was one of thirteen teams making their first appearance in the NCAA tournament. First timers are Arizona State University, Boston University, Florida State University, College of the Holy Cross, University of Illinois, Jacksonville University, Liberty, Miami (Ohio), Quinnipiac University, University of Richmond, San Jose State University, Southwest Missouri State University and West Virginia. Twenty-one conferences were awarded automatic bids, while three other automatic bids were granted on the basis of preliminary round matches between conferences. The remaining 24 teams were selected at-large.
College Cup Crazies: The 19th Annual NCAA Women's College Cup (Final Four) will be held at San Jose State's Spartan Stadium for the second year. Last year, a record 14,410-watched North Carolina defeat Notre Dame in the championship match to win the national title. A record-setting 28,423 watched all three matches at Spartan Stadium. This years tournament could be even bigger. Matches on Friday, December 1 begin at 5:00 p.m., with the championship match on Sunday beginning at 12:30 p.m. The matches will be tape delayed on espn2, with the exception of Sundays match, which will be live on espn2.
Keeping It In the WAC: The NCAA announced on November 2 that SMU was selected to host the 2001 Women's College Cup. Matches will be played on December 7 and 9. The event will be held in the new Gerald J. Ford Stadium, which has a seating capacity of 32,000. It marks the first time the school will host an NCAA title match. Co-hosting the event with the Mustangs will be the Dallas/Fort Worth Regional Sports Commission. By winning the regular-season title, the Mustangs earned the home field advantage during next seasons WAC championships.
Still Tops: Although their strong season came to an early halt, SMU was still ranked in the Top 25 in the most recent NSCAA poll on November 6. Despite being overlooked for a bid to the national tournament, the NSCAA/adidas rankings put SMU at No. 23.
No Pain, No Gain: Nine schools took the field for the inaugural season in Division 1 competition this fall. New to the WAC and NCAA scene, the Wolf Pack of Nevada fell short in its attempt to win a conference match, going 0-7 against WAC opponents, but the did win four contests in its first season. In those victories, the lady booters out scored the opposition 13-2. Two loses came down to a one-goal difference. With no seniors on this year's squad, Nevadas roster consisted of 10 freshman, two sophomores and three juniors.
The Racers of Murray State ended with the best record of all first-year programs at 9-11-1. According to Soccer Buzz magazine none of the nine squads finished the season with a winning record. Yet all the programs recorded at least one win, which is the first time that has happened since Soccer Buzz began ranking the FYPs in 1996.