Bulldogs Open WCC Play Saturday At Portland
10/7/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Oct. 7, 2009
Match 13
Gonzaga vs No. 2 Portland
Portland, Ore.
Saturday, Oct. 10, 7 p.m.
Live Stats, Audiostreaming, and Videostreaming Available
FOLLOW THE BULLDOGS LIVE: All Gonzaga University home matches will be video streamed and available via Gametracker on the internet at http://www.gozags.com. Check the Gonzaga web site to sign up for live video streaming and view other Gametracker links. This Saturday's match at Portland will be videostreamed and audiostreamed at www.PortlandPilots.com.
FOLLOW THE BULLDOGS ON TWITTER: Follow the team every step of Gonzaga University's women's soccer season at www.twitter.com/zagswsoccer. You can also get instant game scores and updates at the official Bulldog athletic twitter site at www.twitter.com/GonzagaBulldogs.
LAST WEEK: Gonzaga University went 0-2 last week, dropping road matches to the University of Washington 3-1 and Portland State University 2-1. In the match at UW the Zags made a late comeback in the second half as Sheridan Jones' first goal of the season cut the Huskies lead to 2-1 in the 63rd minute but a UW goal in the 83rd minute ended the Bulldogs comeback attempt. At Portland State the Zags used a Kelsey Werre goal to even the match at 1-1 in the 23rd minute but a PSU goal late in the first half proved to be enough for a 2-1 Viking win.
COMING UP: Next weekend will see Gonzaga University close out their season-long seven match road streak with a trip to southern California to face West Coast Conference foes Loyola Marymount University Oct. 16 and Pepperdine University Oct. 18.
SCHEDULE PROVIDING TOUGH TESTS: This season Gonzaga University is slated to match up with six teams that made appearances in last year's NCAA Tournament and also play four of its seven West Coast Conference matches on the road. Earlier this season the Zags faced two opponents who made runs deep into last season's NCAA Tournament as Southern California advanced to last year's third round and UCLA made their way all the way to the College Cup semifinal. This weekend's opponent in the University of Portland advanced to last year's quarterfinal round.
EDWARDS RECORDS CAREER WIN NUMBER 50: Gonzaga University's 2-0 win over Eastern Washington Sept. 6 was the Bulldogs' first year head coach Amy Edwards third victory with the Zags and the 50th win of her career. Edwards came to Gonzaga with 47 career victories with all coming during her four-year stint at the University of Tulsa and currently owns a 53-31-6 career coaching record.
ABOUT THE PORTLAND PILOTS: The University of Portland enters the opening weekend of West Coast Conference play with an 11-1-0 overall mark and ranked No. 3 in the latest Soccertimes.com national poll. The Pilots lead the all-time series with Gonzaga University 17-0-0 after posting a 4-0 victory over the Zags in Spokane last season. Danielle Foxhoven comes into the weekend leading the team and WCC with 11 goals and 25 points while keeper Kelsey Davis owns a 0.67 GAA and has posted four shutouts this season. Head coach Garret Smith is in seventh season at the helm of the program, owning a 127-18-7 overall coaching mark and a 2005 NCAA National Championship.
CONRAD CONTINUING CAREER YEAR: Lori Conrad came into her final season at Gonzaga University with three career goals and has since doubled her career total with three goals to go along with her seven points, both tied for team-highs. The Richland, Wash. native has found the back of the net each time via header, twice off of corner kicks from Sheridan Jones in each of the season's first two matches and once off of a Morgan Manchester throw in the Sept. 6 win over Eastern Washington University.
MAKING THEM COUNT: Sarah Rhodes is once again tied for the team-lead in goals (3) after posting two match-winners last week. With the scored tied at 1-1 in the Sept. 17 match against Seattle University, Rhodes found the back of the net with less than five minutes remaining to give the Bulldogs a 2-1 lead they would not surrender. On Sept. 20 Rhodes again took a pass into the left side of the box and beat the keeper to the far side in the Zags 1-0 win over Idaho. The Victoria, B.C. native finished last season with a team-high three goals and is just three goals away from breaking into the school's top-10 list for career goals.
THE FINISHER: Jessie Sorenson comes into the week tied for the team-lead with a career-high three goals this season with each of the goals coming in a Gonzaga University wins. Her first goal came in the season-opening 3-0 win over the University of Montana and her last two goals each came in the final minutes to seal up GU victories. The Salt Lake City native's goal in the 89th minute capped the 2-0 win over Eastern Washington University and her most recent goal came in the 86th minute of the Zags 2-0 win over University of Wyoming.
TRIO OF ZAGS TAKE HOME ALL-TOURNAMENT HONORS: Gonzaga University had three players named to the Uni Wyo Cowgirl Classic All-Tournament team earlier this season (Sept. 25-27). Amy Danielson, Emma Dolcetti and Elle Sweeney each earned the honor after the Zags posted a 1-1 record at the tournament held in Laramie, Wyo. Dolcetti scored the eventual match-winner in GU's 2-0 win over Wyoming last Friday while Danielson and Sweeney teamed up to run a Bulldog defense that allowed just one goal over the weekend.
NOW ENTERING THE MATCH: Gonzaga University head coach Amy Edwards has implemented a new style of play in her first season at GU, this new aggressive style of play will see the Zags apply offensive pressure throughout the match. The new style of play requires the Zags to rely on the good amount of depth at each position in order to keep fresh legs on the field. The large amount of depth as seen the Bulldogs use at least 20 of its 26 active players in six of its 12 matches this season led by the 22 players appeared in its season-opening victory over the University of Montana as well as in the 2-1 victory over Seattle University.
PERMISSION TO FIRE: Gonzaga University launched a season-high 30 shots in the Sept. 6 2-0 win at Eastern Washington University surpassing its previous season-high of 29 shots which came in the 3-1 win over McNeese State University Aug. 28. The Zags had 12 players record shots against EWU and 10 players fire on net against MSU.
THIS WEEK: The Gonzaga University women's soccer team opens West Coast Conference play with a trip to Portland, Ore. to face No. 3 ranked University of Portland 7 p.m. Saturday. The Bulldogs are in the midst of playing seven consecutive matches on the road with this weekend's match being the fifth stop of the road streak.
