The No. 13 ranked BYU women's soccer team is set to open its 2001 season hosting No. 19 USC on Friday, Aug. 31 and Tennessee, Sept. 1 Both games kick off at 7 p.m. at South Field.
BYU vs USC Game On TV
The Cougars vs the Trojans soccer game can be seen live on KBYU-TV and on BYU-TV on the Dish Network 500 System. Kim Free will call the action from South Field with Natalyn Lewis providing the analysis.
Cougars In This Week's Polls
• Ranked 13th by the NSCAA
BYU & U.S. Women's National Team Connections
• Aleisha Cramer played on the U.S. Under-21 National Team this summer and is one of only five college players to be invited to the U.S. National Training Camp this Sept., to play on the U.S. Cup.
• Cramer is also one of 13 college players to be nominated for the Hermann Trophy
• Kim Devine played on the U.S. Under-19 National Team this summer
Returning Starters To Watch
• 17 Aleisha Cramer - MF, So (7G, 13A, 27PTS, 65SH)
• 18 Jeni Willardson Viernes - MF, Jr (6G, 7A, 19PTS, 49SH)
• 3 Jennie Christianson - MF, Sr (5G, 4A, 14PTS, 25SH)
• 23 Sarah HighamYee - MF, Sr (3G, 5A, 11PTS, 44SH)
• 00 Jennifer Waldron - GK, Sr (20 GA, 1.00 Average in Goals Allowed)
• 10 Farrah Hofheins - D, Jr
• 13 Annie Hoecherl - D, So
Newcomers To Watch
• 15 Kim Devine - 5-5 F/Fr, Laguna Niguel, CA
• 9 Krissa Campbell - MF/F, Fr, Folsom, CA
•14 Erin Stock- MF/Fr, Bountiful, UT
Cougar '00 Quickie Final Stats
• Averaging 26.2 shots on goal per game
• Averaging 3.6 goals per game
• Average 3.58 assists per game
• Average 10.8 points per game
BYU Picked To Win MWC Crown
The MWC Coaches picked BYU to win its third consecutive title. The Cougars received five first-place votes and collected a total of 36 points to capture the top spot in the poll.
BYU won the 2000 regular-season MWC crown with a perfect 6-0 league record and captured the conference tournament title with a 6-1 victory over Utah.
Cougar Notes
The Cougars open the 2001 season with five returning starters and an experienced roster of letterwinners headlined by All-American Aleisha Cramer. She and senior midfielders Sarah Higham Yee and Jennie Christianson will assume key roles along with returning starters Jeni Willardson Viernes, Aurelin Weidner, Jennifer Waldron and Farrah Hofheins. The explosive BYU offense will remain intact with Cramer, Yee and Viernes who will be assisted by a highly touted freshman class of scoring threats in Kim Devine, Krissa Campbell, Twaink Krainik and Erin Stock.
USC Notes
The No. 19 USC Trojans return seven starters and a total of 13 letterwinners for the 2001 season. Last year the compiled a 14-6-2 record, finished fifth in the PAC-10 and went to the second round of the NCAA Women's College Cup losing to UCLA 0-3. Head Coach Jim Millinder begins his sixth season with Southern Cal. Jessica Edwards a 5-1 sophomore forward returns for her second season as the team's leading scorer with 11 goals, seven assists for her 29 points.
Series Record: 0-3 favoring the visiting Trojans. These two teams met last season in Provo with the game ending in a 1-1 tie. BYU had lost the previous two contests to USC.
Tennessee Notes
With six returning starters back for 2001, the Tennessee Lady Volunteers will be a strong team in the SEC after a second place finish in the Eastern D Division last year. The Lady Volunteers also boost players with a lot of experience with 13 returning letterwinners. Sophomore forward Rhian Wilkinson is the team's top returner. She's tallied 12 goals, nine assists from 83 shots.
Series Record: This will be the first meeting between Tennessee and BYU.
The Rockwood File
Jennifer Rockwood begins her seventh season at the helm of BYU's women's soccer program. In six years she has guided her team to three conference championships and four straight appearances in the NCAA Championships beginning with the 1997 season. The Cougars have had two "Sweet Sixteen" finishes in 1998 and in 2000. Her many honors include two Coach of the Year honors, by the WAC in 1996 and in 2000 by the MWC.
Last season, she became the first MWC coach to eclipse the 100-win total on Sept. 23 with a 2-0 victory over Milwaukee-Wisconsin. Entering the 2001 season coach Rockwood ranked fifth among active coaches by winning percentage. She has averaged 18.6 wins per season over the past five years, which ranks second behind only Anson Dorrance of North Carolina for wins per season. Dorrance has won an average of 22.2 matches per season.
Rockwood has also coached in the Utah ODP , the youth club's and high school levels.
Rockwood's Record (13 Years at BYU, 7 with club team)
Division I/years: 112-26-2/6 (.807)
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: 19-4-1
Coach Jennifer Rockwood Quotes
(On the Cougars) We're anxious to begin the season. We have a lot of new faces on the team. I think the girls are focused and they've been working hard to get ready to start the year.
(On USC) We know they are a solid program with a great tradition and a great soccer team. This year they return a very talented team with lots of speed. We're anxious to get after them again. We've played each other over the years and are very familiar with them.
(On Tenessee) This is our first time playing them so we don't know alot about them (Tenessee). They have a tremendous freshman class and a transfer student from North Carolina and they've been picked to finish second behind Florida in the SEC. This is a huge game for them as well as for us. It will set the tone for the rest of the season for both teams.
BYU Media Information
At home, the Cougars practice daily from 2:15 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. The Cougars practice at Haws Field, just west of the Smith Fieldhouse.
Up Next For The Cougars
The team travels to the Chicago, Illinois area for meetings against Minnesota on Sept. 8, and Northwestern on Sept. 10.