A 20-minute game delay due to lightning and then playing with a continuos downpour opened the Cougars' 2000 women's soccer season. Despite all that, BYU picked up its first win of the season at home, a 7-1 victory over Weber State. With their first win at home, the 20th ranked Cougar team takes its first of five road trips to play Washington and Montana.
Cougars Are Picked To Repeat as MWC Champions
BYU was selected as the favorite to capture its second straight conference title in a vote by the league's coaches.
Preseason Women's Soccer Coaches' Poll
Place Team (1st place votes) Points
1. BYU (5) 35
2. Utah (1) 31
3. San Diego State (1) 27
4. Air Force 21
5. New Mexico 14
6. UNLV 13
7. Wyoming 6
BYU In Pre-Season Polls
• 20th in NSCAA/Adidas Women's NCAA Div. I Rankings
• 19th in Soccer America Poll
• 16th in Soccer Buzz Poll
Cougars 1999 Season Summary
• Record: 21-4
• Won first ever MWC soccer championship by defeating San Diego State 2-1 in overtime in San Diego
• Advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament
• Players Get post- season honors:
Staci Reynolds - NSCAA/Adidas Second Team All-America; NSCAA/Adidas West All-Region First Team
Sara Reading - All-Region Selection
• Finished ranked 20th in the NSCAA/Adidas Women's NCAA Div. I Rankings
BYU Returning Starters To Watch - 1999 Stats
• 12 Sara Reading - F/MF, Sr (17G, 5A,39 PTS, 102SH)
• 15 Kim Lowe - MF, Sr (12G, 9A, 33PTS, 58SH)
• 4 Natalyn Lewis - MF, Sr (4G, 5A, 13PTS, 51SH)
• 11 Sarah Higham - MF, Jr (8G, 9 A, 25PTS, 48SH )
• 21 Staci Reynolds - D, Sr (1G,6A, 8PTS, 20SH )
BYU Newcomers To Watch
• 17 Aleisha Cramer - 5-10 MF, Fr (Lakewood, CO/Green Mountain H.S.)
• 22 Meagan Dickerson - 5-6 F, Fr (Midlothian, VA/Midlothian)
• 14 Annie Hoecherl - 5-10 D, Fr (West Valley City, UT/Skyline)
Cougar '99 Final Quickie Stats
• Averaging 24.3 shots on goal per game
• Averaging 3.0 goals per game
• Average 2.8 assists per game
BYU vs Washington Notes
Washington is 1-0 on the season after an 8-0 shutout over instate rival Eastern Washington. Tami Bennett leads the Huskies in scoring after picking up three goals and one assist in their first game. Theresa Wagner follows Bennett with her four assists and one goal. In their first game, Washington had 37 shots on goal to two for the opponent.
Series Against Washington
Record: 1-0 in favor of the Cougars. In last year's game at South Field, BYU defeated Washington 3-0 in the first meeting between the two schools.
BYU vs Montana Notes
The Grizzlies are 2-0 in 2000 after home victories against Gonzaga (2-0) and Utah (2-1). Montana returns eight starters from last year's 12-6-1 team. This season the Grizzlies are led by junior forward Heather Olson who's tallied five points from two goals and one assist in the two games to date. She's followed by senior midfielder Jodi Campbell who has one goal and one assist for there three points. Montana is currently averaging 15 shots on goal and 2.0 goals a game.
Series Against Montana
Record: 3-2 favoring BYU. Last year, the two teams met in Missoula with the Cougars getting the 3-2 victory. Natalyn Lewis and Kim Lowe scored for BYU, both are back for their final season on the Cougar team.
Coach Jennifer Rockwood Quotes
(On the Cougars) We were very pleased with our team's performance in our first game of the season. It's always good when you have five different people scoring for us. I think this first game gave a lot of our new players some great confidence to begin the season.
(On Washington) The Huskies are a very solid program. This game will be a good test to see where we're at this early in the season. Obviously they're
happy to be playing at home and will come in with lots of confidence and will want a chance to take us on, on their home field.
(On Montana) We always have good games with Montana and it's a tough physical battle for both of us. We have played them every year and we have created a real good rivalry with them. They're in a good position right now coming off an overtime victory over Utah. Last year we went into their homefield and won, so they'll be ready to play us.
The Rockwood File
Jennifer Rockwood begins her sixth season at the helm of BYU's women's soccer program. In the five year history of the Division I program, she has guided her team to two conference championships and three straight appearances in the NCAA Championships beginning with the 1997 season. The Cougars highest finish in the NCAA tourney came in 1998 when BYU finished in the "Sweet Sixteen." Her many honors include being named Coach of the Year by the Western Athletic Conference and by Soccer Buzz in 1996.
Prior to becoming the head coach, Rockwood led BYU's highly successful club soccer team, for seven years and compiled a 128-25-9 record. In her final two years, she took her teams to first place in the Western National Collegiate Club Soccer Association (NCCSA) championships and to second place in the NCCSA national championships.
A native of Lake Oswego, Oregon, Rockwood was a three-sport athlete and was awarded all-league and all-state honors in soccer, basketball, and track. During her high school and collegiate years, she competed in the Olympic Development Program in both Oregon and Utah. Rockwood attended Ricks College on an academic and basketball scholarship for one year and then transferred to BYU, graduating in 1989 with a business administration degree. While at BYU, she played on the soccer club team as a four-year starter at center midfield.
Rockwood coached in the Utah Olympic Development Program and has coached at the youth club and high school levels. She is also currently the director of BYU summer soccer camps which recently put through over 1,400 participants.
Rockwood's Record (11 Years at BYU)
Club team/years: 128-25-9/7
Division I/years: 94-22-1/6
1995 Record: 11-8-1
1996 Record: 22-1-0
1997 Record: 19-4-0
1998 Record: 20-5-0
1999 Record: 21-4-0
2000 Record: 1-0-0
Cougars Travel Plans In Washington and Montana
The BYU team arrives in Seattle on Monday night, August 28 and will be staying at the Downtown Marriott Courtyard, 206-213-0100. In Missoula, the Cougar team will be staying at the Holiday Inn, 406-721-8550. BYU will return to Provo on Thursday, August 31 a 9:35 p.m.
While on the road, the team's scheduled practices are at 9:30 a.m., on game day.
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 is back on South Field on Labor Day, Monday, September 4 in a 1 p.m., game against Washington State. Creighton University makes its first appearance in Provo, Thursday, September 7 for a 7 p.m., kick off.