Zags Prep For NCAA Tournament
11/8/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Nov. 8, 2005
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TOURNAMENT TIME: The 18th-ranked Gonzaga University women's soccer team (12-3-4) will make its inaugural Appearance in the NCAA Women's Soccer College Cup tournament on Friday as they head to Orange County for a 5 p.m. match with the 16th-ranked Women of Troy of the University of Southern California. Also bracketed with the Bulldogs and Trojans are host and 15th-ranked Cal State Fullerton (17-3-0) and the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (13-6-3), who will face off for their first-round match 30 minutes after the conclusion of the GU-USC match. The winners of those matches square off at 1 p.m. on Sunday (Nov. 13) at the same site. Third round matches will be played at campus sites to be determined on Nov. 18, 19, or 20, as will quarterfinal matches on Nov. 25, 26, or 27. The 24th annual NCAA Women's College Cup will be played on Dec. 2 and 4 at the Aggie Soccer Complex in College Station, Texas, with Texas A&M as the host.
ZAGS BLAZE TRAIL INTO NCAA POSTSEASON: The Gonzaga University women's soccer team has blazed a trail into its inaugural berth in the NCAA Women's Soccer College Cup tournament. The Bulldogs are coming off a record setting season in which GU set new single season records for most wins with 12, fewest goals allowed with 14, longest win streak in program history with seven, most shutouts with 11 and most consecutive shutouts with six. The Bulldogs have also registered its highest finish in the West Coast Conference at third place with a 3-1-3 record. GU has registered several other program firsts, such as its first-ever national ranking, first-ever win over a top-10 team, its first tie against a top-5 team and its first win against Oregon State and Washington. Head coach Shannon Stiles had this to say about the Bulldogs berth into the field of 64. "I am thrilled to have finally received a bid. This has been something that we always knew was possible, considering the conference that we play in, and the success our men's basketball team has had. I am really excited for our seniors Ashley Haugen and Stacey Sarro who have stuck with this program for four years, and are now reaping the rewards of hard work and dedication. USC will not be an easy contest, but I feel that as long as we do all the small things right, like tackling, and controlling the ball when we are attacking that we will have a good chance in the match."
TICKETS FOR THIS WEEKEND: Cal State Fullerton is offering a presale on tickets for this weekend's NCAA Women's Soccer College Cup tournament matches for anyone who wants to purchase in advance. CSF is also offering an
SCOUTING THE TROJANS: The University of Southern California enters the week ranked 16th in the latest Soccer America Poll and have a record of 12-5-2 overall and a 9-2-1 record in the Pacific 10 Conference, good for a third place finish. The Women of Troy are led offensively by Amy Rodriguez who has a team-leading nine goals and added seven assists for 25 points. Sophomore goalkeeper Veronica Simonton leads the defensive charge for the Trojans posting a 0.87 goals-against-average and 65 saves. The Trojans and Bulldogs have never met in women's soccer. However, USC head coach Jim Millinder is no stranger to GU having served as the head women's soccer coach at West Coast Conference rival Loyola Marymount University from 1994-95 posting an 0-1-1 record against the Bulldogs.
SCOUTING THE TITANS: Cal State Fullerton enters the week ranked No. 15 in the latest National Soccer Coaches of America top-25 poll and are the 2005 Big West Conference Champions after registering a 4-1 win over UC Riverside in the BWC championship this past Sunday. The Titans enter the week with a 17-3-0 overall record and a 6-1-0 record in the Big West. CSF is led offensively by junior midfielder Lauryn Welch who has a team-leading eight goals and four assists for 20 points. The Titans defense is anchored down by junior Karen Bardsley who is posting a 0.58 goals-against-average and 41 saves. The Titans hold a 1-0-0 record all-time against the Bulldogs, defeating GU 3-2 on Sept. 9 at the Santa Clara adidas Classic.
SCOUTING THE REBELS: The University Nevada Las Vegas enters the week after registering a 1-0 win over the University of New Mexico in the Mountain West Conference championship game to claim the 2005 MWC championship. UNLV's offensive charge is led by sophomore forward Katie Carney who has a team-leading seven goals and seven assists for 21 points. The Rebels defense is led by freshman goalkeeper Ciera Huff who has a 0.81 goals-against-average and a team-leading 55 saves. Should UNLV defeat Cal State Fullerton in friday's second match and GU win its Friday match, it would be the first meeting between the two schools in program history.
SIMPLY THE BEST: Gonzaga University senior goalkeeper Ashley Haugen has been rewriting the Gonzaga record books ever since her arrival on the Spokane campus in 2002, and against the University of San Francisco on Saturday, Haugen picked up her program-best 11th shutout of the season. Haugen has not allowed a goal since the 2-0 loss to the University of Portland on Oct. 9, lowering her goals-against-average to 0.70. Haugen posted a near perfect month of October, as she recorded a record of 4-1-3, allowed four goals, registered six shutouts and had a GAA of 0.43. Haugen has set several new single-season records this season including most shutouts with 11, fewest goals allowed with 14 and has helped the Bulldogs defense post the lowest single-season team GAA of 1.40. Haugen is also the career-leader in shutouts with 23, saves with 432 and GAA at 1.36. Haugen has been named the West Coast Conference Player of the Week three times this season, has been named to Soccer Buzz's Elite Team of the Week once this season, two times in her career, and named to Top Drawer Soccer's National Team of the Week once this season.
600 MINUTES OF SCORELESS SOCCER: Gonzaga University has not allowed a goal over the last 600 minutes of play. GU is on a six-match shutout streak, dating back to Oct. 14th when the Bulldogs defeated the, then 10th-ranked, Pepperdine University Waves 1-0. With these six shutouts Gonzaga has set a new single-season record for most shutouts with 11, and most consecutive single-season shutouts with six.
LAST TIME OUT: Gonzaga University pounded the University of San Francisco 3-0 in its regular-season finale Saturday afternoon. Gonzaga wasted no time in scoring as in the 17th minute junior defender Beth Drollinger tallied her third goal of the season. Sophomore midfielder Jamie Blanche crossed the ball to the top left of the goal box and Drollinger hit a one-timer past the USF goalkeeper. Five minutes later, sophomore striker Nanda McCormick doubled the Bulldogs lead. Sophomore forward Christine Soma split two defenders and fed the ball to a streaking McCormick who was able to punch the ball into the back of the net for her team-leading ninth goal of the season. Blanche was able to put the game out of reach in the 69th minute. McCormick caused a scramble in front of the Dons goal box when she tried to head the ball past the goalkeeper, but the `keeper was able to block the shot and tried to fall on the ball. The ball slipped out from under her and Blanche was there to hit a rocket into the net for her fourth goal of the season.
ZAGS AND NEUTRAL SITES: The Gonzaga University women's soccer team is posting a 0-2-0 record when playing at a neutral site this season. In those matches the Bulldogs have been outscored 7-3 and were outshot 30-12. The two losses came against the defending national champion, the University of Notre Dame, and to No. 15 Cal State Fullerton at the Santa Clara adidas Classic in Sept.
GOING STREAKING: The Gonzaga University women's soccer team is in the midst of a six-match unbeaten streak after posting a 3-0 West Coast Conference shutout win this past weekend against the Dons of the University of San Francisco in is regular-season finale. The Bulldogs have not lost a match since the 2-0 loss to the top-ranked Pilots of the University of Portland on Oct. 9.
ZAGS IN THE RANKINGS: For the fourth consecutive week the Bulldogs have appeared in the national rankings moving up six spots in the Soccer America poll to No. 19, up two spots in the Soccer Buzz poll to No. 18, up two spots in the Soccer Times poll to No. 23 and down two spots in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America poll to No. 23.
WHO'S HOT FOR THE ZAGS: Gonzaga University sophomore midfielder Jamie Blanche has been hot as of late for the Bulldogs, registering one goal and one assist in the 3-0 win over the University of San Francisco this past Saturday. Blanche has tallied four goals on the season, good for third on the team, and added two assists to place her in a tie for third on the team in points with 10.
MOVING UP THE CHARTS: Gonzaga University sophomore striker Nanda McCormick has etched her name into the Gonzaga single-season and career record books after one season of play. McCormick led the team in scoring with nine goals, placing her in a tie for fifth in single-season goals scored with Gonzaga's all-time leading scorer Sara Streufert (1997-2000) and places her in in a tie for sixth in career goals scored with Molly Bales (1996-99). McCormick has added three assists to give her 21 points on the season placing her in a tie with Streufert for fifth in single-season points and tied for sixth with Bales in career points.
CREATING HER OWN STILE: The first female head women's soccer coach in the history of the West Coast Conference, Shannon Stiles enters her seventh season at Gonzaga University with the program coming off its second consecutive winning season. The Bulldogs posted their second 11-win season in school history with an 11-9-0 record and finished tied for fourth in the WCC with a 3-4-0 mark. The three WCC wins matched the 2003 team and passed the previous season-high total of two conference wins Gonzaga had collected during 10 previous seasons of WCC play. In 2003, Stiles was named the WCC Coach of the Year after guiding the Bulldogs to their first winning season in program history.
ZAGS TABBED TO FINISH 7TH IN WCC: The Gonzaga University women's soccer team was tabbed to finish in a tie for seventh in the West Coast Conference according to a WCC preseason coaches poll. The University of Portland was tabbed as the favorite to capture the 2005 WCC crown. Santa Clara University was picked to finish second and the University of San Diego rounds out the top three. Pepperdine University was tabbed fourth, Loyola Marymount University fifth, Saint Mary's College sixth, Gonzaga and the University of San Francisco tied for seventh respectively.
