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2002 Championship Preview.pdf
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The Western Athletic Conference Soccer Championship takes place Thursday, November 7 through Saturday, November 9 at Rice Soccer Stadium in Houston. Six of the nine WAC schools will be in attendance. SMU, UTEP, Hawaii, Tulsa, Fresno State and Rice were the top six teams in conference play this season.
The quaterfinals begin at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, with No. 5 Fresno State taking on No. 4 Tulsa. No. 3 Hawaii will face off with host No. 6 Rice at 7:30 p.m. No. 1 seed SMU awaits the winner of Fresno State and Tulsa for the first semifinal match, slated for 5:00 p.m. on Friday. The night cap on Friday, showacases No. 2 UTEP against the Hawaii, Rice winner. The championship match is slated for 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, November 9. The winner of the WAC Tournament receives an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.
SMU earned its third-straight WAC regular season crown, sixth over all. The Mustangs defeated UTEP, 3-1, in their final match of the season to clinch the No.1 seed heading into this years tournament. They are led by Kim Harvey and Jill Heinemann. Harvey leads the Mustangs with 14 goals this season, seven in WAC play. Heinemann notched five goals in conference play, becoming one of the best midfielders in the WAC, in just her second season. Goalkeeper Erin McLeod had four WAC shutouts to lead the conference. Lauren Mussallem set a new conference-play assist record with seven.
UTEP was the surprise team of the season, going 15-2 after being picked eighth in the preseason coaches poll. The Miners began the season 12-0, before falling to WAC foe Fresno State, 2-0, Oct. 13. The Miners were an offensive powerhouse all season. They finished with new conference-play records in points (86), goals (28) and assists (30). The senior trio of Miranda Cuthbertson, Holly Cohen and Kelly Parker set school single-season records in each major offensive cateogry. Cohens 19 goals and 45 points are each records, while Parkers 17 assists are a new WAC record. Along with her assists, she has 39 points and 11 goals. Cuthbertson tallied eight goals and 43 points on the season. The three finished the season ranked one, two and three in points. The Miners allowed only 16 goals all season, a new WAC, single-season mark.
A Hawaii late-season charge earned them the No. 3 seed in the tournament. The Rainbow Wahine won eight of their last 10 matches, including a 1-0 overtime against Fresno State to clinich the number three spot. Freshman Natasha Kai had 10 goals in conference play (four game winning), a new WAC record. Kai also had three assists, giving her 23 points in conference play, also a new WAC record. The 2002 preseason all-WAC member Arlene Devitt added four goals. Erin Quattromani added seven assists in conference play, a new WAC record.
Moving up to the No. 4 seed on the final day of the regular season was Tulsa. The Hurricane became the first WAC team to defeat SMU since San Jose State in 1999, when the they ousted SMU, 2-1, on October 25. Freshman Danielle Fauteux had a conference-high three hat tricks in 2002, leading the Hurricane with 28 points. Freshman goalkeeper Kelly Wilson had 17 saves in the win over SMU, a school high and just one short of the conference mark. She was tops in WAC play averaging 7.62 saves per match.
Fresno State, who had one of the toughest schedules in the WAC landed the No. 5 seed. The Bulldogs squared off with five top 25 opponents, including Denver, Pepperdine, UCLA, California, and Cal State Fullerton. Katri Nokso-Koivisto and Kortney Lewis led the way for Fresno State, combining for 15 goals on the season. One key to the Bulldogs conference success, was the play of goalkeeper Mary-tyler Wahl. Wahl had three conference shutouts, second in the WAC.
Rice squeezed its way into the tournament on the final weekend of the regular season. The Owls came into the final weekend, essentially needing a sweep of Boise State and Nevada to guarantee a place in the tournament. Rice defeated Boise State, 3-2, and Nevada, 2-0, to land the sixth seed. Midfielder Sara Yoder and defender Kelly Potysman, were key in Rices conference wins. Goalkeeper Amanda Garrison picked up 36 saves in conference play.
Results for the 2002 WAC Soccer Championship will be available after each match at www.wacsports.com.