Oct. 5, 2007

The 2007 Conference USA women's soccer season kicked off tonight with all 12 teams in action. The night was highlighted by a 2-1 overtime victory for Memphis against defending conference champ UAB. That match was televised by CSTV and will be shown on tape delay Sunday Oct. 7 at 8 p.m. Eastern/7 p.m. Central.

Rice, UCF and UTEP also picked up road wins, while East Carolina and SMU posted victories on the road. Memphis has won six straight and ECU is undefeated in its last eight matches.

Four conference matches are scheduled for Sunday, Oct. 7, afternoon.

East Carolina 2, Southern Miss 1
East Carolina and Southern Miss played the first match of the afternoon and the visiting Pirates 2-1 Friday afternoon. ECU is now 7-1-2 on the year, extending its unbeaten streak to eight straight.

The Pirates got on the board quick, as Blair Heffner tallied her fourth goal of the season three minutes into the contest off a pass from Anastasia Nikas and Jessica Swanson as she found the back of the empty goal. ECU took a 1-0 lead into the break.

East Carolina added to its lead on an Amanda Broz goal in the 66th minute. She gave the Pirates the 2-0 lead off a throw in play from Jami Dickerson, tallying her second goal of the season.

Southern Miss attempted a late rally, as Sarah McFadden scored on a pass from Megan Kolts with a minute and a half remaining in the contest, making the final score 2-1 in favor of the Pirates. The USM goal ends a streak of 804 minutes that the Pirates have gone without allowing a goal. The 804 mark ranks 20th all-time in NCAA history for minutes without allowing a goal.

Memphis 2, UAB 1 (ot)
Junior Kylie Hayes scored the game winning goal seven minutes into overtime as Memphis defeated UAB, 2-1.

Sophomore Danya Barsalona put UAB on the board first when she tallied her fourth goal of the season in the 26th minute, with an assist by senior Sally Palmer, to give the Blazers a 1-0 lead going into halftime. Barsalona, along with senior Jill Porto and junior Caitlin Marple, led the Blazers in shots with two apiece.

A header by senior Harumi Someya in the 16-minute mark, tied the match 1-1. Someya received a cross from freshman Tarah Kerr to score her sixth goal of the season.

Memphis senior goalkeeper Isabel Briones had four saves in the tight match up and it was her 30th career win. Redshirt freshman Kate Blankenship received the loss in goal for UAB, tallying three saves and allowing two goals.

Hayes' goal was her third game winner of the year and her fifth goal of the season. She continues to move up in the record books as she is four goals away from being the all-time goal leader.

The Tigers are now off to their best start in school history (8-2). Their sixth straight win is also a school record. Memphis remains undefeated at home posting a 6-0 record at the Mike Rose Complex.

SMU 2, Colorado College 1
SMU senior forward Brittainy Vice struck for the game-winning goal with just 2:27 left in regulation Friday, propelling SMU to a 2-1 victory over host Colorado College.

Colorado College controlled play for most of the second half after tying the match on a goal by freshman Tiffany Brown in the 54th minute. But Vice netted her second tally of the season at 87:33 after outracing a defender to reach a long clearing pass from midfielder Allison Brill.

SMU scored first in the contest when Kristin Medeiros reversed her direction from 20 yards out, spun around and sent a left-footed blast into the upper left corner of the goal early in the second half. Brown answered just 3:03 later, rocketing a shot off the bottom of the cross bar after Amara Wilson headed the ball past the Mustang defense.

UCF 4, Marshall 0
UCF had to endure yet another lengthy weather delay when it hosted Marshall Friday but it did not seem to affect the Knights at all as they defeated the Thundering Herd, 4-0, to improve to 6-2-2 on the season.

UCF controlled most of the match against Marshall, finishing with a 23-7 advantage in the overall shot department. Senior goalkeeper Jennifer Manis kept the Herd at bay by stopping all four shots that made their way towards the net, enabling her to post her second shutout of the 2007 campaign.

Seven Knights collected at least two shots Friday, highlighted by freshman Kacie Horner, who came off the bench to take four shots. Meanwhile, all four goals were scored by four different players, as seven Knights completed their evening with at least one point.

Although Marshall gained two quick corner-kick chances in the first few minutes, UCF replied with a lot of offensive pressure. It paid off in the 14th minute. After sophomore Sarah de Leon had a shot blocked in the box, sophomore Yvonne George scooped up the rebound and also had her shot knocked away. The ball bounced right back to George again and this time she drilled it into the lower left corner for her fourth tally of the year.

Now holding a 1-0 advantage, a heavy rain storm brought some lightning with it and both teams had to clear the field with 17:43 remaining in the first half. Approximately an hour later, the Knights continued to keep the ball in the Marshall zone and capitalized in the 36th minute. Earning a corner kick on the left side, senior Arielle Orr sent a pass right on target for de Leon, who delivered a header off Marshall gokeeper Liz Orton and into the right portion of the net. It was de Leon's first goal of the season and third in her career.

The Knights were not done in the opening half. Junior Danielle Dos Santos had possession at the top of the box and delivered a pass over to junior Hanna Wilde, who easily found the right corner with just 21 seconds left. Wilde's third goal of 2007 provided the Black and Gold with a 3-0 cushion.

To conclude the scoring, freshman Lauren Halbert got into the action in the second half. As sophomore Courtney Whidden dribbled through the defense, she found Halbert open in the box and she connected for her first collegiate goal in the 66th minute. Halbert became the ninth UCF player to score a goal this season.

Marshall senior midfielder Mollie Lee, senior midfielder Sara Burdick and freshman defender Emma Harrison led the Herd with one shot on goal apiece.

Rice 2, Houston 0
Rice freshman midfielder Kate Edwards scored a pair of goals as the Owls coasted to a 2-0 shutout win over crosstown rival Houston in the Conference USA opener for both teams Friday evening at the Rice Soccer Stadium.

With the Owls' scoring leader providing the offensive punch and the defenders limiting Houston's attack to an austere four shots, the Blue & Gray took the positive first step all C-USA teams wanted to take as league play got underway. Rice out-shot UH 24-4 for the night and the team posted its fourth shutout of the season, the second in as many games, but stats aside there is also a little bit extra for this opener. By defeating Houston the Owls won the rivalry game against its crosstown opponent for a second-straight season. In the annual battle for the city's collegiate soccer championship, Rice is 4-0-1 against UH dating back to 2003.

Before Edwards got the ball rolling on the scoring, she opportunistically found the ball rolling at her feet a few yards in front of the goal and no one else around. In the 21st minute Rice defender Kellen Schugart blasted a free kick toward the Houston goal from the right wing after a foul. The kick was high, but looked like it might slip in an opening over the UH keeper at the mouth of the goal.

The ball didn't find the back of the net, but it did find the crossbar and deflected downward at a sharp angle to Edwards waiting on the left side. The freshman from Westlake Village, Calif., needed just a quick tap for a 1-0 lead the team would not relinquish.

For as hard as Edwards has worked this season, including 86 physical minutes against UH where she finally had to be assisted off the field due to some cramping from the heat, the rookie maybe deserves to have one fall right at her feet every now and again. She had to go right back to work, however, for her second goal of the night in the second half. In the 64th minute senior Clory Martin laced a right corner kick into traffic around the keeper's box. Edwards made a read on the ball, broke through some containment and converted on a header from eight yards out.

The freshman's second score of the night not only doubled the margin and added a little insurance to the scoreboard, it gave her eight goals on the year to tie for the second-highest single-season mark in school history. With a nose for the back of the net, there has only been four games this season where Edwards hasn't scored a goal.

Rice freshman goalkeeper Meghan Ekel made a pair of saves, the only two she's needed to make in the last two games. Houston hit the crossbar on one shot attempt in the second half.

UTEP 2, Tulsa 1
Spurred on by a school-record crowd of 1,269 fans, UTEP knocked off visiting Tulsa, 2-1. The Miners raced out to a 2-0 lead on the half on goals by Melissa Desilets and Angie Kleinfelder, and UTEP's defense did just enough down the stretch to hold off the upstart Golden Hurricane squad.

Senior Jessica Salvi made four saves to pick up her sixth win of 2007, while Tameka Sumter notched her C-USA leading 23rd point on the season with an assist on Kleinfelder's goal. The Miners controlled possession early, as Tulsa was content to sag defensively. UTEP patiently attacked the Golden Hurricane defense, but there was not much room to operate. The Orange and Blue remained aggressive, and the mindset paid off just six minutes into the match.

A cross by Lauren Hamson intended for Sumter was cleared out of the box, but Desilets was perfectly positioned to control the ball. The freshman took two dribbles to compose herself before unleashing a blast that laced into the upper 90's of the right corner of the net and past a helpless Kendall Harclerode. The tally was the first career goal for Desilets and afforded the Miners an early 1-0 advantage.

UTEP continued to dominate possession as the half wore on, with Hamson nearly making it a 2-0 game with 25 minutes to play. Anoop Josan sliced a ball thru traffic that inched past a sliding Hamson.

Four minutes later, it was Sumter right in the mix. A thru ball was played into space, which Sumter controlled and fired on net. Harclerode did a great job to cut down the angle and made the save. The rebound came back to Tullius, who unleased a blast but it blistered high. Sumter was twice more at the 29-minute mark, both on headers. The first header was on a cross from Hamson, which Harclerode punched out of bounds. On the ensuing corner kick, Sumter elevated above the pack and hammered a header that was saved by Harclerode with a diving effort.

With nine minutes to play in the stanza, Casey stepped in front of a pass intended for a Tulsa player at midfield. She took three dribbles, then drilled a shot that was turned away by Harclerode. One minute later, it was Tullius who was denied by the busy TU netminder.

UTEP's relentless attacked continued in the final minutes of the half. Sumter fired a shot that bounced off Harclerode's chest. Kleinfelder, who had just entered the game as a sub, hustled to chase down the rebound and headed into the back of the net past Harclerode to make it 2-0. The goal capped off a dominating first half for the Miners, who out-shot Tulsa 14-0, including nine shots on goal.

In the second period, Tulsa finally managed a semblance of offensive attack as it registered two shots in the first five minutes. UTEP quickly regained the momemtum, by controlling possession with crisp passing.

The Miners vied to push their advantage to 3-0 a few minutes later, but a pass in the box from Josan to Tullius was off target. Tulsa then launched a counter attack, with Jennifer Kacergis sneaking in behind the UTEP defense. She raced in alone, but Jo Radcliffe used blazing speed to track her down from behind and steal the ball before Kacergis was able to get a shot off.

The play proved to be crucial, as Tulsa sliced UTEP's lead in half courtesy of Hannah Taylor. Kacergis manuevered through the Miners' defense. She then deftly passed it to Taylor, who one-timed it past Salvi to make the score 2-1 in favor of the Miners with 26 minutes to play. UTEP did not rattle, as it attemped to regain a two-goal lead. Sophomore Neresa Taylor picked up a loose ball from 30 yards out and sent a shot on net that Harclerode handled nicely with Hamson and Tullius bearing down on her.

UTEP out-shot Tulsa 19-12 and took five corner kicks compared to one for the Golden Hurricane. It was a physical game, with the two squads whistled for a combined 33 fouls. Twenty-three of the infractions went against UTEP, equaling the sixth-highest single game total in program history.

Captain Kristin Wernimont single handily preserved the Miners lead at the 75-minute mark, as she saved a shot by Tulsa's Kelley Ricker. Wernimont had properly moved to the goal line to cover for Salvi who was out of position, and blasted the shot out of harms' way.

The Golden Hurricane kept the pressure on, with Salvi coming up with a brilliant point-blank stop of Shannon Locke's chance less than a minute later.

Salvi came up huge again with 11 minutes left in the match, punching a cross on a corner kick up in the air before pulling it in safely to her chest. The save seemed to inspire the Miners, who refocused and rushed up field in search of an insurance strike. A blast by Kleinfelder whistled wide with four minutes to play, which was followed by a dazzling save by Harclerode to deny Casey.