At the top of the Mountain West Conference standings, BYU's women's soccer team takes its perfect 2-0 conference record on the road this weekend. The Cougars meet UNLV on Thursday night and San Diego State on Saturday afternoon.
Cougars In This Week's Polls
• In Soccer America Poll - ranked 14th
• Ranked 20th by the NSCAA
BYU Returning Starters To Watch
• 20 Maren Hendershot - F, Sr (8G, 8A, 24PTS, 50SH)
• 15 Kim Lowe - MF, Jr (7G, 4A, 18PTS, 31SH)
• 4 Natalyn Lewis - MF, Jr (4G, 4A, 12PTS, 30SH)
• 11 Sarah Higham - MF, So (6G, 7A,19PTS, 30SH )
• 14 Karen Wunderli- MF, Sr (2G, 5A,9PTS, 27SH )
BYU Newcomers To Watch
• 5 Rachelle Dixon - 5-6 MF/F, Fr (Bountiful, UT/Bountiful)
• 18 Jeni Willardson - 5-9 MF/F, Fr (4G, 2A, 10PTS, 24SH)
Cougar Season Highs To Date
• Most goals in a game (team) - eight against Northwestern on 9/4
• Most shots in game (team) - 40 vs University of New Mexico on 10/8
• Most corner kicks in a game (team) - eight vs Wisconsin-Milwaukee 9/9
Cougar '99 Quickie Stats After 15 Games
• Averaging 23.8 shots on goal per game
• Averaging 3.1 goals per game
• Average 2.8 assists per game
BYU vs UNLV Notes
UNLV will be making its second straight trip to Provo. The Rebels return nine starters from last year's 8-10-1 team. This season UNLV has compiled a 6-7, 1-1 record to date.
Series Against UNLV
The series: 1-0 in favor of the Cougars. In last year's meeting, BYU defeated UNLV 5-0 in Provo.
BYU vs San Diego State Notes
The Aztecs are 2-0 in conference play and 9-4 overall. SDSU has conference wins over Air Force and Wyoming on the road. Senior forward Lori LaCousiere leads the Aztecs in scoring with seven goals and eight assists for her 22 points off of 30 shots. Kate Qually, a sophomore midfielder has 12 points from four goals and four assists. SDSU is getting 15.6 shots on goal and 2.5 goals per game.
Series Against San Diego State
The series record: 2-4 in favor of the Aztecs. Last years these two teams met twice, once in the regular season with SDSU picking up the 1-0 victory in Provo. Then at the WAC Championships held in Provo, the Aztecs won the title by beating the Cougars 2-1 in overtime. Both teams went on to represent the conference in the NCAA Championships, both advancing to the "Sweet Sixteen."
Coach Jennifer Rockwood Quotes
(On the Cougars) We came off two big wins this weekend to start MWC action. We're glad to have Maren back in the lineup. This week we've had some good down time to give the girls an opportunity to rest and heal. So they are now ready to play this weekend
(On opponents) Both of our upcoming games will be tough. UNLV has a good team with lots of speed and experience at the Division I level and they have most of their starters back. We'll have to be at our best. We've never beaten San Diego State on the road and this is something we've like to overcome this weekend. We'll have to play at our best level in order to pick up both road wins.
The Cougars Travel Schedule This Week
BYU heads to Las Vegas on Wednesday, October 13 at 5:45 p.m., arriving in Las Vegas at 6:08 p.m. The team will be staying at the Embassy Suites 702-795-2800. On Friday its off to San Diego with an 11:15 a.m., arrival time. BYU will be at the Hilton at 619-543-9000. The Team returns to Provo on Saturday, October 16 at 9:30 p.m.
BYU Media Information
At home, the Cougars practice daily from 2 to 5 p.m. Player and/or coach Rockwood interviews may be done in advance by contacting Norma Collett at 801-378-4908 or via e-mail at norma_collett@byu.edu There are no player interviews 24 hours prior to games.
Up Next For The Cougars
BYU concludes its Mountain West Conference play at home with games against Wyoming and Air Force on October 21 and 23.