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Related Material
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Opening Weekend.pdf
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The 2004 WAC soccer season gets into full swing this weekend with all nine teams in competition. Hawaii is in the lone tournament of the weekend, hosting the OHANA Hotels and Resorts No Ka Oi. Rainbow Wahine Natasha Kai is back to defend her back-to-back Player of the Year honors. SMU has once again been favored to win the WAC crown. The Mustangs look for their fourth-straight.
For complete schedules, rankings and team notes, click on the .pdf to the right.
SMU FAVORED TO WIN 2004 CROWNSMU 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 TEAMThe 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 two 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 Droger were selected. SMU senior Amanda Clark was named to the team as goalkeeper. Clark posted eight shutouts for the Mustangs in 2003.
2004 SEASON PREVIEWIn a year that saw the nations top two goals scorers come from the WAC, and a WAC champion that was decided in the final minute of the championship match, 2003 was nothing short of an outstanding season. The 2004 season brings with it four new faces leading the way. Fresno State, Nevada, San Jose State and Tulsa all named new head coaches during the off season. With the new leaders, come new stars...
Boise State and 2003 WAC Coach of the Year Steve Lucas look to make another run at the WAC Tournament title. The Broncos return seven starters from last season led by BreeAnn Milligan, Kristin Hall and Brennan Lau (formerly Erickson). The trio return as the top scorers for the Broncos...
Fresno State, under the helm of new head coach Steve Springthorpe, will rely on senior forward Kortney Lewis. Lewis is the lone returning all-WAC selection from a year ago as she led the Bulldogs in goals, starts, points and shots. The Bulldogs have appeared in every WAC Tournament since 1995...
One star that is sure to shine in 2004 is the WACs top scorer over the past two seasons, Natasha Kai of
Hawaii. Kai led the nation in goals in 2003, and finished third in points. Also returning for the Wahine are Robyn deHay and Joelle Sugai, both all-WAC selections from a year ago...
Nevada is under new direction as they are led by former Arizona State head coach, Terri Patraw. Pathraw inherits a 1-7 WAC record from 2003, but has one of the leagues top goalkeepers in Megan Tarpenning. The junior stopped 6.78 shots per contest to lead the conference...
Rice, which broke the WAC record for goals allowed with 17, returns all 11 starters, including 19 letterwinners. Leading the way for the Owls is goalkeeper Lauren Shockley who posted a goals against average of 0.80. Senior Sarah Yoder, the Rice career record holder for goals, assists, and points, along with all the seniors, will be the first graduating class for head coach Chris Huston and the four-year-old Owls program...
San Jose State hired former San Diego State mens assistant Dave Siracusa to guide the Spartans back to the NCAA Tournament, a feat it reached in 2000. The Spartans post one of the toughest schedules in the conference again, taking on Santa Clara, Pepperdine and California. San Jose State is led by goalkeeper Erin Lavey who reigstered 83 saves in 2003...
SMU is back to defend another WAC title. The Mustangs are favored to win their fourth-straight WAC title and another NCAA berth. After a season in which the Mustangs finished sixth in the nation in offense, they face a schedule that will make it tough to see the same output. SMU takes on Oklahoma, Stanford, Santa Clara, UCLA and Texas in 2004. Along with 2003 WAC Freshman of the Year, Olivia ORear and all-WAC first-team selection, Jill Heinemann, the Mustangs bring in five recruits from the nations top ranked club team, the Dallas Texans...
UTEP looks to return to its offensive ways of 2002 when it led the country in scoring. Leading the way for the Miners are sophomore Christine McCartney and junior Kaletia Roberts. The Miners return 10 starters and have only three seniors on the roster. With a defense that only allowed 23 goals in 19 matches, the Miners look to fight their way to another WAC Tournament...
Tulsa, also under new leadership in Rena Richardson, will look to Jamie German on the field. The junior needs just one assist to move into 10th all time on the Hurricane list. Richardson added assistant coach Mark Plakorus, a former Iowa assistant to her staff.
FOUR SCHOOLS NAME NEW HEAD COACHESFresno 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.
PERSONNEL CAPSULEHere is a look at the letterwinners returning/lost and starters returning/lost.
Team LR LL SR SL
BSU 15 7 7 4
FS 11 9 5 6
UH 20 4 9 2
UN 15 4 8 3
RU 19 1 11 0
SJSU 12 4 7 3
SMU 11 11 8 3
UTEP 12 11 9 2
TU 11 8 7 4
RETURNING ALL-WAC PLAYERSOf the 23 first and second team all-WAC players in 2003, 17 return for the 2004 season. Hawaiis Natasha Kai, last seasons WAC Player of the Year and SMUs Olivia ORear, the Freshman of the Year, head the list of returners. There are nine first-team selections and eight second-teamers on this years rosters.
Fresno State (1)Kortney Lewis, Jr., F
Hawaii (3)Natasha Kai, Jr., F
Robyn deHay, Sr., F
Joelle Sugai, Sr., F
Rice (7)Ashley Anderson, Sr., F
Caitlin Currie, Sr., D
Erin Droeger, Sr., D
Betsy Huete, Sr., D
Vanessa Serrano, So., MF
Lauren Shockley, Jr., GK
Sarah Yoder, Sr., MF
SMU (4)Amanda Clark, Sr., GK
Jill Heinemann, Sr., MF
Amanda Jordan, Sr., D
Olivia ORear, So., MF
UTEP (2)Christine McCartney, So., F
Kaletia Roberts, Jr., MF
FACING THE NATIONS BESTFourteen teams that participated in the 2003 NCAA Tournament will be opponents of WAC teams this season. The list includes the likes of 2001 National Champion Santa Clara, and 2003 Final Four member, UCLA, and Sweet 16 member, Texas A&M.
WAC SOCCER IN THE CLASSROOMWAC soccer players proved they can excel, not only on the field, but also in the classroom. Last season, 64 womens soccer student-athletes were named to the 2003 academic all-WAC team.
HARVEY, KAI FINISH AMONG NATIONS LEADERS IN OFFENSEHawaiis Natasha Kai and SMUs Kim Harvey finished in the top three in several major categories in the NCAA statistics. Kai, who broke the WAC record for goals in conference play with 14, netted 29 in 2003 to lead the nation. Harvey posted 28 this season, placing her second. In goals per game, Kai finished second with 1.53 per contest with Harvey third at 1.27. The duo was two, three in the nation in points with Harvey registering 67 and Kai 62. They were only three of four student-athletes with at least 60. In points per game, Kai registered 3.26 (2nd), while Harvey posted 3.05 (3rd). Harvey finished 28th in the nation in assists per game at 0.58. Nevadas Megan Tarpenning finished 26th registering 6.78 saves per contest.
KAI, HARVEY POST FOUR HAT TRICKSHawaii forward Natasha Kai and SMU forward Kim Harvey each posted four hat tricks in 2003. Kai, the 2003 WAC Player of the Year, had two games with three goals, one with four and one with five. She tied the conference single-match mark with her five-goal effort against Morehead State. She also tied the conference-match record with her four goals against Nevada. Harvey, the 2003 WAC Tournament MVP, posted her fourth in the conference tournament, scoring three against UTEP.