Oct. 21, 2010
Complete Release in PDF Format 
Gonzaga Bulldogs (7-8-1, 2-1-0 WCC)
vs.
No. 11/13 Santa Clara Broncos (10-3-2, 3-0-0 WCC) Buck Shaw Stadium, Santa Clara, Calif. - Friday, Oct. 22, 7 p.m. PDT
San Diego Toreros (9-5-2, 2-1-0 WCC) Torero Stadium, San Diego, Calif. - Sunday, Oct. 24, 1 p.m. PDT
THIS WEEK: After playing the last four matches at Gonzaga Soccer Field, the Gonzaga University women's soccer team travels to California this weekend for two West Coast Conference matches. The Bulldogs begin the road trip Friday at the University of Santa Clara at 7 p.m. - the first and only match the Bulldogs will play under the lights this season. The Broncos are currently ranked No. 11 in the NSCAA-Hendrickscars.com and No. 13 in the Soccer America rankings. The Zags conclude the trip at the University of San Diego Sunday at 1 p.m. In the WCC standings, the Bulldogs and Toreros are tied for third while the Broncos are tied for first with No. 2/3 University of Portland.
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 website to sign up for live video streaming.
FOLLOW THE BULLDOGS ON TWITTER: Follow every step of the 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.
COMING UP: Gonzaga University will conclude the home side of the 2010 schedule next weekend hosting Saint Mary's College Sunday at 1 p.m. Prior to the match the Bulldogs will honor their seven seniors, Lauren Ames, Lindsay Hood, Ashley Riley, Catherine Cullen, Sheridan Jones, Elle Sweeney and Ashley Railey.
ABOUT THE BULLDOGS: Gonzaga University is coming off back-to-back wins last weekend - the first of the 2010 season. Junior forward Sarah Rhodes scored her team-leading fifth goal of the season 1:41 into overtime to help the Bulldogs defeat Pepperdine University 1-0 Friday. In addition to the win, redshirt junior goalkeeper Lauren Ames earned her third shutout of the year. Two days later, sophomore forward Emily Hutchins and redshirt junior defender Elle Sweeney each scored to help the Bulldogs defeat Loyola Marymount University 2-1. Sweeney punched in her first goal of the season at 20:34 while Hutchins scored her second at 67:17. In addition to the wins, the Bulldogs swept the two teams who were tied for sixth in the NSCAA-Hendrickscars.com West Regional rankings last week. The Bulldogs have played six opponents ranked in their respective regions this season.
ABOUT HEAD COACH Amy Edwards: The 2010 season marks the second year for Amy Edwards at the helm of the Gonzaga University women's soccer team. Edwards is in her sixth year as a NCAA Division I head coach and has a career record of 62-45-7. After getting to know Edwards' style of play, the Bulldogs have developed a mindset of being aggressive on attacking opponents.
ZAGS ON THE ASSIST: With a combined total of 22 assists recorded this season, Gonzaga University sits third in the West Coast Conference. Senior midfielder Sheridan Jones and freshman forward Cassie Geerdts both lead the Bulldogs in that category with four while two others have both recorded three.
BULLDOGS ON THE ATTACK: Gonzaga University has been very aggressive attacking its opponents this season. The Bulldogs are second-best in the West Coast Conference in shots with 233, an average 14.56 per match. In their match against Eastern Washington University, Gonzaga had 32 shots to set a conference high.
BRONCOS, TOREROS REGIONALLY RANKED: For the third consecutive week, Gonzaga University will be facing opponents ranked in the NSCAA-Hendrickscars.com West Regional rankings. Santa Clara University is ranked second, the University of San Diego fourth.
ABOUT SANTA CLARA UNIVERSITY: Picked to finish second in the West Coast Conference behind the No. 2/3 University of Portland, Santa Clara University is currently on a three-match winning streak. After picking up a pair of road wins against Bay Area rivals Saint Mary's College and the University of San Francisco last weekend, the Broncos begin a four-match homestand starting with the Bulldogs Friday followed by the Pilots two days later.
ABOUT THE UNIVERSITY OF SAN DIEGO: The University of San Diego returns home after a playing four matches on the road. Before the Toreros welcome Gonzaga University Sunday, they will host No. 2/3 University of Portland Friday. The Toreros haven't lost a match at home, holding a record of 4-0-2. Recently the Toreros completed a two-match sweep over the University of San Francisco and Saint Mary's College in the Bay Area last weekend.
SCHEDULE ONCE AGAIN PROVIDING CHALLENGES: Similar to the 2009 season, Gonzaga University is facing another challenging schedule this season. On this year's schedule, seven of 20 opponents were participants in the 2009 NCAA Tournament and four opponents were ranked in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America-Hendrickcars.com and Soccer America preseason polls. In last year's NCAA Tournament, No. 5/3 University of Portland and No. 6/9 Florida State University reached the quarterfinals; No. 9/10 Santa Clara University reached the third round; No. 21 (NSCAA only) Washington State University and San Diego State University reached the second round, and University of Denver and No. 19/20 University of Southern California appeared in the first round.
JONES RANKED IN TOPDRAWERSOCCER.COM: Since its first weekly release on Sept. 2, TopDrawersoccer.com, an online college soccer website, has ranked senior midfielder Sheridan Jones every week in the Top 100 players to watch in the nation. She is currently ranked No. 39. In addition, TopDrawersoccer.com has Jones ranked No. 7 on the player watch list for the West Coast Conference.
JONES, RILEY CHASING HISTORY: As they enter their final season in their collegiate careers, seniors Sheridan Jones and Ashley Riley will look to exit holding the career record for assists. After notching a pair of assists on Sept. 10 against the University of Colorado, Jones now sits in a tie for second with Christine Soma (2004-07) on the program's all-time list with 12. Riley sits in a five-way tie for fourth with nine. Sara Streufert (1997-00) holds the record with 15.
ZAGS PICKED TO FINISH SEVENTH IN WCC: The Gonzaga University women's soccer team has been selected to finish seventh in the West Coast Conference 2010 preseason poll voted by the coaches. The Zags received 12 points to finish ahead of the University of San Francisco's 11. Gonzaga finished the 2009 season 8-12-0 overall and 2-5-0 in the WCC. Three-time defending WCC champion University of Portland has been favored to successfully repeat as champions. The Pilots garnered seven-of-eight first place votes while receiving 49 points. Santa Clara University received the other first place vote and 41.5 points as the Broncos were selected to finish second.
