SMU Beat Texas in First Round Matchup at NCAA Tournament
The SMU womens soccer team advanced to Sundays NCAA second round with a strong 2-1 win over 11th-ranked Texas Friday evening in College Station. SMU got on the scoreboard early in the game as senior forward Sarah Harvey recorded her first of two goals on the day. Harvey headed in a ball off a cross from senior Lorrie Tipton at the 3:42 mark. Harvey connected again at the 77:21 mark, winning a one-on-one battle with Longhorn goalkeeper Shay Wilkerson. Texas scored its lone goal at 78:44 on Lauren Fields free kick.
SMU Closed 2001 Campaign with Overtime Loss to Texas A&M
In the second round of the NCAA Tournanment, SMU fell to fifth-ranked Texas A&M at College Station in overtime, 2-1. The Mustangs got on the board first with Sarah Harveys goal at 30:56. The score was her third of the tournament and 12th of the year. The Aggies struck back, however, in the 61st minute to tie the game. Texas A&M went on to win in overtime when Nicky Thrasher launched a direct kick through the SMU wall to find Kristen Strutz for the gamewinner. The match marked the third time the Aggies and the Mustangs have played in the NCAA tournament with SMU earning wins in 1995 and 1997. SMU closed out the season at 16-4-0 while the Aggies advanced and will meet the No. 5 seed Stanford.
NCAA Tournament Format
With the NCAA looking to regionalize championships in all sports in order to reduce traveling costs, teams were paired based on location. The top eight teams in the 64-team pool received a seed. Seven of the top eight seeds served as hosts for the first and second rounds, with nine additional schools hosting games. In the third round and quarterfinals, the team with the better record will serve as host. The Womens College Cup will be hosted by SMU and held at Gerald J. Ford Stadium in Dallas, Texas. Semifinals are on Dec. 7 and the championship match is slated for Dec. 9.
WAC Tournament Recap
Match 1: No. 4 Hawai`i def. No. 3 Boise State, 7-1. Wahine senior Veronica Flores scored a hat trick while sophomore Arlene Devitt added two goals and two assists in the rout. Dayle McNabb scored the Broncos lone goal at the 17:20 mark.
Match 2: No. 6 Fresno State def. No. 5 Tulsa, 3-2. Bulldogs Aimee Thompson and Angela Taylor nabbed a goal a piece before Tulsa got on the board with two Holly Lorman scores. Fresno States Erin Savegusa scored the gamewinner at 82:49.
Match 3: No. 4 Hawai`i def. No. 2 Rice, 2-0. Liz Lusk connected twice for the Rainbow Wahine as Hawai`i outshot Rice 20-7.
Match 4: No. 1 SMU def. No. 6 Fresno State, 4-0. SMU sophomore Kim Harvey netted a goal just 25 seconds into the match off a centering pass from freshman Jill Heinemann. Heinemann added the next goal, followed by scores by senior Sarah Harvey and freshman Amanda Jordan.
Championship Match: No. 1 SMU def. No. 4 Hawai`i, 2-0. SMU scored with a Hawai`i own goal and Sarah Harvey added an insurance goal at 57:08 with a header off a free kick from junior defender Diana Kelm.
WAC All-Tournament Team
The all-tournament team was selected by vote from the coaches of teams participating in the championship. Junior Tara Comfort of SMU was the tournament MVP for her strong play throughout the Mustangs two games. The all-tournament team follows:
SMU: Tara Comfort, Diana Kelm, Erin McLeod, Jill Heinemann
Hawai`i: Veronica Flores, Arlene Devitt, Liz Lusk, Carmel Hurley
Fresno State: Aimee Thompson
Tulsa: Beth Taruscio
Boise State: Abbe Roche
MVP: Tara Comfort, SMU
2001 All-WAC Teams
First-Team All-WAC
F Tara Comfort, Sr., SMU
F Arlene Devitt, So., Hawaii
F Kim Harvey, So., SMU
MF Christina Collins, Sr., SMU
MF Jill Heinemann, Fr., SMU
MF Kristina Jacob, Jr., San Jose St.
D Carmel Hurley, Sr., Hawaii
D Diana Kelm, Jr., SMU
D Brooke Smith, Sr., Boise St.
D Beth Taruscio, Sr., Tulsa
GK Erin McLeod, Fr., SMU
GK Jeanne Orm, Sr., Boise St.
Second-Team All-WAC
F Holly Cohen, Jr., UTEP
F Reyna Green, Sr., Fresno St.
F Sarah Harvey, Sr., SMU
F Kaziah Hill, So., Boise St.
MF Leisha Makinano, So., Nevada
MF Abbe Roche, So., Boise St.
MF Aimee Thompson, Sr., Fresno St.
MF Sarah Yoder, Fr., Rice
D Caitlin Currie, Fr., Rice
D Laura Glasspoole, Sr., UTEP
D Amanda Jordan, Fr., SMU
GK Amanda Garrison, Fr., Rice
Freshman of the Year: Jill Heinemann, MF, SMU
Player of the Year: Tara Comfort, Sr., F, SMU
Coach of the Year: Chris Huston, Rice
SMU Gets Respect, Rice Gets Recognized
SMU finally worked its way back into the national polls with last weeks final regular season rankings. In the Soccer Buzz rankings, the Mustangs are 21 after receiving votes the past few weeks. They also climbed from fifth to fourth in the Central region rankings. In the NSCAA regional poll, SMU is fifth and received votes in the national poll. In another poll conducted by Soccer Buzz, Rice was ranked second out of seven schools that fielded a first-year Division I program this season. The only school ranked above the Owls was Binghamton, which has fielded a team for 16 years.