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August 26 Release.pdf

PLAYER OF THE WEEK For the 2002 season, the Western Athletic Conference will select an offensive and defensive player of the week. The offensive selection is primarily based on the players points versus the best competition. On the defensive side, the athlete is judged primarly on shutouts and/or the ability to score from the back line.

The first week for the Players of the Week will be announced on Tuesday, September 3 after the first full weekend of competition.

KICK-OFF WEEKEND The 2002 Western Athletic Conference womens soccer season begins with all nine schools in action this weekend. Fresno State heads to Boulder, Colo. to face Colorado, while Hawaii hosts UAB in the OHANA Hotels and Resorts No Ka Oi. Nevada hosts Cal State Northridge, Rice hosts No. 5 Texas A&M, while Duquesne heads to Dallas to play No. 24 SMU. Tulsa heads to Norman Okla. to face Oklahoma in the Oklahoma Shootout. Boise State also faces instate rival Idaho, while San Jose State heads to Loyola Marymount and UTEP hosts SW Texas State.

TEAM NOTES BOISE STATE - The Broncos are coming off their best season in program history at 10-7-1 overall, 5-3 in league play, tying for second in the WAC. Boise State returns 10 if its top 12 scorers from the 2001 season. During the 01 season, the Broncos broke 24 school records including most goals in a season (38), most assists (27) and most points (103)... FRESNO STATE - The Bulldogs have appeared in the WAC Tournament every season since 1995. With seven home matches this season, Fresno State looks to add to their 18-8-1 home record. Since 1996, the Bulldogs have ranked in the top 15 in the nation in attendance... HAWAII - The Rainbow Wahine look to avenge their loss to SMU in the 2001 WAC Championship match, with the return of 2001 first-team all-WAC member Arlene Devitt. Devitt holds nine school records and led the conference in points (29), goals (12) and shots (67) in 2001. The 01 squad set or tied 18 individual and 11 team records... - The Wolf Pack return their top player, Kaula Rowe, who has led the team in goals scored and points the past two seasons. Nevada also returns eight starters from last seaosn, five of which accounted for 13 of the Packs 14 goals in 2001... RICE - The Owls return to the WAC in only their second season at Division I. They bring with them a core of young talent in Sarah Yoder, Amanda Garrison and Caitlin Currie, all of whom were named to the all-WAC second team in 2001. The hosts of this years WAC Tournament finished the 2001 season ranked second in Soccer Buzz for first-year programs... SAN JOSE STATE - The Spartans return 13 letterwinners while losing just three from last years squad. San Jose State failed to reach postseason for the first time in six years after posting a 5-12-1 record in 2001. The Spartans are 43-2-1 when they score three or more goals in a game... SMU - The Mustangs were picked by the leagues coaches to take home its fourth WAC crown this season. SMU clinched its third WAC title (in five years) defeating Hawaii 2-0 in the championship match last season. The Mustangs return Preseason Player of the Year, Tara Comfort and 2001 Freshman of the Year Jill Heinemann... UTEP - The Miners begin the 2002 season on the heels of senior Holly Cohen. She has totalled 36 points in two seasons with UTEP after, transfering from Arizona State. UTEP looks to some older leadership, placing eight seniors and nine juniors on the 02 roster. Kelly Parker, along with Cohen, have paired up to score 35 goals and 25 assists in their three-year college careers... TULSA - The Golden Hurricane return 13 letterwinners for the 2002 season, including three-time all-WAC academic team member Julie Twellman. Twellman has tallied 54 points over her three previous seasons in Tulsa. She comes into her final season ranked ninth in goals scored(21) and 10th in assists (12) and points (54).

SMU FAVORED TO WIN 2002 WAC CROWN Defending Western Athletic Conference soccer champion SMU has been selected in a poll by the leagues coaches to defend its 2001 crown and earn its third-straight straight regular-season championship. SMU totaled seven first-place votes and tallied 63 points to top the poll. SMU is coming off a 16-4 season in 2001 in which the Mustangs earned their third WAC tournament title and an 8-0 conference record. Head coach George Van Linder welcomes back eight starters and 14 letterwinners, including WAC Player of the Year Tara Comfort and Freshman of the Year Jill Heinemann.

CONFERENCE DOMINANCE Defending regular season champions SMU once again finished the conference season undefeated. After going 6-0-1 in the 2000 season, the Mustangs managed an 8-0 record last season. They have not lost a regular season conference match since 1999. The Mustangs are 14-0-1 over the last two seasons. Their last defeat was a 1-0 loss to San Jose State on October 17, 1999. Since that loss, the Mustangs have not fallen in 18 straight conference matches.

FACING THE NATIONS BEST Nine teams that participated in the 2001 NCAA Tournament will be opponents of WAC teams this season. National champion Santa Clara, UCLA, Denver, California, CS Fullerton, Texas A&M, Texas, Pepperdine and Kansas are all slated to face WAC teams in 2002.

WAC TOURNAMENT TO BE HELD IN HOUSTON Houston, Texas and Rice University will play host to the 2002 WAC Tournament. The championship will be played at the Rice Track/Soccer Stadium, November 7-9. Six of the WACs nine participating schools make the tournament. The format will place the No. 3 seed against the No. 6 in the opening round, while seeds, 4 and 5 will square off. The 4/5 winner will face the No. 2 seed. The 2001 Championship was held at SMU, and the Mustangs took home the crown.

WOMENS COLLEGE CUP IN AUSTIN The 2002 edition of the NCAA Womens Soccer Championship will be held at Mike A. Meyers Stadium and Soccer Field on the campus of the University of Texas, December 6 and 8. The field of 64 will begin play hosts sites, November 15.

Teams are paired based on location. The top eight teams in the 64-team pool receive a seed. Seven of the top eight seeds serve 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.

WAC 2001 RECAP

SMU CLOSES 2001 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.

SMU BEATS TEXAS IN 2001 NCAA FIRST ROUND MATCHUP The SMU womens soccer team advanced to second round with a strong 2-1 win over 11th-ranked Texas 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.

2001 WAC TOURNAMET 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.