Zags Open WCC Season Against Defending Champion Pilots
10/8/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Oct. 8, 2010
Complete Release in PDF Format 
Gonzaga Bulldogs (5-7-1, 0-0-0 WCC)
vs.
No. 2/4 Portland Pilots (12-1-0, 0-0-0 WCC) - Gonzaga Soccer Field, Spokane, Wash. - Sunday, Oct. 10, 1 p.m. PDT
THIS WEEK: With the non-conference slate complete, the Gonzaga University women's soccer team open its West Coast Conference season against three-time defending champion University of Portland at Gonzaga Soccer Field at 1 p.m. Sunday. The Pilots are ranked No. 2 in the NSCAA-Hendrickcars.com and No. 4 in the Soccer America rankings. In addition, the Pilots are the third opponent ranked by NSCAA-Hendrickcars.com and Soccer America the Zags will face this season, having played the No. 6/9-ranked Florida State University and then-No. 22/22 University of Southern California.
ZAGS THINKING PINK: Gonzaga University will be hosting Breast Cancer Awareness Day and YMCA Day Sunday against the University of Portland. The Bulldogs will wear pink jerseys to commemorate the victims of cancer and their families. Tickets are $2 for fans who wear pink to the match or are members of the YMCA.
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 have a busy weekend as the men's and women's teams will be at home for doubleheader action Friday and Saturday. The women's team starts the weekend against Pepperdine University at 12:30 p.m. Friday followed by the men's team taking on the University of San Francisco at 3 p.m. The women's team conclude its four-match homestand against Loyola Marymount University Sunday at 11:30 a.m. and the men's team takes on Saint Mary's College at 2 p.m.
ABOUT THE BULLDOGS: Gonzaga University split its last two contests last weekend. Although redshirt goalkeeper Lauren Ames matched her career-high for saves with 12, the Bulldogs were blanked 4-0 at Washington State University Friday. Two days later, sophomore forward Emily Hutchins and freshman forward Cassie Geerdts completed a come-from-behind 2-1 overtime win over Eastern Washington University. Ames left the match following an Eastern Washington goal at 2:09 due to an injury after diving to make the save near the right post. She passed the goalkeeper duty to freshman Kailey Kiefus, who made three saves in her collegiate debut.
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 60-44-37. 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 18 assists recorded this season, Gonzaga University sits second in the West Coast Conference. Senior midfielder Sheridan Jones and freshman forward Cassie Geerdts both lead the Bulldogs in that category with three while four others have both recorded two. Four others also have notched one.
ABOUT THE UNIVERSITY OF PORTLAND: For the second consecutive year, the University of Portland will take on Gonzaga University as the second-ranked team. The Pilots became NSCAA-Hendrickcars.com's new second-ranked team this week after No. 4 Boston College lost to the University of Virginia in overtime last Sunday. The Pilots have been ranked in the top five all season and have won all but one of 13 matches this season. The Pilots fell 2-1 at then-No. 2 and current No. 1 Stanford University. In last season's NCAA Tournament, the Pilots season came to an end in the quarterfinals, falling to UCLA 2-1.
DÉJÀ VU ALL OVER AGAIN: For the second consecutive week, freshman forward Cassie Geerdts and sophomore defender Morgan Manchester worked together to score the match-winning goal. Last Sunday Geerdts scored off a throw-in directly to Eastern Washington University's penalty area by Manchester to help Gonzaga University defeat the Eagles 2-1 in overtime. The week before Geerdts scored her first collegiate goal against Portland State University on a similar setup by Manchester to defeat the Vikings 1-0.
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.
