Nov. 3, 2007

UCF shut out Southern Miss, 2-0, in the Conference USA regular season finale for both. With the win, the Knights clinch the No. 1 seed in the C-USA Championship and guarantee at least a share of the regular-season title. East Carolina secured the eighth and final berth to the C-USA Championship with a 0-0 tie against defending conference champion UAB. Other than UCF's top spot, the other seven seeds will be determined on Sunday during the four scheduled conference matches.

UCF 2, Southern Miss 0
UCF did not allow Southern Miss to record a shot in the second half, and shutout the Golden Eagles, 2-0, in the regular-season finale for both teams. With the win, the Knights will win at least a share of their second regular-season conference title in three seasons and will be the No. 1 seed in the 2007 C-USA Championship.

Senior goalkeeper Jennifer Manis registered her seventh shutout of 2007, making just one save thanks to her defense stalling every USM chance in its offensive zone. Sophomore Becca Thomas notched two assists in the win, moving her season total to 10, which ranks in a tie for eighth on the UCF all-time list.

UCF had plenty of scoring chances throughout the first half against Southern Miss but went into halftime still scoreless. Seven minutes into the first session, the Knights earned their first opportunity when junior Hanna Wilde sent a pass over to sophomore Courtney Whidden in front of the box. Whidden got the defender off-balance, put the ball on her right foot and drilled a shot towards the left side. USM goalkeeper Anna Fiser dove to her right and barely got a piece to send the ball out of play.

With less than 20 minutes remaining, Thomas was fouled inside the penalty box arc, setting up a direct kick. Thomas wrapped her shot around the USM wall, but it clanked off the right post. Moments later freshman Amanda Martorana had two great looks at the net only to see both of her shots turned aside by Fiser. UCF finished the half with a 12-3 edge in shots, while Fiser made six saves for the Golden Eagles.

Southern Miss started to get into all of UCF's passing lanes in the second half. A fortunate bounce, though, went the Knights' way in the 73rd minute. Thomas sent a ball in towards the net that was deflected over to sophomore Brianna Schooley who was 20 yards in front. She quickly settled it down and beat the keeper into the right side of the net for her fifth goal of the year.

Only 5:12 later, Thomas set up the insurance goal, and she earned the assist in a big way. The midfielder collided heads with a USM defender, but managed to push it forward to junior Danielle Dos Santos, who broke through the defense. Dos Santos easily beat Fiser in a one-on-one situation for her fourth tally of 2007. For Thomas, it was her 10th assist, although she needed to be helped off the field following the goal.

Memphis 3, Marshall 1
Memphis got off to an early lead in the first half, and was able to hold on to get a 3-1 victory over host Marshall. The Tigers earned their 13th win of the season (13-3-1), making it the most wins in school history in a single season.

Defenders Kate Murphy and Kelsey Bakker got the Tigers on the board early with a 2-0 lead going into halftime to give the Lady Tigers the win. Murphy scored the Tigers first goal, while Bakker scored the game winning goal. Both defenders earned their first goals of the season in this match.

Marshall sophomore goalkeeper Liz Orton registered 13 saves in the match to tie Ashleigh Woods' single-game saves record of 13, which was set twice by Woods in 2004. Orton claimed the number two rank on the single-season saves record with 104 saves, with one game remaining. The single-season saves record was set by Woods in 2004 with 119 saves. With a win on Sunday at East Carolina, the Tigers could still earn a share of the 2007 C-USA regular season title and would be the No. 2 seed in the C-USA Championship. Marshall closes out its 2007 season as host to UAB on Sunday.

East Carolina 0, UAB 0 (2ot) UAB battled with East Carolina for 110 minutes on Friday afternoon, resulting in a 0-0 tie in Greenville, N.C. The Blazers already clinched a spot in the Conference USA Championship, Nov. 7-11 in El Paso, Texas, entering the weekend. East Carolina earned the eighth championship berth due to all the tie-breaker scenarios that could occur following Sunday's matches.

The Blazers and Pirates played a tight match all the way around, including a slight 12-11 UAB edge in shots. The Blazers also held a 5-4 advantage in shots on goal.

Sophomore Danya Barsalona led UAB in shots with three, followed by senior Sally Palmer and freshman Justine Hartigan with two a piece. The Pirates were paced by Amanda Broz with three shots on the day, while Bailey Wilcox added two.

UAB redshirt freshman goalkeeper Kate Blankenship grabbed five saves in goal to blank East Carolina. Amber Campbell, who ranks eighth nationally for goals against average and second in save percentage, tallied four saves during 110 minutes in goal for the Pirates.

Rice 2, Colorado College 1
The Rice freshman tandem of Kate Edwards and Korey Talor both scored goals to lead the Owls to a 2-1 come-from-behind Conference USA victory over visiting Colorado College Friday evening at the Rice Soccer Stadium.

Colorado College jumped on the scoreboard for the earliest goal scored against the Owls this season. In just the second minute of the contest, forward Lisa Balsama fielded a pass from teammate Tiffany Brown, the reigning C-USA Offensive Player of the Week, from 12 yards out on the right wing and scored on a shot past a charging Rice goalkeeper. Balsama's second goal of the season gave the Lions a 1-0 lead, but there was still a lot of soccer left to play.

The Owls answered quickly with the game-tying goal in the 16th minute. Senior Clory Martin blasted a free kick from well outside the 18-yard line that a surrounded Shelley Wong deflected from 12 yards in front of the net. Edwards opportunistically charged in, played the carom with one touch and converted on a shot attempt from 10 yards away that found the mark on the left side. The team-leading 10th goal of the season for knotted-up the score 1-1.

The Blue & Gray held a 12-5 lead for shots in the first half and continued to apply the offensive pressure with a 10-4 shots advantage in the second half. In the 67th minute, sophomore Erin Scott made a long dribble on the left side and served a crossing pass in the direction of Martin. Martin, however, stepped out of the way as the ball skipped to an even better-positioned Kory Taylor six yards from the goal. Taylor punched a shot past the Lion defenders for her fifth goal of the year and a 2-1 Rice lead.

SMU 1, Tulsa 0
Senior forward Kimber Bailey buried a first-half penalty kick and junior goalkeeper Ashley Gunter recorded her third consecutive shutout Friday night to lead SMU a 1-0 win over Conference USA foe Tulsa at Westcott Field.

SMU spent much of the game in their offensive end of the field, as evidenced by the Ponies' 9-0 advantage in corner kicks. Bailey scored the game-winning goal in the 13th minute, giving her three goals this season and 39 in her career.

Gunter picked up her eighth win of the season, and her fifth shutout this year. She now has 23 shutouts in her career, moving her past Kim Kyle into sole possession of third place on the all-time SMU list. Bailey's goal also helped her climb the ranks in the Mustangs' record book. When her PK hit the back of the net, she tied former star Olivia O'Rear, the 2006 C-USA Player of the Year, with 39 career goals for the sixth-highest total in school history.

UTEP 6, Houston 0
UTEP defeated Houston, 6-0, in a match played at the Carl Lewis International Track & Field Complex. The venue change was made necessary by the Houston Dynamo (MLS) playoff game at UH's Robertson Stadium.

UTEP scored in the ninth minute, led 2-0 at halftime and added four second-half goals. Laura Hamson tallied a hat trick, scoring the game winner and two more goals in the 65th and 85th minutes. Jami Tullius added a pair of scores, and Jordan Freiberg scored once.

The Cougars tallied 10 shots with Lynn Baker, Christine Nieva and Jessica Rathweg each notching a pair.

Baker had UH's best chance at a goal on the night after her breakaway shot clanked off the post just after halftime.