Saint Louis improved its win streak to three matches as the Billikens earned a pair of 2-0 shutouts over Houston and TCU. Louisville and Tulane played to a scoreless tie in their head-to-head match Friday, and share the top spot in the Conference standings this week.


PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Alison Loughrin, Marquette
Sophomore, Forward, Appleton, Wis.
Loughrin registered her first career hat trick with three goals in a 4-0 shutout of Charlotte on Friday. She also scored a goal in the Golden Eagles' 2-2 tie with East Carolina as Marquette evened its record at 1-1-1 this week.

DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Kim Sinclair, Saint Louis
Senior, Back, St. Louis, Mo.
Sinclair was a critical part of the central defense as the Billikens posted back-to-back 2-0 shutouts over the weekend at Houston and TCU. Sinclair and the SLU defense held Houston's Nikki Hawkins, the league's leading scorer, scoreless and to just one shot in 90 minutes.

NEWS & NOTES
Streaking - Saint Louis extended its win streak to three matches - all in Conference play - as the Billikens posted a pair of shutouts against Houston and TCU over the weekend. Louisville and Tulane battled to scoreless tie on Friday, but the Cardinals have played five straight matches without a loss and Tulane has a 3-0-1 mark in its last four matches.

She's Crafty - Louisville sophomore Jamie Craft is also riding a streak of two consecutive appearances on the Soccer Buzz Elite Team of the Week. Craft scored the game-winning goal in the Cardinals' 2-0 victory against Southern Miss and leads the Conference with 10 goals (0.91 per game).

Guarding the Net - SLU junior goalkeeper Amanda Martin picked up her fifth and sixth shutouts of the season, respectively, as the Billikens posted wins against Houston (2-0) and TCU (2-0) over the weekend. Louisville's Meredith Miller, Natalie Haerens of Memphis and Tulane's Megan Morey were also credited with their fifth shutout of the year during weekend play. Miller (0.32), Martin (0.43) and Haerens (0.73) hold the Conference's top spots for the lowest goals against average this season.

More for Morris - Tulane senior forward Lindsay Morris set the school record for career goals at 22 when she netted the first Green Wave goal in a 2-1 road win at Cincinnati (Tulane's first-ever win against the Bearcats). Morris surpasses former C-USA standout Colleen Lake.

Two Heads Are Better Than One - There were a pair of hat tricks during C-USA competition over the weekend. East Carolina junior Meghan McCallion recorded her first collegiate hat trick in the Pirates' 4-0 shutout of DePaul on Friday. McCallion also assisted on the fourth goal as ECU's posted its first Conference win of the season. Marquette's Alison Loughrin also netted three goals in the Golden Eagles' 4-0 victory against Charlotte on her way to C-USA Offensive Player of the Week honors.

OT Times Three - In what was to be a tie-breaking battle for first place in the C-USA standings, Louisville and Tulane played to a scoreless tie on Friday. They still share the top spot with seven points (3-0-1). Two matches ended in a draw on Sunday as DePaul and Charlotte knotted at 3-all and Marquette and East Carolina finished at 2-2.

Moore Overtime - After more than 100 scoreless minutes from TCU and Memphis, senior forward Jessi Moore scored the game-winning goal for the Horned Frogs on Friday afternoon. The goal marked her seventh on the season, which already surpasses her previous season totals. Moore ranks fifth in C-USA goals and points (17).

No Kidding - UAB senior Tara Kidwell scored her second game-winning goal of the season in a 3-0 win at USF. Kidwell leads the Blazers' offensive attack with 11 points and ranks seventh in the Conference with five goals on the season.

Fabulous Freshmen - Charlotte rookie Lindsey Beam netted two of the 49ers' three goals in Sunday's 3-3 tie against DePaul. Beam scored the tying goal on a indirect free kick with less than four minutes in regulation. Cincinnati freshman Andrea Haney scored the Bearcats' lone goal this week, tallying her first career goal in a 2-1 loss to Tulane.

Hat Trick - Saint Louis will serve as the host of the 2004 Conference USA Women's Soccer Tournament. It will be the third time in the league's history teams will compete in the Gateway City as Robert R. Hermann Stadium was the site for the 2000 tournament, and SLU hosted the 1997 tourney at the Anheuser-Busch Center.

CLOSE CALLS
Nearly half of Conference USA team losses have been by one goal. Memphis has had seven of its 11 matches decided by one goal, with the Tigers coming out on top 5-2. Charlotte has dropped five heartbreaking matches by this narrow margin. Here is how C-USA schools have fared in one-goal matches so far during the 2004 season:
Team Matches Record
Charlotte 5 0-5
Cincinnati 4 1-3
DePaul 5 1-4
East Carolina 1 0-1
Houston 5 2-3
Louisville 6 4-2
Marquette 2 2-0
Memphis 7 5-2
Saint Louis 4 2-2
Southern Miss 5 2-3
TCU 3 2-1
Tulane 5 3-2
UAB 3 2-1
USF 3 1-2


PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
An Offensive and Defensive Player of the Week is selected each Monday morning by the Conference USA women's soccer coaches.

OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
A30 Lauren Prewitt, Southern Miss
S7 Lindsey Morris, Tulane
S13 Nikki Hawkins, Houston
S20 Julianne Sitch, DePaul
S27 Jamie Craft, Louisville
O4 Alison Loughrin, Marquette
O11
O18
O25
N1

DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
A30 Megan Morey, Tulane
S7 Natalie Haerens, Memphis
S13 Natalie Haerens, Memphis
S20 Amanda Martin, Saint Louis
S27 Meredith Miller, Louisville
O4 Kim Sinclair, Saint Louis
O11
O18
O25
N1

C-USA PRESEASON AWARDS
UAB, the 2003 Conference USA regular season champion, has been selected to win the 2004 C-USA Championship by the league's coaches. Junior midfielder/forward Julianne Sitch of DePaul was named the Preseason Player of the Year after earning Offensive Player of the Year honors in 2003. Sitch represented the United States this summer as USA won its sixth straight Nordic Cup in Iceland, the world's premier soccer tournament for the women's under-21 age group. Sitch is also on the 2004 MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List.

2004 C-USA PRESEASON AWARDS

PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Julianne Sitch, Jr., MF/F, DePaul

ALL-CONFERENCE
Breck Bankester, Sr., GK, USF
Jamie Craft, So., F, Louisville
Nikki Hawkins, Sr., MF, Houston
Tara Kidwell, Sr., F, UAB
Yuiko Konno, Sr., F, Memphis
Megan McCallion, Jr., F, ECU
Briana McCarty, Sr., D, UAB
Nicky McLeod, Jr., MF, Memphis
Jessi Moore, Sr., F, TCU
Jamie Perry, Sr., F, Saint Louis
Julianne Sitch, Jr., MF/F, DePaul

2004 C-USA PRESEASON POLL
(as selected by C-USA coaches)
1. UAB
2. Saint Louis
3. DePaul
4. Marquette
5. Charlotte
6. TCU
7. Cincinnati
8. Memphis
9. East Carolina
10. USF
11. Tulane
12. Houston
13. Louisville
14. Southern Miss

NATIONAL HONORS
In addition to the C-USA Offensive and Defensive Players of the Week, league players are occasionally honored for their outstanding performances throughout the season by Soccer America and Soccer Buzz.

Soccer Buzz
National Elite Team of the Week
S21 Jamie Craft, Lousiville
S28 Jamie Craft, Louisville

NATIONAL POLLS
Here's a look at the 2004 National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA), Soccer America, Soccer Buzz and SoccerTimes.com Top 25 polls.

NSCAA (Sept. 28)
1. Notre Dame
2. North Carolina
3. Washington
4. Virginia
5. Penn State
6. Portland
7. UCLA
8. Florida
9. Texas A&M
10. California
11. Princeton
12. Kansas
13. Michigan
14. Florida State
15. Santa Clara
16. Stanford
17. SMU
18. Villanova
19. Tennessee
20. Auburn
21. Ohio State
22. Duke
23. Nebraska
24. West Virginia
25. Pepperdine

Soccer America (Sept. 27)
1. Notre Dame
2. North Carolina
3. Virginia
4. Washington
5. Penn State
6. Portland
7. Santa Clara
8. UCLA
9. Florida
10. Florida State
11. Texas A&M
12. Stanford
13. California
14. Michigan
15. Clemson
16. Tennessee
17. Nebraska
18. Princeton
19. Villanova
20. West Virginia
21. Illinois
22. Kansas
23. Colorado
24. Pepperdine
25. Auburn


Soccer Buzz (Sept. 27)
1. North Carolina
2. Notre Dame
3. Virginia
4. Washington
5. Penn State
6. Portland
7. UCLA
8. Florida
9. Florida State
10. Stanford
11. Kansas
12. Santa Clara
13. Texas A&M
14. California
15. Illinois
16. SMU
17. Duke
18. Princeton
19. Villanova
20. West Virginia
21. Clemson
22. Michigan
23. Auburn
24. Pepperdine
25. Ohio State
26. Nebraska
27. Tennessee
28. Colorado
29. Wake Forest
30. Wisconsin

SoccerTimes.com (Sept. 27)
1. North Carolina
2. Notre Dame
3. Virginia
4. Washington
5. Penn State
6. Portland
7. UCLA
8. Florida
9. Florida State
10. Santa Clara
11. Texas A&M
12. Stanford
13. Tennessee
14. Kansas
15. West Virginia
16. Duke
17. California
18. Princeton
19. Michigan
20. Villanova
21. Illinois
22. Pepperdine
23. Clemson
24. Nebraska
25. SMU