Player of the Week: Kim Harvey, a freshman from Garland, Texas, collected her first collegiate hat trick to lift SMU past Nevada 4-0 on Oct. 19. For the week, Harveys performances helped SMU clinch the regular-season conference title, with the win over Nevada and a draw against Hawaii on Oct. 22.
The Mustangs finished the WAC schedule with an undefeated mark of 6-0-1, while improving to 13-3-1 on the season with one game remaining before the WAC Championships.
The Naaman Forest High product has been a valuable asset to the Mustangs' attack, playing in all 17 contests this season. To date, Harvey is the team's second leading scorer with nine of the team's league-leading 42 goals, which also ranks fourth in the conference statistics. She has taken 44 of SMU's 300-plus shots on goal this fall, while assisting her teammates three times. Currently, Harveys 21 points is tied for third-best in the WAC.
Also Nominated: Hawaii got the most out of senior Demarre Sanchez, who in her last conference game on Oct. 22 held the regular-season conference champions SMU scoreless through double overtime. With the draw against No. 14 SMU, Hawaii was the only WAC team not to be beaten by the Mustangs this fall.
In the contest, Sanchez stopped 18 attempts, including six in the second overtime, to set a new school and conference record for saves in a game, breaking her own previous record of 17 that she set against Fresno State last fall.
On the week, the 1999 all-WAC first-team keeper, who has played the entire conference season with a torn posterior cruciate ligament in her left knee, posted a 0.43 goals-against-average and made 19 saves, while facing 50 shots in the two-game stretch to record her third solo shutout of the season.
Senior forward Julie Brum came through in the clutch, scoring both goals as San Jose State beat Fresno State for the first time since 1996 and more importantly clinched a WAC playoff berth.
In Tulsa's conference finale and only game of the week against UTEP, senior Kelly Noonan netted her second game-winner of the season with less than nine minutes remaining to give the Hurricane the 2-1 advantage, securing the second seed in the conference championships. The goal was the second within a four-minute span to give Tulsa the come-from-behind win that gave the team its highest regular-season finish in school history. With two games to go, Noonan is third on the team in scoring with five goals and three assists for 13 points.
Sitting On Top: By beating Nevada 4-0 and tying Hawaii 0-0 in its conference finales, SMU clinched the regular-season title, remaining undefeated against WAC opponents. In conference clashes, the Mustangs' defense allowed only two goals, both of which Tulsa scored in the 3-2 overtime match, while the offensive netted a league-leading 15 goals. SMU extended its school-record of consecutive shutouts to six, with the previous record of five taking place during the 1995 season. The team will look to build upon its eight-game unbeaten steak as they take on Big Ten opponent Purdue in the regular-season finale at home on Oct. 27.
Tournament Tune-Up: UTEP will get a tune up for the conference tournament this coming weekend in Las Vegas, Nev., when they compete in the UNLV Fila Invitational.
On Fri., Oct. 27, UTEP will face off with Denver and will meet either Western Michigan or UNLV two days later.
Scoring Frenzy: In 17 matches, SMU has allowed only 14 goals, including a league-low two goals in conference action. The Mustangs offense has accounted for a conference-high 42 goals. The last time SMU allowed an opponent to score was in the 3-2 overtime-victory against Tulsa on Oct. 1. The team's last loss came at the hands of Vanderbilt (1-2) on Sept. 29. In the season's three losses, SMU has only been shutout by No. 5 and defending National Champions North Carolina on Sept. 17. Hawaii is the only other team to hold SMU scoreless.
Going Polling: For the first time all season, another WAC school other than SMU is ranked in a national poll. Finishing second in the conference standings with a 5-2 mark, Tulsa received votes in the Oct. 22 edition of the Soccer Buzz Central Region Top 10, which has SMU at No. 3 behind nationally ranked Nebraska and Texas A&M. The Hurricane holds the 10th spot in the NSCAA Central Region Top 10, along with SMU at No. 3. The Mustangs maintained the 14th-spot in the NSCAA/adidas Top 25, and were pegged No. 21 in the Soccer Times Top 25 poll and No. 16 by Soccer Buzz heading into the final week of regular-season action. Having won three of 17 games, Nevada is ranked sixth out of nine first-year programs by Soccer Buzz.
South Central Success: Taking the field seven times against schools from Oklahoma and Texas, Tulsa posted a 5-2 record, going 2-1 against Oklahoma-based teams and 3-1 against Texas foes. The victories were keyed Tulsa to its current 10-5-1 mark. Riding a four-game winning streak, Tulsa finished second in the WAC, the team's best finish in school history. Under the guise of second-year head coach Damon Gore, Tulsa disproved the preseason coaches' poll that picked the team to finish seventh.
Player Profile: Tulsa freshman Emily Trost is one of several student-athletes from around the country whose story is featured on the College Soccer Online and Womenssoccer.com sites. Visit http://www.womenssoccer.com/handler.cfm/college,display/submenu,archives/ID,57848/AT_ID,52572/ for the full article that was published on Oct. 12.
Expired Time: The 14th-ranked Mustangs have been stretched to five overtime games this fall, posting a 3-1-1 record. The most overtime games in a single season since the inception of women's soccer in 1986 is five, which has since been repeated four times in the last five seasons ('96, '97, '99, '00).
New Contenders: The Miners appearance in the post season will be their first in two years and only their second in the program's history. After missing the 1999 postseason tournament, Tulsa will make its fourth appearance in five seasons. San Jose State has qualified for the playoffs in every season since joining the conferences soccer schedule in 1996.
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WAC Leaders: Despite a four-game skid, Fresno State's Mary-tyler Wahl's conference-leading six shutouts have helped the Bulldogs earn the sixth and final spot in the championships. TCU's Shannon Wagner has also posted six shutouts this fall, while making 106 saves in 18 games played. SMU's 42 goals from 312 shots, 31 assists and 115 points leads the conference. Defensively, the Mustangs have allowed a conference low 0.82 goals-per-game while posting 8.5 shutouts this season. TCU's Sherry Dick has taken 95 shots on goal, while Fresno State's Jill Pearson has netted a league-high 13 goals, seven assists for 33 points.
Career Moves: Tulsa junior Melissa McCormick, who leads the team in assists this season with six, needs one more to tie the school's single season mark that is currently held by seven different players. With her assist on teammate Kelly Noonan's second game winner of the season, McCormick moved into 12th place among Tulsa's career scoring leaders with 42 points on 16 goals and 10 assists.
Conference Championship Countdown: With the conference regular-season action now complete, No. 1 SMU and No. 2 Tulsa will receive a first-round bye and face the winner of the No. 4 San Jose State vs. No. 5 UTEP match or the No. 3 TCU vs. No. 6 Fresno State clash, respectively, on Fri., Nov. 3. The championship game will be played on Sun., Nov. 5 at Bulldog Stadium on the campus of Fresno State.