Conference play continues as BYU (5-8-4 and 1-0-2 in MWC) faces Wyoming (7-5-4 and 1-2-0 in MWC) Thursday at 3 p.m. in Laramie. The Cougars play New Mexico (5-8-0 and 1-2-0 in MWC) Saturday, Oct. 23 at 11 a.m. in Albuquerque for the fourth of a five game road trip to end the regular season. Live stats will be available for Saturday's game against New Mexico by going to the main page on www.golobos.com. Look for GAMETRACKER under upcoming events.
Both Wyoming and New Mexico are coming off losses to UNLV and San Diego State. BYU defeated UNLV 1-0 Oct. 9 and tied SDSU 0-0 Oct. 7 after double overtime.
BYU seeks to regain the MWC Championship that it has won four of the last five years. In this year's MWC preseason coaches' poll, BYU was picked to finish second to Utah. A strong finish on the road against three conference teams could help the Cougars gain momentum and confidence before they return home to host the MWC Tournament in early November.
The Cougars are led offensively by junior forward Jaime Rendich with seven goals and 16 points on the season. Rendich has scored in two straight games and is complimented by sophomore forward Annie Zwahlen with four goals and 10 points. Another offensive threat on the squad is sophomore Bobbi Tillotson, with one goal and a team-leading sixassists.
Defensively, BYU is anchored by its freshman goalkeeper Erika Woodbury, who has posted a 1.06 goals-against average, and sophomore defender Claire Thomas. The duo have been major contributors in six shutouts this season. Defensively, the Cougars have improved steadily throughout the season. Claire Thomas, Nicole Anderson, Lindsy Humphrey and Rachelle Dixon have played solid minutes and established a reliable defensive front. The Cougars have been slightly outscored by a slim 21-19 margin, despite gaining a 226-162 advantage in shot attempts.
WEEK IN REVIEW:
BYU Falls Short to Texas in OT 3-2
The first meeting between the two teams was a thriller Thursday, as BYU fought from behind to score two second-half goals, but fell in overtime 3-2 at Myers Stadium. The game will be tape-delayed broadcast by CSTV on Oct. 21 at 6 p.m. MST.
Texas scored on a shot that hit off the crossbar and into the goal by Kelly McDonald. The lead was extended 2-0 by Texas with less than five minutes remaining before half, on a shot by Ashley Foster, . The Cougars were outshot by the Longhorns 9-5 going into halftime.
Rallying in the second half, BYU gained some momentum with a goal by sophomore defender Claire Thomas, her second of the season, off a corner kick by sophomore Bobbi Tillotson, her fifth assist on the season. The score was tied 2-2 less than three minutes before the end of regulation, on a shot by junior Jaime Rendich from 40 yards out, assisted by Tillotson. Rendich and Tillotson lead the team with six goals and six assists, respectively. The Cougars outshot the Longhorns 11-7 in the second half and held on to take the game to overtime.
Just four minutes into overtime, Texas won the game on a goal by Amy Burlingham off a scramble in the box. The loss snapped BYU's streak of three consecutive shutouts. BYU goalie Erika Woodbury finished with four saves off 19 Longhorn shots.
Another 2OT Tie for BYU and Air Force
For the sixth time this season, 90 minutes just weren't enough to decide the outcome of a BYU women's soccer game. After double overtime, BYU and Air Force ended the game Saturday at Cadet Stadium tied 1-1.
Jaime Rendich recorded her seventh goal of the season in the 81st minute on a shot in traffic from five yards out. Junior Davia King made her first assist of the season. Less than two minutes later, Air Force came right back and tied the game 1-1 on a shot by Brittney Perkowski. Both defenses played strong in the closing minutes, pushing the game into overtime.
After multiple scoring opportunities for both teams during the overtime periods, the score remain tied 1-1. The Cougar defense played solid throughout the night anchored by freshman keeper Erika Woodbury, who finished with three saves. BYU outshot Air Force 22-5 in the game.
SCOUTING THE WYOMING COWGIRLS:
Wyoming finishes the regular season with three MWC games at home against Utah, BYU and New Mexico. The Cowgirls post a 3-1-2 record at home this season. Junior Mercy Adetoye's five assists this season tie her for the most in a single season in UW history. Senior Mari Gomes leads the team in goals with seven, followed by Mercy Adetoye with five. This season, the Cowgirls are outshooting their opponent's 281-209. Both BYU and Wyoming have played in six overtime games this season, the most for both schools in a single season. Wyoming is unbeaten in overtime this season with a record of 2-0-4, while BYU's record in overtime is 1-1-4.
The Cowgirl defense has recorded six shutouts this season, four from freshman Ashley Sheppard and two from sophomore Lauren Hawthorne. Sheppard has 76 saves in 13 games for a 1.20 goals-against-average. Hawthorne has played in four games and tallied 16 saves for a .25 goals-against-average.
Coming into the game with BYU, Wyoming has lost two straight games at San Diego State and UNLV.
HISTORY AGAINST WYOMING: Wyoming has never defeated BYU in nine contests beginning in 1995. Last season, BYU beat Wyoming 5-1 in Provo.
SCOUTING THE NEW MEXICO LOBOS:
The University of New Mexico women's soccer team plays its last two home games a this week as it hosts Mountain West Conference foes Utah on Thursday and BYU on Saturday at 11 a.m. The Lobos post a 3-1-0 record at UNM Soccer Complex this year.
The team is led in scoring by two freshman: Katelyn Ley and Jordan Johnson, each with three goals. Sophomore Kristine Sweat leads the team in assist with four. New Mexico has been slightly outshot by its opponents this season 143-142 with 16 goals over 13 games.
Defensively, the Lobos are anchored in goal by junior Kristen Winters tallying 40 saves in 13 games for a 1.41 goals-against-average.
HISTORY AGAINST NEW MEXICO: BYU leads the series against New Mexico with a 9-2-1 record dating back to 1995. The Cougars have defeated the Lobos four consecutive times. Last year, BYU won the game 3-2 in Salt Lake City.
BYU'S YOUNG GUNS
A number of freshman, one transfer and one walk-on have played big minutes for the Cougars, stepping in their first season and contributing to a team that lost seven starters. Freshmen Carolyn Swenson has scored two goals and Natalie Nate has scored once. Junior Nicole Anderson transferred from Dixie and has played key minutes on defense. Junior defender. At the anchor of the defense is freshman Erick Woodbury, who posts goals-against average of 1.06 with six shutouts. BYU added 10 freshman to this year's team.
Cougars to host Mwc championships
BYU will play host to the 2004 Mountain West Conference Championships Wednesday Nov. 3- 6 at South Stadium in Provo. The following is a breakdown of the three-day tournament. The winner of the Championship receives an automatic bid into the 2004 NCAA Women's College Cup Championships which begin Thursday Nov. 11.
Opening round: Wednesday, Nov. 3
Semifinals: Thursday, Nov. 4
Finals: Saturday, Nov. 6
Times for these games will be provided at a later date.
Reinbold, Woodbury - mwc players of the week
Senior forward Krissa Reinbold and freshman goalkeeper Erika Woodbury of BYU were named Mountain West Conference Players of the Week Oct. 12 for women's soccer. Reinbold, who earned offensive player recognition, received her first career award, while Woodbury and San Diego State's goalkeeper Sophia Perez share defensive player honors. It was Woodbury's second weekly award this season.
Reinbold, from Folsom, Calif., posted the game-winning goal during Senior Night in Provo, Oct. 9, in BYU's 1-0 victory over UNLV. Reinbold scored the game's only goal late in the second half to help the Cougars defeat a UNLV team currently ranked No. 10 in the West Region.
Woodbury has posted three consecutive shutouts, including two last week to open conference play. The freshman from Murrieta, Calif., helped the Cougars earn a 0-0 tie against San Diego State, Oct. 7, and the aforementioned 1-0 victory against UNLV, Oct. 9. She now has six shutouts on the season and a 0.95 goals-against-average. Woodbury made seven saves in the two contests combined.
Bobbi's world
Sophomore Bobbi Tillotson leads the team with six assists and is third on the team with eight total points. Tillotsons' most impressive outing was in BYU's overtime win against Northwestern when she had a hand in all three goals scored. Tillotson scored the first goal of the game and assisted on two other goals to Jaime Rendich an Annie Zwahlen.
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 86-18-4 record at home, a record that is among the best in the nation over the same time period. Of those 84 home-game wins, an outstanding 46 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 3,000 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.
As of the beginning of 2004, Rockwood 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
YearW LTConference
199511 81WAC
199622 10WAC
199719 40WAC
199820 50WAC
199921 40MWC
200019 41MWC
200114 71MWC
200216 60MWC
200316 732nd
2004(5)(8)(4)-------
Total158466(.767)
BYU club team under Rockwood:
128-25-9 (.790), six years (1989-1994)
ROCKWOOD AMONG COACHING ELITE
As of the beginning of 2004, Rockwood 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 expect 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 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 play a total of 20 games, 10 at home and 10 on the road.
The team featured home games against two NCAA tournament participants. BYU opened 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
In the past home field advantage has paid great dividends for the Cougars as the team has amassed an impressive 86-18-4 record at home. In the those games BYU has managed to shut out its opponent 46 times, while being shutout themselves in only four games.
Cougars Picked Second in mwc preseason
The Mountain West Conference coaches selected BYU to finish second behind Utah for the second year in a row in the preseason polls.
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 (four 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 Mexico11
7. Air Force 9
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
Travel itinerary
Wed, Oct 20
Depart Salt Lake 11:50 am Frontier Flight #827
Arrive Denver 12:25 pm
Hotel: Comfort Inn (Oct 20-21)
3420 E Grand Ave
Laramie, WY 82070
307-721-8856
Fax: 307-721-5166
Thurs, Oct 21
3:00 pm Game Wyoming
Fri, Oct 22
8:30 am Depart Denver Frontier Flight # 43339:40 am Arrive Albuquerque
Hotel:Wyndham (Oct 22-23)
2910 Yale Blvd SE
Albuquerque, NM 87106
505-843-7000
Fax: 505-247-7017
Sat, Oct 23
11:00 am Game UNM
Sun, Oct 24
10:10 am Depart Albuquerque 3:55 pm Arrive Salt Lake
PRACTICE AND INTERVIEWS
Practice is held weekdays from 1-3 p.m., on Haws Field. Interviews with Coach Rockwood and/or members of the Cougar soccer team are scheduled through the BYU Athletic Communications office. To schedule and interview, please contact Bryce Porter at (801) 422-8999 or by email at soccer_sid@byu.edu.