With its fourth game in nine days, the BYU women's soccer team continues with the fourth game in its five-game homestand, playing host to the Utah State Aggies Tuesday at 7 pm. and finishing with the Gonzaga Bulldogs Friday at 7 pm. at South Stadium.
The Cougars are led offensively by sophomore forward Annie Zwahlen with a team
best two goals and one assist for five points. BYU's other offensive threats are junior midfielder Jamie Rendich, who is tied with Zwahlen with two goals on the season, and Bobbi Tillotson, who has scored one goal and three assists.. BYU's defense is led by their freshman goalkeeper Erika Woodbury who has posted a 1.89 goals against average.
WEEK IN REVIEW: On Saturday, BYU started off the game with a one goal lead
against No. 11 Arizona State, but couldn't hold on, falling 3-2 During a rain-filled first half, BYU junior Jamie Rendich scored the first goal nine minutes into the game. The goal was Rendich's second of the season. ASU's forward Katie Leahy tied the score and Elizabeth Bogus put the Sun Devils up in the 33rd minute, and sent her team into halftime with a 2-1 lead. The rain ceased in the second half and freshman Natalie Nate scored her first collegiate goal on a long shot just over the fingertips of ASU goalkeeper Kelly Fitzgerald. But just 54 seconds later, ASU answered with its third goal of the game, once again by Katie Leahy.
At South Stadium, the Cougars have a 83-16-2 record.
SCOUTING THE AGGIES:
Utah State soccer (1-3-0) looks to snap a two-match losing streak as it takes on BYU. With Charlsie Harris recording two goals last week, Utah State now has three players on its roster who have double-figure career points: Chanel Blaquiere (13); Charlsie Harris (12);and Nicole (Feuz) Gooch (10). Leading the Aggies offensively are Charlsie Harris with two goals and Charity Weston and Tiffany Jones with one goal a piece. Keeper Megan Mills has played the majority of the minutes in the goal with just 1.08 goals-allowed average per game.
BYU VS. UTAH STATE: Utah State and Brigham Young will meet for just the second
time on Tuesday, with BYU owning the 1-0 series advantage. The two teams last met in 1996, where the Cougars downed the Aggies, 6-0.
SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS:
Gonzaga University has posted back-to-back wins over Utah State and Boise State this past week. The Bulldogs are undefeated this season when they have scored
two goals. In fact all of GU's wins have come by the same score, 2-1. Gonzaga University is off to the best start in program history at 3-1-0. Leading the Bulldogs offensively is Sarah Hawkins with four goals, followed by four others with one goal each. Goalkeeper Ashley Haugen leads the team with 17 saves, while the Gonzaga defense has allowed an average of one goal per game.
BYU VS. GONZAGA: Gonzaga has never defeated Brigham Young University in two
previous tries, the last meeting in Washington Sept. 23, 2003 with BYU defeating the Bulldogs 4-0.
COUGARS PICKED SECOND IN MWC PRESEASON
The Mountain West Conference announced its 2004 preseason poll with the
league's coaches selecting BYU to finish second behind Utah for the second year in a row. Three vote separated the Cougars and the Utes in the voting, with BYU totaling 32 points and two first place votes, while Utah grabbed 35 points with five first place votes.
The Cougars return 16 letterwinners (seven starters) from the team that advanced all the way to the Elite Eight for the first time in school history. BYU, (16-7-3 overall, 4-2-0 in MWC play) finished the year with a No. 14 ranking and a fifth-place finish in the
NCAA tournament.
Team (1st place votes) Points
1. Utah (5) 35
2. BYU (2) 32
3. San Diego State 25
4. UNLV 21
5. Wyoming 14
6. New Mexico 11
7. Air Force 9
COUGAR AWARDS IN 2003
National
HERMAN TROPHY NOMINEE: Aleisha Rose
NSCAA ALL-AMERCAN: Aleisha Rose, 3rd Team
NSCAA SCHOLAR ALL-AMERICAN: Aleisha Rose, 1st Team
NSCAA ALL-REGION: Aleisha Rose, 1st Team; Nicole Jensen, 3rd Team; Krissa
Campbell, 3rd Team
SOCCER BUZZ PLAYER OF THE YEAR FINALIST: Aleisha Rose
SOCCER BUZZ ALL-AMERICAN: Aleisha Rose, 2nd Team; Nicole Jensen, Freshman
3rd Team
SOCCER BUZZ ALL-REGION: Aleisha Rose, 1st Team; Nicole Jensen, 3rd Team
SOCCER POST ALL-AMERICAN: Aleisha Rose, 1st Team
SOCCER AMERICA MVP: Aleisha Rose
Conference
MWC DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Aleisha Rose
MWC FIRST TEAM: Aleisha Rose, Jennifer Fielding, Krissa Campbell
MWC SECOND TEAM: Terra Bigelow, Claire Thomas, Nicole Jensen
MWC TOURNAMENT TEAM: Aleisha Rose, Lydia Ojuka and Krissa Campbell
MWC ACADEMIC ALL-CONFERENCE: Aleisha Rose, Britney Holman, Terra Bigelow,
Jennifer Fielding, Ashley Smith, Natalie Evans, Katie Gabbart, Claire Thomas, Charlene Lui
MWC ACADEMIC ALL-CONFERENCE: Brooke Bowman, Aleisha Cramer-Rose,
Jennifer Fielding-Henry, Katherine Gabbart, Britney Holman, Charlene Lui, Terra
Smith-Bigelow, Jeni Viernes
LAST SEASON: 2003 NCAA ELITE EIGHT
The BYU women's soccer team's NCAA tournament run came to an end at the paws of
the No. 18 Connecticut Huskies who defeated the Cougars 3-1 in the Elite Eight.
"We came together and made a good run in the tournament," said Rockwood, "The team played hard today and I am very proud of them."
The Cougars ended the 2003 season with a 16-7-3 mark and earned the
program's seventh-consecutive NCAA tournament appearance, the school's best showing in the NCAA tournament as one of the team's in the Elite Eight and the Mountain West Conference Defensive Player of the Year in senior All-American Aleisha Rose.
The game was played in 40-degree weather with winds around 40 mph, on a field that was soggy and muddy from rainstorms the day before.
In the first period the Huskies jumped out to a 3-0 lead, the Cougars ended the UConn bid for a shutout in the second period but it wasn't enough as the Huskies held on to win 3-1.
Coming out of half time the Cougars battle to get back into the game and in the 63rd minute they got on the scoreboard as Rose's free kick from 20 yards out connected with the head of sophomore Jaime Rendich to bring the Cougars within two at 3-1.
For BYU, the 2003 season will go down as one of the most successful in the program's short nine-year history as the Cougars finish the as one of the top eight teams in the country.
"We had a tremendous season," said BYU head coach Jennifer Rockwood. "These girls have represented themselves and the school very well."
SOUTH STADIUM
South Stadium is the place the Cougars love to call home, and a home all opponents hate to visit.
For the past nine years, South Stadium Field (formerly South Field), has been the battlefield for the Cougars as the team has taken on, and defeated, the top teams in their conference and in the NCAA.The Cougars have amassed an 83-16-2 (.846) record at home, a record that is among the best in the nation over the same time period. Of those 82 home-game wins, an outstanding 44 have ended in a shutout.
BYU consistently manages to hold its opponents scoreless when playing at South Stadium with 53.65 percent of all the Cougars' wins ending in shutout victories, while BYU has been shutout only five times in the stadium's history.
Located just south of the Smith Fieldhouse, South Stadium boasts one of the best maintained grass playing surfaces in the NCAA. The Wasatch Mountains serve as a scenic backdrop for the capacity crowd of 2,000 fans. South Stadium is also equipped with state-of-the-art field lights, making night games a favorite among fans.
Consistently among the top 15 in the NCAA, South Stadium packs in some of the largest crowds in the country. With an average attendance of 1,595 fans during the 2003 campaign, the Cougars had the third largest attendance average in the country and the number one average in the west. BYU also packed in a total of 20,737 fans over 13 games,recording the third highest mark in the country and making South Stadium one of the toughest places for opponents to play in women's college soccer today.
THE ROCKWOOD FILE
After completing her ninth season, head coach Jennifer Rockwood has taken the BYU women's soccer team to national prominence and established herself as one of the premier coaches in Division I soccer today.
Rockwood currently ranks eighth in winning percentage among active NCAA coaches with an impressive 158-46-6 overall record for her career. Over the last eight seasons, Rockwood has averaged 17.88 wins per year.
Over the past nine years, Rockwood has guided the Cougars to five conference championships. On the national scene, her teams have made seven consecutive appearances in the NCAA Tournament, and reached the "Sweet Sixteen" in 1998, 2000 and 2003. The Cougars have maintained a consistent top-25 ranking over the past eight consecutive years. During Rockwood's tenure, the team has had three top-10 finishes including a recent run in the 2003 NCAA College Cup. The tournament ended with BYU finishing No. 5 in the country after making their first "Elite Eight" appearance in the program's ten year history.
Among the many achievements and awards she has received over
her career, Rockwood has been honored with two Coach of the Year citations, one by the Western Athletic Conference in 1996, and then by the MWC in 2000. She also became the first MWC coach to eclipse the 100-win total mark when the Cougars shutout Milwaukee-Wisconsin 2-0 on Sept. 23, 2000.
Under Rockwood's tutelage, a long list of All-American soccer players
has emerged from BYU's program. These athletes include Aleisha Rose, Jeni Viernes, Michelle Jensen. Among the players who have been coached by Rockwood are four additional All-American athletes that were drafted by the women's United Soccer Association: Shauna Rohbock, Maren Hendershot, Sara Reading, and Staci Reynolds.
Prior to becoming the head coach, Rockwood led BYU's highly successful
club soccer team for seven years. In that time she amassed an overall record of 128-25-9, and the final two years she took her teams to the Western National Collegiate Club soccer Association (NCCSA)title and placed second in the NCCSA National Championships.
The Lake Oswego, Ore. native was a four-sport athlete in high school
playing soccer, softball, basketball and track. After one year at Rick's
College on a basketball scholarship, she transferred to BYU where she
became a four-year starter at center midfield on the Cougars' club soccer
team and graduated in finance, business management. Rockwood has also coached in the Utah ODP, youth club programs, and at the high school level.
ROCKWOOD, YEAR-BY-YEAR
Year W L T Conference
1995 11 8 1 WAC
1996 22 1 0 WAC
1997 19 4 0 WAC
1998 20 5 0 WAC
1999 21 4 0 MWC
2000 19 4 1 MWC
2001 14 7 1 MWC
2002 16 6 0 MWC
2003 16 7 3 2nd
Total 158 46 6 (.767)
BYU club team under Rockwood:
128-25-9 (.790), six years (1989-1994)
ROCKWOOD AMONG COACHING ELITE
Rockwood currently ranks seventh in winning percentage among active NCAA Division I coaches with an impressive 158-46-6 (.767)overall record for her career. Anson Dorrance, John Walker, Chris Petrucelli, Becky Burleigh, Jerry Smith and Len Tsantiris are the only coaches ahead of her. Over the last eight seasons, Rockwood has averaged 18.35 wins per year, an average that has her ranked second behind only Anson Dorrance of North Carolina.
FRESH FACES
This season's incoming class of Cougar freshman is expected to make strong contributions to the team,with eight of the eleven recruits hailing from Utah.
Many of the young and talented players have an opportunity to play quality minutes in hopes of making an immediate impact on the team. Midfielder Natalie Nate and Goalkeeper Erika Woodbury, along with the other newcomers look to prove their worth and compete for playing time.
Nate was a first-team 2002 All-State selection out of Salt Lake City, and
Woodbury was a first-team All-CIF and All-Valley Player of the Year
out of Murrieta, CA.
Among the Utah athletes headed to BYU is the 5A MVP in 2002 Elizabeth Affleck out of Alta High School and the 2003 NCSAA and Adidas National Junior College Player of the Year Nicole Anderson.
"We have a great recruiting class coming in as freshman. We think that
some of these confidant and capable freshman can step up for us and
play some valuable minutes. As soon as some of our young players get
some quality game experience against some very tough opponents in
September, it will really help prepare us for the conference season."
HOME SWEET HOME
With seven NCAA Tournament participants and four top-25 teams,
this year's schedule promises to be one of the most competitive seasons
for the Cougar team that finished No. 14 in the NSCAA final rankings last year.
The Cougar women will play a total of 20 games, 10 at home and 10 on the road. At home, the Cougars hope to get on a roll early playing eight of their first 11 games in the friendly confines of South Stadium.
The team will feature home games against two NCAA tournament
participants, opening the season against Kansas and later against Arizona State. Average attendance for last season was third highest in the nation with nearly 1,600 people cheering on the team.
This year's MWC Championships will be played at South Stadium in Provo Nov. 3-6. BYU looks to regain the MWC Championship that they have won four of the last six conference titles.
In the past home field advantage has paid great dividends for the Cougars as the team has amassed an impressive 82-14-2 record at home. In the those games BYU has managed to shut out its opponent 44 times, while losing only four games in a shutout.
COUGARS FIND SUCCESS/ENJOYMENT IN VISIT TO ITALY
The BYU women's soccer team traveled to Italy this spring for games against four of the top teams in that country.
Stops were made in Lugano, Switzerland as well as the Italian cities of
Lake Como, Milan, Venice, Tuscany, Florence, Pisa and Rome.
BYU kicked off the tour with a game against the U-21 Italian National
Champions in Milan on Wednesday, April 27, then against AC Milan
on Saturday, May 1. Then the Cougars head to Florence on Tuesday,
May 4, to face the U-19 Italian National Team and finished up in Rome
on Wednesday, May 5, against Lazio in Rome.
The team enjoyed fantastic food during the trip and took guided tours
and cruise rides including one to the Bellagio. The trip highlights
included visits to the tower of Pisa, Vatican City, the Coluseum, and
numerous museums and cathedrals, giving the girls an opportunity to
experience the rich culture in Italy.
Game 1: BYU vs. Riozzese U-21
It ended in a tie game 1-1
Game 2: BYU vs. ACF Milan
BYU was victorious 4-3
Game 3: BYU vs. Italian National Team U-19
BYU was victorious 2-0
Game 4: BYU vs. AC Decimum Lazio Femminile
BYU was victorious 3-2
TOP RETURNING PLAYER PROFILES
KRISSA REINBOLD y´ SRy´ F/MF y´ Folsom, CA - Folsom HS
JUNIOR - (2003): NSCAA/Adidas third-team All-West Region selection
... first-team All-MWC ... MWC All-Tournament Team ... Scored
both goals in the Cougars' 2-0 win over Idaho State in the second
round of the NCAA tournament ... Notched the first goal in PKs
against No. 15 Villanova in the NCAA Sweet 16 ... Put the Cougars'
up 2-0 against AFA in round one of the MWC Tournament ... Credited
with an assist on the game-winning goal against AFA in the MWC
Tournament ... Assisted on the tying score in the Cougars' 3-2 win over
New Mexico in the MWC Tournament.
SOPHOMORE - (2002): Put in loose ball with under two minutes
remaining in the game to give Cougars 2-1 win over Cal-State
Northridge...Assist in 9-2 win over SDSU in MWC tourney... Grabbed
another assist in MWC championship game vs. New Mexico.
FRESHMAN - (2001): Scored first collegiate goal at Northwestern
University on Sept. 10, 2001 giving Cougars the 1-0 victory...tallied a
total of 12 shots on the season...played in 18 of 22 games starting in six
CLAIRE THOMAS y´ SO y´ D y´ Poway, CA - Poway HS
FRESHMAN - (2003): second-team All-MWC ... Soccer America Team
of the Week 9/8 ... MWC Defensive Player of the Week 9/8 ... Youngest
Cougar starter in history at age 16 ... Youngest player in Div. I during 2003
... started in 22 of 26 games on the season.
JAIME RENDICH y´ JR y´ F/MF y´ Canyon Country, CA - Canyon HS
SOPHOMORE - (2003): Started in 24 of 26 games for the Cougars ... scored
the first two goals of the season for BYU as she lifted BYU past Colgate 2-0
... dished out 10 assists for second most on the team ... her PK shot in shootout put BYU 3-2 against Villanova in the Sweet 16 ... scored the Cougars
only goal in the Elite 8 against UConn ... made the game winner against
Weber and Gonzaga ... her assist to Terra Bigelow put BYU up 1-0 against
No. 2 Florida.
FRESHMAN - (2002): Fed game-winning assist to Jeni Viernes in 2-1 win
over No. 3 Portland... First goal of season put Cougars up 4-1 vs. SDSU...
Key assist to Kimmie Davis vs. No. 24 Utah in MWC regular-season title
game gave BYU 1-0 lead... Grabbed two more goals in 9-2 win over SDSU
in MWC tourney... Notched an assist in 5-1 win over New Mexico in MWC
tourney championship.
CHARLENE LUI y´ JR y´ D/MF y´ Honolulu, HI - Punahou HS
SOPHOMORE - (2003): Started all 26 games for the Cougars ... a key component
to the BYU defense that shutout three of four opponents in the NCAA
tournament ... sealed the win for the Cougars against AFA with an unassisted
goal in the 63rd minute.
FRESHMAN - (2002): Named to second-team All-MWC .. MWC Academic
All-Conference ... Fed Brooke Bowman on assist for the game-winning goal
against Washington State ... Knocked in goal to put BYU up 1-0 over Montana
... Second goal of season was a game winner, giving Cougars 2-1 lead over
SDSU ... Scored in the second-straight game in BYU's 2-0 win over Weber St.
NEWCOMER PLAYER PROFILES
ELIZABETH AFFLECK y´ Forward y´ Sandy, UT
A four-year varsity starter... NSCAA/Adidas All-America Team 2002 ...
2002 Deseret News Most Valuable Player...Two consecutive first-team All-
State selections (2001-2002)...Team captain in 2002...5A State champions in
1999 and 2002...5A Region Champs 1999, 2000 and 2002...Prep Athlete of
the Week in Deseret News, Salt Lake Tribune...Utah state Player of the Year
(2002)...Alta's best offensive player award 2002.
NICOLE ANDERSON y´ Midfielder, Defender y´ Salt Lake City, UT
2004 Dixie State College Scholar Ahtlete ... 2004 NJCAA Academic All-
American ... 2003 NSCAA and Adidas National Junior College Player of the
Year ... NSCAA and NJCAA 2003 first-team All-American ... NJCAA 2003
National Tournament Most Valuable Defensive Back ... 2003 Captain of
Dixie State College ... Member of 2003 NJCAA National Champions ... 2003
NJCAA first-team All-Tournament ... NSCAA and NJCAA 2002 first-team
All-American ... 2002 NJCAA first-team All-Tournament.
JESSICA AQUINO y´ Midfielder, Forward y´ Riverside, CA
San Andreas first-team All League 2001 ... San Andreas League Champs
2001 ... Sunkist League first-team All League 2002-2004 ... Sunkist League
Champs 2001-2004 ... C.I.F. Quarterfinals 2003 ... All C.I.F. 2003 ... San
Gorgonio Tournament M.V.P. 2004 ... Sunkist League M.V.P. 2004 ... Team
M.V.P.y´2003 and 2004 ... Scholar Athlete 2001-2004.
AMANDA DRAEGER y´ Midfielder y´ Huntington Beach, CA
CIF Division I Champions 2002 - Sunset League Champions 2001,02 ... firstteam
All-League 2002, second-team All-CIF 2002 ... Scholar-Athlete Award
2002 ... Academic Booster Award 2001, 02, 03 ... National Youth Character
Award 2003 ... Character Coalition Award 2002, 03 ... HS letters in Volleyball,
Basketball, and Track ... State Cup Champions 2002.
ALISON HAYMOND y´ Defender y´ Salt Lake City, UT
5A HS State Finalist 2002 ... 5A State Champions 2001 ... Team Captain ...
first-team All-State Deseret News/Salt Lake Tribune 2002 ... Region 3 MVP
... Utah Olympic Development Program Team ... ODP Region IV Pool 2001.
LAURA HEATON y´ Midfielder y´ Provo, UT
Four-year varsity player...second-team All-Region 2000...Academic All-
Region 1999-2002...Academic All-State 2002...Academic All-Region/All-
State in track 2003...Defensive Player of the Year 2000...Honorable mention
All-State 2000...first-team All-Region 2001...Member of the Regional
champions 2000-02...State finalist 2001...State semi-finalist 2002...Team
captain 2002...first-team All-State 2002...Utah Valley Defensive MVP 2002...
Timpview's All-Around Female Student Athlete 2003...Three-time State
Champion with the Celtic Storm...Storm team captain 2003...Defensive
Player of the Year 2002.
LINDSY HUMPHREY y´ Midfielder y´ Bellevue, WA
Team MVP ... first-team All-State ... first-team All-Region ... HS University of Washington Freshman and Sophomore Year (2002/2003): Freshman walkon...
Played Center Midfield...scored 2 goals in Fall season, 1 goal in Spring
season HS: Four-year varsity player ... All-Conference Honorable Mention
(1998/1999) ... first-team All Conference(2000) ... Team Captain(2001) ...
Four-year varsity badminton player.
NATALIE NATE y´ Midfielder y´ Provo UT
Team MVP ... first-team All-State ... first-team All-Region ... HS Achievement
Award ... Honor Roll student ... Utah Olympic Development Program Team
- ODP Region IV Camp - State Cup Champions 2002 ... State Cup MVP,
Team Captain.
STEPHANIE STAPLES y´ Defender y´ Sandy, UT
5A State Champions 2002 ... 5A Region Champions 2000, 2002 and 2003 ...
Alta HS Ranked No. 3 Nationally by NSCAA in 2003 ... first-feam All-State
... first-team All-Region ... Team Captain ... NSCAA Academic All-Region
... National Honors Society and High Honor Roll ... Citizenship Honors ...
State Cup Champions 2000, 2001, 2002 and 2003 ... Region IV Finalists 2002
... Team Defensive MVP ... Tournament MVP.
CAROLYN SWENSEN y´ Forward y´ Fruit Heights, UT
5A HS Track State Champion 2004 ... first-team All-State 5A in Track 2004
in 4X100 (anchor position) ... Finalist at President's Cup Nat'l Tournament
in Phoenix 2004 ... first-team All-State 5A Salt Lake Tribune Fall 2003 ...
first-team All-Region Fall 2003 ... HS soccer Region Champion 2002-2003
... Three-time Utah State Cup Soccer Champion in 2000, 2002 and 2003 ...
First Team All-State 5A in Track 2002 in the 4X400 relay ... All-Time list for
Davis HS for 200 meter ... All-Time record holder for Davis High School
in 4X100 relay ... Student Govt. ... Honor Roll 9th-12th grades ... State Cup
Champions 2002.
WHITNEY URRUTIA y´ Defender y´ Sandy, UT
5A State Champions 2002 ... 5A Region Champions 2000, 02, 03 ... Alta
HS Ranked #3 Nationally NSCAA 2003 ... 5A Player of the Year 2002 ...
first-team All-State 2001, 2002 and 2003 ... first-team All-Region ... Region
Defensive MVP 2001, 2002 and 2003 ... 86 ODP Region IV Team ... National
Camp 2002, 2003 ... Utah ODP ... State Cup Champion 2003.
ERIKA WOODBURY y´ Goalkeeper y´ Murrieta, CA
first-team All-CIF ... first-team All-League ... All-Valley Player of the Year
... Team MVP ... Team Captain ... NSCAA All-Academic Team 2002,03 ...
League Scholastic Team ... All-CIF Scholastic Team ... Honor Roll student ...
So. Cal ODP Team ... Region IV Camp ... Surf Cup MVP Award.