Oct. 9, 2007
Complete Women's Soccer Notebook & Stats in PDF Format
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UCF and UTEP both earned a pair of wins in the opening weekend of conference play, while Memphis and Rice will take a 1-0 mark into week two of action.
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Yvonne George, UCF
Sophomore, MF, Winter Springs, Fla.
George recorded a pair of game-winners for UCF as the Knights opened C-USA play with a 2-0-0 record. George scored the winning goal with only 58 seconds left in the second overtime against an East Carolina team that had strung together seven straight shutouts earlier in the season for a 1-0 UCF victory over the Pirates. Two days earlier, George tallied UCF's first goal in the 14th minute by picking up a rebound off of her initial shot and the Knights defeated Marshall, 4-0. The two goals gave her five on the season (three game-winners). This is her second C-USA Player of the Week honor.
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Jessica Salvi, UTEP
Senior, Goalkeeper, Jackson Hole, Wyo.
Salvi was on top of her game, allowing just one goal in 180 minutes, to help lead the Miners to a 2-0 start in conference play for the first time since 2003. She registered nine stops against preseason C-USA favorite SMU en route to securing her third shutout of the year. Three of the chances for the Mustangs were within five yards, but Salvi was up to the task. Against Tulsa, Salvi made four saves, all in the second half, to help UTEP hold off the upstart Golden Hurricane squad. This is Salvi's first Player of the Week honor this season and second of her career.
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TEAM NOTABLES
COLORADO COLLEGE
Senior F Amara Wilson and junior D Alexa Bannerman each scored a goal and set up another on Sunday, fueling Colorado College (6-3-2, 1-1) to a 4-0 victory over visiting Tulsa. All four tallies came in the opening 33 minutes of play. Sophomore Emily Beans and freshman Tiffany Brown, who remain tied for the team lead with five goals apiece this campaign, also scored in the first half when Colorado College dominated possession and out-shot the Golden Hurricane by a 12-1 margin. The Tigers finished with an 18-8 edge for the match. Three goalkeepers, junior Geneva Sills, sophomore Jackie Danzig and freshman Emma Bailey shared the shutout. Sills didn¹t face a shot in the opening half. Danzig made two saves and Bailey made one while splitting the final 45 minutes. Colorado College, currently ranked No. 9 in the NSCAA Central Region, hosts conference rival UTEP on Saturday.
EAST CAROLINA
East Carolina (7-2-2) opened its Conference USA schedule in style, as the Pirates defeated Southern Miss 2-1 Friday. ECU 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 freshman F Amanda Broz's 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 got on the scoreboard with 1:30 remaining in the contest, ending a streak of 804 minutes the Pirates went without allowing a goal. The 804 mark ranks 20th all-time in NCAA history for minutes without allowing a goal. East Carolina dropped a 1-0 double overtime heartbreaker to UCF on Sunday. The Pirates will play at Marshall Sunday at 1 p.m. ET.
HOUSTON
Houston (4-5-1, 0-1 C-USA)dropped a 2-0 matchup to host Rice after giving up a pair of goals off set pieces in the C-USA opener for both teams Friday. The match was the first time in the series' history that a game was decided by more than a goal. The offense got a boost from the return of injured forwards Nikki Echeverria, Christine Nieva and Brittney Pfeiffer. Echeverria had missed two matches, Nieva five and Pfeiffer the entire season. Logging extensive minutes in her season debut, Pfeiffer also had the Cougars' best shot to score on the evening. In the 58th minute, the sophomore bent a ball in from the wing that clipped the top of the crossbar and bounced out of bounds. Nieva tallied one of UH's two shots on goal, along with Lauri Byrne. The Cougars return to action next weekend, playing host to Memphis at 7 p.m. CDT Friday and UAB at 1 p.m. Sunday.
MARSHALL
Marshall (3-8-0, 0-2-0 C-USA) got three shots from Ali Lizotte and two from Missy Gordon off the bench, but Marshall dropped a 1-0 decision on the road to Southern Miss on Sunday. GK Liz Orton notched nine saves for the Herd. Marshall hosts East Carolina at 1 p.m. ET Sunday.
MEMPHIS
Junior F Kylie Hayes scored the game winning goal seven minutes into overtime as Memphis defeated UAB, 2-1. 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. Senior GK Isabel Briones had four saves in the tight match up and it was her 30th career win. 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) and rank No. 8 in the NSCAA Central Region. Their sixth straight win is also a school record. Memphis remains undefeated at home, posting a 6-0 record.
RICE
Freshman MF Kate Edwards scored a pair of goals as Rice (7-3-1) coasted to a 2-0 shutout win over crosstown rival Houston in the C-USA opener for both teams Friday. Rice posted its fourth shutout of the season, the second in as many games. In the annual battle, 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, D 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. She needed just a quick tap for a 1-0 lead the team would not relinquish. 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. Freshman GK Meghan Ekel made a pair of saves.
SMU
Senior F Brittainy Vice struck for the game-winning goal with just 2:27 left in regulation Friday, propelling SMU (5-3-1, 1-1-0) to a 2-1 victory over host Colorado College. 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. The Mustangs couldn't get on the board against a stingy UTEP defense and dropped a 1-0 shutout to the Miners on Sunday. Up next, SMU returns home to welcome Southern Miss and UCF to Westcott Field. Sunday's match-up will be televised by CSTV and features the conference's top two teams the last two seasons.
SOUTHERN MISS
Junior F Sarah McFadden scored the lone goal of the match in the 25th minute on a penalty kick to lead Southern Miss (5-6, 1-1) to a 1-0 victory over Marshall at the Southern Miss Soccer Complex. McFadden is 2-of-2 this season on penalty kicks. Southern Miss snapped an 11-match C-USA losing streak, dating back to a 1-1 double-overtime tie against Houston in 2005. The victory also was the first in a league match in 16 tries. The Golden Eagles outshot the visitors 19-11 and 10-5 with shots on goal. GK Anna Fiser tallied five saves on the afternoon. McFadden, who had eight of the Golden Eagles shots in the match, scored her fourth goal of the campaign. Megan Kolts added four shots and Jana Mason three for the home squad. Southen Miss goes on the road for key conference matches at SMU on Friday and Tulsa on Sunday.
TULSA
Tulsa fell to 2-9-1 on the season, after dropping a 2-1 decision to UTEP and a 4-0 mark to Colorado College. Sophomore F Hannah Taylor scored her first goal of the season against the Miners for the lone goal for TU on the weekend. Junior GK Kendall Harclerode posted 11 saves against the Miners and seven saves against the Tigers for 73 this season. After a four-game road trip, the Golden Hurricane returns home to host UCF and Southern Miss Friday and Sunday, respectively.
UAB
Sophomore F Danya Barsalona put UAB (4-5-1, 0-1-0) on the board first in the 26th minute, but the Blazers dropped a 2-1 overtime decision to host Memphis in the C-USA opener. Barsalona tallied her fourth goal of the season, 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. Redshirt freshman Kate Blankenship received the loss in goal for UAB, tallying three saves and allowing two goals. UAB is back on the road for games at Rice and Houston this weekend.
UCF
A very wet afternoon did not dampen UCF's 1-0 double overtime victory over East Carolina, to stay undefeated at home. Sophomore MF Yvonne George gave UCF the win with only 58 seconds left in the second overtime period off a pass from Courtney Whidden. It was her fifth goal of the season and third game-winner of 2007. That goal snapped ECU's eight-game undefeated streak and George was named the C-USA Offensive Player of the Week, the third straight week a Knight was honored and her second award of the season. Senior GK Jennifer Manis recorded her second-straight shutout to begin the C-USA season, and her third overall on the year. She made three saves in the victory, while the defense prevented the Pirates from gaining offensive momentum after halftime. The start of the match was delayed for 50 minutes due to inclement weather. UCF is currently tied for ninth in the NSCAA Sotheast Regional rankings. The Knights have now completed a five-game homestand and hit the road for games at Tulsa on Friday and rival SMU on Sunday. The SMU match will be televised on CSTV as the two teams have finished 1-2 the last two seasons in Conference USA.
UTEP
Powered by sophomore D Jo Radcliffe's second-half goal and stifling team defense, UTEP (8-4-1, 2-0-0 C-USA) defeated C-USA preseason favorite SMU, 1-0, at University Field. It marks the first time since the 2003 campaign that UTEP has opened league play with a pair of victories. Senior GK Jessica Salvi was dazzling in net for the Miners. The senior turned away all nine shots on goal by the Mustangs to pick up her third shutout on the year. For her efforts, she was named the C-USA Defensive Player of the Week and earned a spot on the Soccer Buzz Elite Team of the Week. With 24 minutes to play in regulation, senior F Angie Kleinfelder stole a pass from a Mustang defender and sent Cortney Casey in on net. Casey's blast was deflected out of bounds by the SMU goalkeeper, setting up an Orange and Blue corner kick. Casey lobbed the ball into the box off the corner, where Radcliffe elevated above the rest and hammered it with a well-struck header to put UTEP up, 1-0. The tally was Radcliffe's fourth on the campaign. UTEP is on the road for a Noon MT match at C-USA rival Colorado College this Saturday, Oct. 13.
