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Soccer Notes Week 8

WAC Soccer Hits Home Stretch
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Weekly Notes.pdf
  • Click on Weekly Notes.pdf to the right to view the entire release, including schedules, stats, notes and polls.

    WAC PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
    Adria Campbell, a sophomore from Kailua, Hawaii, posted her first career hat trick in SMU's 6-1 win over Houston. Campbell also scored the tying goal in the Mustangs', 3-2, win over Hawai'i, helping SMU tie for first place in the WAC with a 2-0-1 record. Her seven goals on the season are already two more than she had all of 2003.

    Adrienne Herbst, a junior from San Jose, Calif., recorded a career-high 11 saves in a, 2-1, win over Nevada. She tallied six saves against Boise State, helping the Spartans to a, 1-1, double overtime tie. She finished the weekend with a .90 goals against average, 17 saves and a .895 save percentage.

  • Other offensive nominees included: Molly McDonald, Boise State; Courtney Sobrero, Fresno State; Sarah Yoder, Rice; Heather Oranje, San Jose State and Christine McCartney, UTEP.

  • Other defensive nominees included: Michaela Morrison, Boise State; Erin Droeger, Rice; Kimber Bailey, SMU and Brittany Popoff, UTEP.

    POLLS
  • NSCAA/adidas
  • SoccerBuzz.com
  • SoccerTimes.com
  • Soccer America

    STATS
  • NCAA
  • WAC

    MIDWAY THROUGH CONFERENCE, THREE TEAMS ATOP THE WAC
    There are three teams who are four matches through the eight-match conference schedule. There are three tied atop the WAC standings. Boise State, SMU and UTEP are all 2-0-1, having yet to play one another. There are also three teams tied at .500 with Rice, Hawaii and Fresno State all even through their respective matches. As the conference season hits the home stretch, teams are battling for the sixth and final spot for a trip to Hawaii and the WAC Tournament. The top six teams, based on winning percentage in conference play, advance to the Tournament.

    MATCH OF THE WEEK PITS TOP RANKED D VS. TOP RANKED O
    SMU, the nations 20th ranked team heads to Houston, Friday, Oct. 15 to do battle with the nations stingiest defense. The Owls, who are leading the nation in goals-against-average at .292, are second in the country with a .690 shutout percentage. SMU on the other hand, is 20th in the NCAA in scoring offense, posting 2.83 goals-per-game. UTEP, the nations 24th ranked offense, will take on Rice, Sunday, Oct. 17. Both SMU and UTEP are 2-0-1 and atop the conference standings, while Rice is 1-1, tied for fourth. Something will have to give as these powers do battle this weekend.

    KAI NAMED TO MAC HERMANN TROPHY WATCH LIST
    Hawaii's Natasha Kai has been named as a finalist to the 2004 MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List. The 25 players are considered to be among the top players entering the 2004 college season and are the ones to watch for outstanding play this fall. A list of 15 semifinalists will be announced in November, with three finalists selected in early December. The winner will be announced at a dinner at the Missouri Athletic Club in St. Louis, Mo., on Friday, Jan. 7, 2005.

    Kai, the two-time WAC Player of the Year, set a WAC record for goals in conference play her freshman year, and followed that up by leading the nation with 29 goals last season. The 2004 WAC Preseason Player of the Year is tied for the conference lead in goals with seven. Kai is one of nine players on the list that were part of the U.S. Under-21 National Team that recently gave the United States its sixth consecutive Nordic Cup title.

    SMU IN THE NSCAA/ADIDAS TOP 25
    SMU, which has one of the toughest schedules in the WAC, is ranked 20th in the Oct. 11 NSCAA/adidas poll. The Mustangs are 8-2-2, with their only losses coming at the hands of 12th ranked Santa Clara in double overtime and No. 20 UCLA. After opening the season with a win over cross-town rival TCU, the Mustangs tied 2004 NCAA Tournament member, Oklahoma. This week, SMU continues conference play facing Rice in Houston, but returns home for a match with Tulsa.

    Rice remains in the NSCAA Central Region poll, coming in 10th. The Owls posted a, 1-0, upset win over St. Louis, giving them the nod. SMU is fourth in the Central, behind Texas A&M, Kansas and Tennessee, all of which are ranked in the top 12, nationally

    FOUR TEAMS IN SOCCERBUZZ.COMS REGIONAL RANKING
    SMU is ranked No. 5 in the SoccerBuzz.coms Central Region rankings. Joining the Mustangs are 10th-ranked Rice, who is off to its best start in its young, four-year history at 9-2-2. UTEP remains to the poll, advancing to 13th. Hawaii is the lone WAC team ranked in the West Region, coming in 15th, owning a 9-4-2 record.

    WAC TEAMS RANKED NATIONALLY; RICE LEADS NATION IN GAA
    Conference leaders SMU and UTEP are all ranked 20th and 24th, respectivley, in the nation in scoring offense. SMU at 2.83 gpg leads the conference, while UTEPs 2.75 is second.

    Rice leads the nation with a goals-against average of 0.29. The Owls have allowed just four goals this season, including nine shutouts. They are anchored by one of the WACs best defenses and the WACs all-time goals-against-average leader, Lauren Shockley.

    WAC MEMBERS AMONG NATIONAL LEADERS
    Rice senior goalkeeper Lauren Shockley is ranked third in the nation in goals-against-average, posting a 0.31 mark. Shockley has helped the Owls to nine shutouts this season. Hawaiis Mahie Atay is ranked 25th, with a 0.64 GAA.

    RICES BAKERS DOZEN RANKS THIRD IN NCAA
    The Rice Owls racked up 13 goals against Texas Southern Sept. 7. The total is third in the country for single-game highs. In that game, eight Owls scored, including a hat trick by Angela Aaker.

    SMUS COSSABOON TWO WINS FROM 100
    SMU head coach John Cossaboon is just two wins shy of 100 for his career. Cossaboon is in his second season at the helm of the Mustangs progam. He has a career record of 98-48-10 (.660) over his eight seasons as a head coach.

    SHOCKLEY MOVES INTO FIRST ALL-TIME IN GOALS-AGAINST-AVERAGE
    The Owls have had seven shutouts thanks to the senior goalkeeper Lauren Shockley. Shockley moved into sole possession of first place on the WACs all-time list for career goals-against-average with a league-shattering mark of 0.73 (25 goals allowed in 3095:19 career minutes). Shockley has been playing at an all-conference pace. The standout from Indianapolis has allowed four goals in 1158:44 minutes of action this season, a total of 11 games of which four have gone into double-overtime.

    HAWAII TO HOST 2004 WAC TOURNAMENT
    Honolulu, Hawaii and the University of Hawaii will play host to this years WAC Tournament. The championship will be played at the Waipio Peninsula Soccer Stadium, November 4-6. The top six teams based on WAC winning percentage adavance to the tournament. The format will place the No. 3 seed against the No. 6 seed in the opening round, while seeds, 4 and 5 will square off. The 4/5 winner will face the No. 1 seed, while the 3/6 winner will take on the No. 2 seed. The 2003 Championship was held at SMU, with the Mustangs taking home their third-straight crown. For more information visit www.hawaiiathletics.com, www.wacsports.com or call (808) 944-BOWS (2697).

    NCAA COLLEGE CUP INFORMATION
    Cary, N.C. and North Carolina State will play host to this years Womens College Cup. The championship will be played at the SAS Soccer Park, December 3-5. For more information visit www.gopack.com or call (800) 310-PACK.

    SMU FAVORED TO WIN 2004 CROWN
    SMU has been picked to win its fourth-straight WAC title, as selected by the conference coaches. SMU, who finished 7-1 in conference play in 2003, defeated Rice in the final minute of the conference championship match, taking home its third title in as many seasons. The Mustangs are led by head coach John Cossaboon who returns eight starters from his championship squad. Leading the way for the Mustangs will be midfielders, Jill Heinemann and Olivia ORear, defender Amanda Jordan and goalkeeper Amanda Clark. ORear was tabbed the WACs 2003 Freshman of the Year. Jordan, Heinemann (the 2001 freshman of the year) and Clark have all been main stays on the all-WAC teams. SMU has a tough non-conference schedule, including matches against Santa Clara, Stanford, Oklahoma, UCLA and Texas, preparing them for a title-defense run.

    KAI LEADS 2004 PRESEASON ALL-WAC TEAM
    The WAC announced its 2004 Preseason all-WAC team and Player of the Year as voted on by the coaches. SMU, the 2004 conference favorite, leads the team with five players. Rice placed three on the team, while Hawaii has two and UTEP one. The 2002 and 2003 WAC Player of the Year, Hawaii junior Natasha Kai, was named the 2004 Preseason Player of the Year.

    Kai, the nations top goal scorer from a year ago, was named the 2004 Preseason Player of the Year after earning the 2003 Player of the Year. The junior from Kahuku, Oahu, posted 30 points in conference, including 14 goals to lead the conference. In her rookie campaign in 2002, Kai became the first WAC player to win both Freshman and Player of the Year.

    There are 11 selections on this seasons preseason squad. At the forward position is Kai, Rice senior Sarah Yoder, and SMU sophomore and 2003 Freshman of the Year, Olivia ORear. In the midfield, there are SMU seniors Jill Heinemann and Erin MacCallum, Hawaii senior Joelle Sugai and junior Kaletia Roberts of UTEP. In defense, SMU junior Amanda Jordan and Rice senior Caitlin Currie and junior Erin Droeger were selected. SMU senior Amanda Clark was named to the team as goalkeeper. Clark posted eight shutouts for the Mustangs in 2003.

    FOUR SCHOOLS NAME NEW HEAD COACHES
    Fresno State, Nevada, San Jose State and Tulsa all made head coaching changes during the off season. Fresno State hired former Florida assistant Steve Springthorpe, while Nevada named Terri Patraw, a former head coach at Arizona State, to the helm of the Wolf Pack program. San Jose State tabbed Dave Siracusa as its head coach after three seasons as the mens assistant at San Diego State. Rena Richardson will lead the Tulsa squad after three seasons as the assistant at Alabama.

    WAC TO ADD NEW MEMBERS
    New Mexico State, Idaho and Utah State will all join the WAC beginning July 1, 2005. New Mexico State does not sponsor a soccer program. Louisiana Tech, who is already a WAC member, is in its first season of womens soccer but will compete independently for the 2004 season. The Lady Techsters will join the conference in soccer beginning in 2005 along with Idaho and Utah State.

    TEAM NOTES
  • Boise State Broncos
    remain undefeated in WAC action at 2-0-1 following a 3-0 victory over Fresno State and a 1-1 draw with San Jose State ... the Broncos will conclude a three-game home stand against Montana State before heading to Honolulu for match with the Rainbow Wahine ... Lisa Balsama continues to lead Boise State in scoring adding another goal versus Fresno State to bring her totals to 12 points on five goals and two assists ... sophomore defender Molly McDonald recorded the Broncos top individual offensive performance of the year against Fresno State with two goals and a assist for five points.

  • Fresno State Bulldogs
    have only four conference matches remaining in the regular season and three of those will be played on the road ... the first of those four contests takes Oct. 17 when Fresno State travels to the Bay Area to take on San Jose State ... the Bulldogs are coming off a split in two matches last weekend, as the squad dropped a, 3-0, decision at Boise State but regrouped two days later to rout Nevada 5-1.

  • Hawaii Rainbow Wahine
    suffered two WAC road losses to even their conference record at 2-2 ... Hawaii will host Boise State and Nevada this weekend before returning to the mainland to finsh out the conference schedule ... the Rainbow Wahine host the 2004 WAC Tournament and with a couple more conference wins, will secure a spot in the tournament.

  • Nevada Wolf Pack
    sophomore Lauren Kinneman set the Wolf Pack single-season record for assists with four ... Kinneman notched her fourth of the season against Fresno State ... she needs just four more assists to surpass the career mark held by Leisha Makinano (2000-03) ... junior Annie Baxter leads the team with four goals this season ... Baxter already ranks second in the Nevada record book with 11 career goals ... Nevada put together its first three match unbeaten streak in the programs five year history earlier this season ... the Wolf Pack has seven assists to date and need four more to break the single-season record of 10 established in 2001.

  • Rice Owls
    are off to their best start in the young four-year history of the program at 9-2-2 ... the Owls are 9-1-1 in their last 11 games games and the team has allowed only four goals all year ... Rice is also 16-3-2 dating back to Oct. 12 of last season ... the Blue and Gray has been particularly tough in road games, posting a solid 6-1-1 mark with one goal allowed in 740 total minutes ... the team just concluded a stretch of playing five-of-six games away from home over the last four weeks ... Rice hosts WAC powers SMU and UTEP to continue WAC play.

  • San Jose State Spartans
    held WAC leader Boise State to just one goal ... the win over Nevada was the first time since 2000 that the Spartans opened WAC play on the road with a win ... the unbeaten weekend was San Jose States first since 2000, when it tied Hawaii and defeated Nevada.

  • SMU Mustangs
    SMU head coach John Cossaboon needs two more victories to claim 100 career wins ... defender Kimber Bailey is the only Mustang freshman to start every game this season ... SMU is connecting on nearly 50% of its shot-on-attempts this season ... SMUs five first-half goals versus Houston was nearly the entire total of first half goals posted by the Mustangs all season long (only seven first-half goals scored prior to the Houston game) ... SMU holds a significant 6-0 series edge over Rice and 10-0 advantage over UTEP.

  • UTEP Miners
    scored a crucial, 2-1, win over Hawaii UTEP is now tied for the WAC lead with Boise State and SMU at 2-0-1 UTEP also secured its third consecutive winning season, marking the first time in the nine-year program history sophomore Christine McCartney's game-winning goal against Hawaii was her third this year and the ninth of her career she is now tied for the career lead with Ja'net Esparza and current assistant coach Holly Cohen McCartney leads the team in scoring (19) and is tied for the team lead in goals (7) and assists (5) junior Kia Sams registered a goal and an assist against Hawaii she now has 12 career assists to rank fifth in school history.

  • Tulsa Golden Hurricane
    will play three of their final six games of the regular season at home ... Tulsa will host UTEP, Fresno State and San Jose State at the Hurricane Soccer & Track Stadium ... although the Golden Hurricane is off to an 0-2 start this season and missed last years WAC Tournament, Tulsa has never gone consecutive years without a WAC Tournament appearance since joining the conference in 1996.