FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Bryce Porter, Athletic Communications
For conference tournament brackets, see PDF version
BYU GEARS UP FOR MWC TOURNEY
Brigham Young University will host the 2004 Mountain West Conference Women's Soccer Championship at South Stadium in Provo, Utah, Nov. 3-6, 2004. The winner of the conference tournament receives the conference's automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament.
BYU (7-9-4, 3-1-2) and San Diego State (6-7-5, 3-1-2) tied for second place, but BYU won the tiebreaker for the No. 2 seed on goal differential in conference matches. BYU will face No. 7 seed Air Force in the first-round of the MWC tournament Wednesday at 7 p.m.
UNLV (12-3-2 overall, 5-1-0 MWC) captured its first MWC regular-season championship with a win on the road against San Diego State 3-0 Saturday afternoon. The victory over SDSU earned UNLV the No. 1 seed and a first-round bye in this week's tournament. Utah (11-5-2, 3-2-1) claimed the fourth seed and Wyoming (9-6-4, 3-3-0) earned the fifth seed. New Mexico (5-11-0, 1-5-0) took the sixth seed and the seventh seed went to Air Force (3-12-2, 0-5-1).
The opening match Wednesday at 2 p.m. will pit No. 4 Utah vs. No. 5 Wyoming. No. 3 San Diego State will go up against No. 6 New Mexico at 4:30 p.m. UNLV enjoys a first-round bye and faces the winner of Utah vs. Wyoming on Thursday, Nov. 4 at 4:30 p.m. The other semifinal game is set for 7 p.m. on Nov. 4. The MWC Championship game is set for 11 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 6.
Tickets for the tournament can be purchased Wednesday at South Stadium. BYU All-Sport cards will not be honored. Adult tickets are $6 per game, and $15 for the entire tournament. Students/Senior citizens tickets can be purchased for $4 per game, and $8 for the entire tournament. Families (Mom, Dad, kids) can get single game tickets for $20 and youth teams (players and two coaches with a team roster or in team uniforms) can also get single session tickets for $20.
Live stats will be available for all of the MWC tournament games by going to www.themwc.com under women's soccer championships. Live stats for all BYU games can also be found by going to the 2004 schedule on www.byucougars.com/soccer_w.
BYU won the MWC title the first four years before Utah won the title last year. The Cougars best opportunity to reach the NCAA tournament for an eighth consecutive year would be to win the MWC tournament, with an automatic bid guaranteed.
In a rematch of the game played Oct. 16th, resulting in a 1-1 tie after double-overtime, BYU looks to continue with the solid play that helped the Cougars win their last two games of the season over New Mexico and Utah.
The Cougars are led offensively by junior forward Jaime Rendich with nine goals and three assists for 21 points on the season. Rendich is complimented by sophomore forward Annie Zwahlen with four goals and two assists for 10 points. Another offensive threat on the squad is sophomore Bobbi Tillotson, with one goal and a team-leading eight assists. BYU has been slightly outscored by a slim 25-24 margin, despite gaining a 276-212 advantage in shot attempts.
BYU's defense is anchored by its freshman goalkeeper Erika Woodbury, who has posted a 1.09 goals-against average with 70 saves in 19 games this season, and sophomore defender Claire Thomas. The two have been major contributors in seven shutouts this season. Defensively, the Cougars have improved steadily throughout the season with large contributions coming from Whitney Urrutia, Lindsy Humphrey, Rachelle Dixon, Nicole Anderson and Haylee Cuthbert.
Air Force will come out hungry after losing its last two games of the regular season against San Diego State and UNLV. The Falcons have not won a game since Sept. 10 with a 2-1 victory in double-overtime over Jacksonville. Since that game, Air Force has gone 0-10-2.
SCOUTING THE FALCONS: The top goal-scorers for the Falcons are junior midfielder Meredith Benson and sophomore forward Brittney Perkowski, who lead the team with three goals each. Perkowski leads the team with three assists and nine points. Defensively, freshman Jennifer Drew has started 16 matches in goal for the Falcons and has a 1.60 goals against average in 1,459 minutes. She has recorded two shutouts for a Falcon freshman record. BYU is 7-0-1 against Air Force. The Cougars won the last three games by a combined score of 11-1 before the 1-1 tie Oct. 16.
WEEK IN REVIEW:
BYU Defeats Utah 2-1 to End Regular Season
BYU will begin the Mountain West Conference tournament on a positive note after the women's soccer team defeated Utah 2-1 before an announced crowd of 1,186 Saturday at Ute Field.
Playing on a soggy field, the Cougars jumped out to an early lead in the 20th minute on a goal by freshman Carolyn Swenson, the third of her young career. The play began on a defensive stop by junior Nicole Anderson, who brought the ball up to junior Jaime Rendich. Rendich threaded the pass through three Ute defenders up to Swenson, who took a dribble and shot the ball passed Ashley Mason to the left side of the goal. Additional scoring opportunities were had by both teams but the score remained 1-0 for BYU going into halftime. Shots and corner kicks were even 6-6 and 3-3 respectively, in the first half.
Intensity grew in the second half after a goal by Utah's Hailey Marsh tied the game 1-1 on a scramble in the box. Answering just 86 seconds later, BYU took the lead 2-1 on a goal by sophomore Brooke Bowman, her first of the season. Senior Kimmie Martins controlled the ball outside the box and passed to senior Krissa Campbell, who sent the ball into an open Bowman in front of the box. Bowman trapped the ball and scored the left-footed goal passed Mason into the lower right corner.
The BYU defense held strong the remaining 13 minutes to preserve its seventh win behind the solid play of freshman Erika Woodbury and Whitney Urrutia. Urrutia got the start at sweeper as sophomre Claire Thomas moved up to stopper. Woodbury finished with four saves off 17 Ute shots.
Facing Overtime for the cougs
This season, 90 minutes just doesn't seem to be enough time for a BYU women's soccer game. BYU entered into overtime in eight seperate games, with four of the games reaching double overtime. The Cougars have been unable to gain the advantage in those games recording a 2-1-5 record in overtime. Last year's team previously held the record with five games that reached overtime.
Cougars 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.
Finals: Saturday, Nov. 6, 11 a.m.- Utah vs. SDSU
BYU record in the TourneyTournament Champions
vs. AF 2-01999 - BYU
vs. NM 2-02000 - BYU
vs. SDSU 2-02001 - BYU
vs. UNLV 1-02002 - BYU
vs. Utah 3-12003 - Utah
vs. Wyoming 1-0
LIVE IT LIVE
All MWC tournament games will have Live Stats available online.
Saturday
11 a.m. Utah vs. SDSU
Live Stats provides an opportunity for those who cannot be at South Stadium to still follow and enjoy MWC soccer.
MWC AWARDS
At the Mountain West Conference pre-championship banquet, four Cougars earned recognition from MWC coaches for their standout play during the 2004 conference season.
Taking home the top conference honor for a freshman was Erika Woodbury, who was named the MWC Freshman of the Year. Woodbury has posted a 1.09 goals-against average with 70 saves in 19 games this season.
Being recognized for their strong play on the field was junior Jaime Rendich and sophomore Claire Thomas, who were named to the first-team All-MWC after leading the Cougars to a 3-1-2 record and runner-up in the MWC regular season.
This is the first time that both Rendich and Thomas received the MWC honor. Rendich led the team with nine goals and scored the game-winning goal four times this season. Thomas has stood out defensively helping to contribute to the seven shutouts recorded by the Cougars.
Junior Charlene Lui and freshman Erika Woodbury garnered second-team All-MWC citations. It was the first honor for Woodbury and second for Lui, who was named to the second-team in 2002.
"I'm excited for some of our players to be recognized," said head coach Jennifer Rockwood. "I'm really proud of what they've been able to accomplish this season. It's an honor to their teammates as well."
BYU seeks to regain the MWC crown it lost last year to Utah, after winning the championship four consecutive years. The Cougars will battle the rest of the MWC in the conference tournament held Wednesday, Nov. 3, through Saturday, Nov. 6, at South Stadium in Provo, Utah.
stacking up in the MWC
In team statistics as of Nov. 2
OVERALL
Team statistics (all games)
CategoryNo. NameActual
Shots/game2BYU274 total/13.70 per game
Points/game4BYU71/3.55 per game
Goals/game4BYU24 total/1.20 per game
Assists/gameT-3BYU23/1.15 per game
GAA6BYU1.18
GA5BYU25/1.25 per game
Shutouts3BYU7
Saves5BYU77/3.85 per game
Corners.gameT-1BYU108/5.4 per game
Home Attendance1BYU1,253 per game
Away Attendance5BYU492 per game
INDIVIDUAL
Shots/game2Jaime Rendich61/3.05 per game
5Krissa Reinbold423/2.10 per game
PointsT-1Jaime Rendich21 total
T-9Bobbi Tillotson10 total
Points/game2Jaime Rendich1.05
Goals1Jaime Rendich9 total
T-8Annie Zwahlen4 total
T-10Carolyn Swenson3 total
Goals/game1Jaime Rendich0.45
AssistsT-1Bobbi Tillotson8/0.40 per game
Game-winning goals 1Jaime Rendich4
Saves5Erika Woodbury71/3.74 per game
Shutouts3Erika Woodbury7 total
GAA6Erika Woodbury1.09
CONFERENCE
Team Statistics
CategoryNo. NameActual
Shots/game1BYU95 total/15.83 per game
Points/game4BYU21/3.50 per game
Goals/game4BYU7 total/1.17 per game
Assists/game4BYU7 total/1.17 per game
GAA5BYU0.76
GA4BYU5/0.83 per game
ShutoutsT-3BYU3
SavesT-3BYU28/4.67 per game
Corners.game1BYU45/7.5 per game
INDIVIDUAL
Shots/game1Jaime Rendich25/4.17 per game
PointsT-2Jaime Rendich7 total
Points/gameT-2Jaime Rendich1.17
GoalsT-3Jaime Rendich3 total
Goals/gameT-1Jaime Rendich0.50
AssistsT-2Bobbi Tillotson2/0.33 per game
Saves3Erika Woodbury27/4.50 per game
Shutouts2Erika Woodbury3 total
GAA5Erika Woodbury0.76
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.
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.
immediate impact
This season's newcomers have made strong contributions to the team, comprised of 11 freshman, eight of the which hail from Utah, one transfer student, and a walk-on student. Many of the young and talented players have had opportunities to play quality minutes, making an immediate impact on the team.
Freshman goalkeeper Erika Woodbury has started 18 consecutive games tallying 70 saves and 7 shutouts for a 1.09 goals against average. Woodbury was a first-team All-CIF and All-Valley Player of the Year out of Murrieta, CA.
Freshman forward Carolyn Swenson has played in 17 games, scoring three goals, including a goal last week against in-state rival Utah.
Midfielder Natalie Nate is a freshman that has played in 19 games for BYU. Nate was a first-team 2002 All-State selection out of Salt Lake City, and has one goal and one assist.
Freshman defender Whitney Urrutia has seen more minutes as the sweeper for the Cougar defense as Coach Rockwood decided to move Claire Thomas up the field as the stopper.
The 2003 NCSAA and Adidas National Junior College Player of the Year Nicole Anderson, has played solid in 17 games on the Cougar defense.
Walk-on junior Lindsy Humphrey won the starting job on defense and played 17 games before going down with a season-ending ACL injury.
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(7)(9)(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.
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
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.