Sept. 14, 2008

A pair of wins against nationally-ranked opponents highlighted the fourth weekend of the Conference USA season. UCF posted its second win against a Top 20 team, by shutting out No. 18 Illinois, 2-0. The Knights also defeated No. 19 Florida, 1-0, in the second match of the season. Colorado College knocked off No. 22 Denver in a 2-1 double overtime decision on Saturday. The Tigers then defeated Army, 3-0, in their second match in as many days to extend their unbeaten streak to seven games. UAB won the Nike Classic Tournament with wins over Wright State and Samford.

UCF 2, ILLINOIS STATE 1
UCF 2, No. 18 ILLINOIS 0

Battling not only its third ranked program of 2008 but also the extreme Florida heat, UCF blanked No. 18 Illinois, 2-0, Sunday at the UCF Soccer Complex. The Knights earned goals from senior Danielle dos Santos and sophomore Amanda Martorana to improve their record to 5-1-1 on the season. UCF's unbeaten streak reached six matches (5-0-1), while the Knights are 12-0-4 in their last 16 home matches. Their last loss at the UCF Soccer Complex was Oct. 6, 2006, against Memphis.

While the forwards put UCF ahead, freshman GK Aline Reis kept the Illini off the board, making four saves to rack up her fourth shutout in seven matches. The temperature seemed to have an effect on both programs as substitutions would be a key factor in the match. That proved true on the lone goal of the first half. Although each team had good scoring chances during the opening frame, it was UCF that stormed ahead in the 42nd minute.

Setting up the Knights' third corner kick, junior Becca Thomas delivered a perfect ball into the box for freshman Andrea Rodrigues. After a quick pass to freshman Katie Jackson and another ball to dos Santos, the senior slipped a high shot above Alexandra Kapicka and into the right corner for her first of the year.

For more, check out the UCF website.

Still showing no signs of a letdown or overconfidence, Colorado College simply continued about its business on Sunday. The Tigers extended their unbeaten streak to seven matches with a 3-0 victory against Army on Day 2 of the Air Force Academy's Falcon Invitational.

With goals from Lauren Talbot, Ericka Baer and Molly Uyenishi, CC improved to 6-0-1 for the season, its best start in head coach Geoff Bennett's five seasons at the helm. Talbot's game winner, a beautiful header off a corner kick by Alison Kreisler, snapped a scoreless deadlock with 9:51 left in the first half. The corner kick was Colorado College's eighth of the match at that point.

The tallies by Baer and Uyenishi came just 94 seconds apart early in the second half. Baer one-timed a centering pass from Sydney Fetter after a CC throw-in at 59:08, and Uyenishi cashed in on a penalty kick at 60:42. The Tigers got three saves from Geneva Sills in the opening half and one more from Caitlin Hulyo in the second 45 minutes of the shared shutout. For more information, go to the Colorado College website.

EAST CAROLINA 2, HOFSTRA 1
PENN 3, EAST CAROLINA 0

In addition to battling Hofstra on Friday afternoon, East Carolina also had to take on the elements. However, the Pirates overcame both foes as they defeated the Pride in comeback fashion, 2-1, in a driving rainstorm at Rhodes Field in Philadelphia, Pa. The Pirates' win is impressive, considering that the Pride is ranked No. 2 in the Northeast Region. Additionally, Hofstra qualified for the second round of the NCAA Tournament just a season ago. East Carolina's 4-1 record marks the third time in program history and first since 1999 that the Pirates have won four of their first five contests.

The squads played a balanced game throughout the first half, but the Pride was able to capitalize on a chance late in the stanza. Erika Fuertes took a cross from the right side off of the foot of Tiffany Yovino and headed it into the back of the net just before ECU keeper Amber Campbell could reach the ball, giving Hofstra a 1-0 halftime advantage. Shots in the first half favored the Pride 6-5 while the teams were even in corner kicks, each with three.

The Pirates did not take long to even the score line, as just five minutes into the final interval, junior Jessica Swanson took a cross from freshman Amanda Malkiewicz and headed it back across the goal mouth and past Hofstra keeper Krysten Farriella. The score was Swanson's second in as many contests, as she provided the overtime winner against rival UNC Wilmington earlier this week.

With 23 minutes remaining in the game, Malkiewicz put East Carolina ahead for good, taking advantage of a misplay by Farriella. The keeper attempted to one-time a pass to her defender but the ball slipped off of her foot to a waiting Malkiewicz, who easily slotted the ball home to provide the final margin. It was the first collegiate goal for the rookie as well as her first game-winning tally. She now leads the team in points with six (one goal and four assists).

More info available on the East Carolina website.

MEMPHIS 3, OKLAHOMA 0
COLORADO 2, MEMPHIS 1

Memphis took down the visiting Oklahoma Sooners with a 3-0 shutout Friday night. The Tigers' Melissa Smith netted her first goal of the season off an assist from Julia Ignacio. Other goal scorers during the contest were Vendula Strnadova on an unassisted play and Lizzy Simonin who scored off a pass ahead from Victoria Dalton. Strnadova's and Simonin's goals were both their second scores on the 2008 season.

Smith also scored the lone Tiger goal on Sunday against Colorado. More details can be found on the Memphis website.

MIDDLE TENNESSEE STATE 1, TULSA 0
TULSA 4, ARKANSAS STATE 0 Tulsa shut down Arkansas State on Sunday afternoon, 4-0, at the Hurricane Soccer & Track Stadium. TU moved to 5-3 on the season, registering shutouts in all five wins.

Sarah Greene put the Golden Hurricane on the board with one minute ticked off the clock as she scored off a penalty kick. Less than two minutes later, Hannah Taylor gave TU a two-goal cushion as she scored on a cross from Shannon Locke. Tulsa would maintain the 2-0 lead heading into the break. In the second half, Taylor again scored, this time off a forward pass from Greene in the 56th minute. Rachel Robinson claimed the Golden Hurricane's final goal as she scored off a penalty kick in the 71st minute.

Tulsa out-shot the Red Wolves, 23-9, and had an 11-5 advantage in shots on goal. The Golden Hurricane posted its' fifth shutout of the season, holding ASU, which was the nation's leading scorer in goals per game heading into the weekend, scoreless. Senior GK Kendall Harclerode picked up five saves in the contest for 20 on the season.

For more, check out the Tulsa website.

UAB 1, WRIGHT STATE 0
UAB 1, SAMFORD

UAB earned a 1-0 win over cross-town foe Samford on the final day of the UAB Nike Classic tournament Sunday afternoon at West Campus Field. It marked the second consecutive win for the Blazers after topping Wright State 1-0 this past Friday.

UAB and Samford played to a 0-0 tie at the half and throughout most of the second period. The Blazers scored the lone goal of the game when freshman forward Tiffini Turpin knocked in the first goal of her career during the 86th minute of the game. Turpin's goal was assisted by junior forward Danya Barsalona.UAB held a distinct advantage in shots, 16-11, over Samford. The Blazers recorded seven shots on goal, while the Bulldogs tallied eight. Barsalona nabbed a game-high seven shots on the day, including five shots on goal, for the Blazers. Freshman MF/F Laura McCalla had three shots and Turpin tallied two.

Sophomore GK Kate Blankenship earned the win in goal for the Blazers, grabbing seven saves and recording the shutout for UAB. More information is available on the UAB website.

TCU 2, RICE 1 (2OT)
In a contest that was equal parts evacuation from a hurricane that began assaulting the Texas gulf coast only a few hours before, and part road game against a regionally-ranked undefeated Horned Frog team, Host TCU rallied to defeat Rice, 2-1, in double-overtime Friday night in Fort Worth.

With many of their classmates and family members still back home in Houston bracing for Hurricace Ike, the Owls battled TCU into two overtime periods. The match was in the 109th out of a possible 110 minutes when TCU's Jackie Torda scored the game-winning goal unassisted.

The Owls broke the scoreless deadlock with an Erin Scott goal in the 50th minute. The native of nearby Richardson, Tex., opportunistically played an Anne Candee cross that caromed off the goalkeeper around the right side. Scott settled the ball and quickly hit a wide shot to the inside left netting. The score was her second goal of the season and put the Blue & Gray ahead 1-0 with 40 minutes left in the contest. TCU tied the game in the 78th minute.

Rice was scheduled to host Princeton on Sunday afternoon, but the Tigers cancelled their trip. More info available on the Rice website.

LOUISIANA-LAFAYETTE 1, SOUTHERN MISS 0

Southern Miss dropped a close contest to Louisiana- Lafayette, 1-0, Sunday afternoon at the Southern Miss Soccer Complex. The Golden Eagles took a season high 22 shots including five on goal and two off the crossbar. Sarah McFadden led all players with eight shots on the afternoon.

Southern Miss had a few golden opportunities late. Mallory Barnes hit a header that beat the UL keeper but deflected off the cross bar back into play in the 79th minute. The ball rattled around in the box for a few seconds with players from both teams franticly fighting for the ball just inches from the goal line before it was finally cleared by the Cajuns. In the 85th minute, McFadden beat a UL defender for a one-vs.-one situation that UL keeper Stephanie Weston was able to make a great save on to preserve the lead. McFadden threatened again with less than a minute remaining in the game as she once again beat the UL defender and fired a shot that skimmed the top of the crossbar before flying out of bounds.

Southern Miss was scheduled to play a road game at Southeastern Louisiana on Friday night, but it was cancelled due to the threat of Hurricane Ike. For more details, check out the Southern Miss website.

WEBER STATE 2, UTEP 0
UTAH STATE 2, UTEP 1

UTEP's soccer team fought hard but ultimately fell, 2-1, at Utah State Sunday afternoon.

Cara Nordin's first goal of the year afforded the Miners a 1-0 lead 11 minutes in, but the Aggies rallied behind a pair of first-half strikes and held on for the final score. The setback is the first of the one-goal variety in 2008 for the Miners, who had entered the match undefeated (4-0) in matches decided by one tally.

More information can be found on the UTEP website.

TOLEDO 1, MARSHALL 0
BOWLING GREEN 3, MARSHALL 0

Marshall dropped a pair of games to reigning Mid-American Conference champion Toledo (1-0) and runner-up Bowling Green (3-0). More info available on the Marshall website.

No. 2 NOTRE DAME 5, SMU 0
BALL STATE 2, SMU 0
Senior GK Ashley Gunter made seven saves, including five in the second half, but it was not enough as SMU fell to Ball State, 2-0, in Muncie, Ind., Sunday afternoon. The Mustangs continue to get significant contributions from its talented freshman class, as first-year players Kaitlyn Eidson, Mary Connally and Devon Herrman led the SMU attack with two shots apiece.

SMU played No. 2 Notre Dame on Friday and will head to the west coast next weekend to face defending national champion USC - ranked No. 1 in the nation in the current National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) poll - and Cal State Fullerton. For more details, check out the SMU website.

The Houston Cougars were idle this week as Friday's scheduled match with No. 8 Texas was cancelled due to Hurricane Ike, and Sunday's match against No. 17 LSU was postponed to Tuesday, Sept. 16. For more information, log onto the Houston website.