THIS WEEK: A rematch of the 2002 College Cup Final ensues as Portland meets Santa Clara on the road in a battle of two perennial powers in West Coast Conference play at Buck Shaw Stadium on Nov. 2 at 1:00 p.m. Portland and Santa Clara have held claim to the top spot in the WCC for 10 of the 11 previous years the league has sponsored women’s soccer. The two teams meet on Sunday in a battle of WCC unbeatens, with the conference title on the line. A Pilot victory will give Portland a record seventh women’s soccer title, ahead of the Broncos who hold claim to six league crowns. A Santa Clara win will put the Broncos in the driver’s seat going into the last day of WCC play on November 8.
LAST WEEK: The Portland women’s soccer team extended their winning streak to 11 with an important, 2-1 road win over Pepperdine at Tari Frahm Rokus Field on Fri., Oct. 24. Jennifer Tuttle had a goal and an assist, while Lindsey Huie continued her scoring tear with the game-winner in the 53rd minute. Pilot defender Kristen Moore set up Tuttle’s strike in the 13th minute on a patented wide service to the middle. Moore has five assists in the last five matches, and is among the WCC leaders with six on the season. Tuttle rocketed the pass, top-shelf past Wave goalkeeper Anna Picarelli for her sixth goal of the season. Huie’s 25-yard rocket in the 53rd minute forced Picarelli to her left, and she got a hand on the shot, but the velocity sent the ball into the right side for the 2-0 lead. Tuttle registered her third assist of the season on the score. Pepperdine cut the lead in half when dangerous forward Lacey Ubaldi put in a header in the 64th minute. Daniella Bosio’s initial shot bounced off the crossbar, and Ubaldi was there for the open-net finish. It was the eighth goal of the season for Ubaldi and Bosio’s first assist. Freshman forward Angie Woznuk was a force up front rattling of four of Portland’s nine total shots and putting two on goal. Huie was the only other Pilot with multiple attempts as she rang off three. Pepperdine put three-out-of-seven shots on goal, as seven different Waves each attempted a shot. Picarelli made three saves, while Pilot keeper Cori Alexander stopped two shots. The Waves had a 6-3 corner advantage but failed to convert any.
The Pilots won their 12th consecutive match in an unorthodox fashion on Sun., Oct. 26 at Sullivan Field. The Pilots, who have been scoring early and often as of late, struggled to find the net until Loyola Marymount’s own goal in the 75th minute, which proved to be the only score in the match. Portland had a tough afternoon, especially in the first period, when they out-shot LMU 5-0, but could not get into any sort of flow against the defensive-minded Lions. The Pilots forced LMU keeper Corey Yukihiro to make two saves in the first half, as the Portland defense clamped down on the passive Lion offensive. The Pilots had nine shots in the second stanza, putting seven of them on goal. LMU sent eight shots at Pilot freshman keeper Cori Alexander, forcing her to make three saves in recording her 10th shutout of the season. Portland’s continual pressure throughout the second half eventually paid off. Pilot junior Kristen Rogers sent a cross over to freshman Jennifer Tuttle near the right post. The ball sailed just over Tuttle’s head, into a Lion defender with freshman midfielder Rebecca Meierbachtol advancing for the score. The ball deflected off the defender and into the net for the only score of the match. Portland had several good chances prior to the score, rattling off four shots in the previous seven minutes.
A QUICK LOOK AT PORTLAND: Portland returns 11 letterwinners, six starters and adds 10 newcomers to the 2003 roster. Junior Christine Sinclair and sophomore Lindsey Huie have been named preseason all-America selections entering the 2003 season. Last year, Portland won the school’s first NCAA National Championship with a 2-1 double overtime win over conference rival Santa Clara in the College Cup Championship.
The 2002 team finished with a 20-4-2 overall record, 4-2-1 in the West Coast Conference. The Pilots went 7-2-1 at home, 6-2-1 on the road and 7-0-0 at neutral sites in 2002. Portland ran through the NCAA Playoffs, recording five consecutive shutouts before having to come from behind to take the title in the final game.
Portland returns five players who earned 2002 all-WCC honors. Sinclair was the WCC Player of the Year, while Huie took Freshman of the Year honors. Senior Imani Dorsey was joined on the second-team by junior Kristen Rogers and junior Kristen Moore was an honorable mention selection.
SCOUTING NO. 7 SANTA CLARA: The Broncos post a 10-3-5 overall mark and are 4-0-1 in WCC play after a challenging weekend against San Francisco and Saint Mary’s. Santa Clara edged the Dons 2-1, before battling the Gaels to a 0-0 tie. The Broncos are 5-2-2 in home matches this season and are on a nine-match unbeaten streak. Head coach Jerry Smith has a 272-68-21 career record, and returns nine starters and 15 letterwinners from the NCAA Runner-up squad. Junior Leslie Osborne has nine goals and five assists as the Broncos’ leading scorer. Tracy Hess has six goals, while seven other players have three or more strikes. Preseason all-America candidate Veronica Zepeda has three goals and five assists while playing in 13 matches and battling shin splints. In the Bronco goal, Julie Ryder has played in 11 matches, logging 1,026:46 minutes and posting a 0.53 goals against average, second to Cori Alexander in the WCC.
SERIES SHORTS: Portland trails the all-time series with Santa Clara 9-11-1 dating back to the 1984 season. Since the West Coast Conference began sponsoring women’s soccer in 1992, Portland holds a 7-5-1 record against the Broncos, but are 2-7-1 in road matches against Santa Clara. Last season, the teams split with the Broncos beating the Pilots 1-0 at Merlo Field in regular season action. Portland got the last laugh though, beating Santa Clara 2-1, in double overtime to claim the College Cup Championship.
IT ALL COMES DOWN TO THIS: Portland and Santa Clara’s meeting will most likely settle the conference championship, as both teams have just one match remaining afterwards. The Pilots will clinch the championship if they win, if Santa Clara wins and then beats Gonzaga the following week, they will take the crown.
RANKINGS: The Pilots held steady in the top five of all four major national polls after another two-win weekend. Soccer America and Soccer Buzz keep Portland at No. 3 behind the undefeated North Carolina and Notre Dame. The NSCAA and Soccer Times hold the Pilots at No. 4. In regional rankings, Portland stays at No. 1 in the Soccer Buzz West Region poll. The NSCAA has Portland second behind UCLA.
LEADING THE NATION: Portland is leading the nation in shutout percentage (0.78) as the Pilots have blanked 14 opponents in 18 matches. With a 16-2 record, the Pilots are third in win percentage (0.89). The solid defense places Portland at No. 6 nationally with a 0.49 goals against average, while the team is 16th in average scoring at 2.61 goals per game.
Individually, Lindsey Huie is third in the nation in assists per game (0.93) and 17th in points per game with a 2.07 average. Freshman goalkeeper Cori Alexander continues to climb the charts and is now seventh in goals against average at 0.455.
WCC STATISTICS: The Pilots lead the WCC in eight statistical categories. Portland is first in points (137), goals (47), goals per game (2.61), assists (43), assists per game (2.39), goals allowed (9), goals against average (0.49), and shutouts (14). Portland is second in shots (274), just one behind Santa Clara. The Pilots lead the conference in average home attendance (1,317) and have the longest current unbeaten streak in the conference with 12 consecutive wins.
Lindsey Huie leads the conference in shots (57), points (31) and assists (13). She is tied for first in game-winners (4) and is tied for second in goals (9). Angie Woznuk is second in shots per game (3.15) and fifth in total shots (41). Wanda Rozwadowska is tied for sixth in goals (7) and sixth in points (17). Jennifer Tuttle is tied for third with three game-winners and tied for eight with six total goals, while Kristen Moore is tied for fourth with six assists. Goalie Cori Alexander leads the conference in shutouts (10) and goals against average (0.46).
HUIE RECOGNIZED BY SOCCER AMERICA: Sophomore midfielder Lindsey Huie became the third Pilot of the season to be named to Soccer America’s Team of the Week for the week ending Oct. 19. Her four goal, two assist performance in wins over West Coast Conference foes, Saint Mary’s and San Francisco garnered the national recognition. In Portland’s 3-0 win over Saint Mary’s, Huie scored two goals, including the game-winner. She rang off six shots, five being on goal in a dominating effort. Huie bettered her preceding effort in the Pilots’ 8-0 thrashing of San Francisco. She once again put two in the back of the net, and added two assists in another six-shot flurry. Previous Soccer America Team of the Week honorees were Jennifer Tuttle (Sept. 10) and Cori Alexander (Sept. 22).
NOT AFRAID OF THE ROAD: Portland has always been dominant at Merlo Field, and they are showing how good they can be away from it this year as well. The Pilots are 7-1-0 on the road and 2-0-0 at neutral sites. Portland is 4-0-0 against ranked opponents in away contests after beating Stanford, Texas, Washington and Pepperdine in road matches. The Pilots also beat currently 12th ranked Colorado in Boulder, Colo. to open the season.
LEADERS WATCH: Lindsey Huie is on the verge of becoming a common name in UP’s career and single-season records lists. Averaging 0.82 assists per game places her second on the season list, and her 13 assists thus far puts her tied for fourth, just three shy of Shannon MacMillan’s 1995 record of 16. The Mission Viejo, Calif. native is currently among the career leaders in shots per game (3.64, 4th), assists per game (0.48, 6th) game-winners (8, t-7th), total shots (153, 9th) and assists (20, t-12th).
Freshman goalkeeper Cori Alexander has rapidly made her way to the top 10 of both Portland’s single-season and career shutouts lists. With 10 shutouts, Alexander moved into sole possession of seventh place on the single season list and eighth on the career list. Erin Fahey holds the single season shutout record with 16 in 1995, and Cheryl Loveless (1996, 98-00) is the career leader with 35.
YOUTH MOVEMENT: The young Portland team is coming into their own as the season winds down. Seven freshman see action on a regular basis, and at least five freshman have started every match this season. Combined, the freshman have scored 19 goals and tallied 13 assists.
Most recently, Rebecca Meierbachtol has stepped up and played a significant role. The Hood River, Ore. product has two goals and an assist on the season, while starting the last three matches. Meierbachtol had a goal and an assist in Portland’s 8-0 win over Portland State, then made her first career start against San Francisco and scored the game-winning goal.
THE NIL FACTOR: With yet another shutout win, Portland increased their season total to 14, moving the 2003 team into a tie for fifth place on the all-time season shutouts list with the 1998 squad that advanced to the NCAA semifinals.
With one more shutout the Pilots can move into a tie for third place with the 1996 and 2000 teams. In their run to the 2002 National Championship, last year’s squad racked up 17 shutouts to top the list.
SINCLAIR REDSHIRTS: All-American junior forward Christine Sinclair will redshirt after missing over half of the 2003 season to participate in the FIFA Women’s World Cup for semifinalist Canada. The junior was the Soccer Buzz, Soccer America and NSCAA Player of the Year last season after tying for the national lead with 26 goals. Sinclair broke the single-season College Cup goals and points records with her 10 goal, 21 point effort in the six tournament wins in 2002. Through two seasons, Sinclair is already third in career goals (49) and fourth in total points (109) on UP’s all-time lists.
IRWIN, SMITH PROMOTED: Bill Irwin and Garrett Smith, assistant coaches for the late Clive Charles have been named Director and Associate Director of Soccer, respectively, for the University of Portland as announced by Director of Athletics, Joe Etzel.
Irwin and Smith assumed the coaching duties of the men’s and women’s teams at the start of the season with Irwin guiding the men and Smith leading the women.
HEAD COACH GARRETT SMITH: One of the highest-scoring defenders in University of Portland soccer history in his playing days (1986-89), Smith has proven to be a premier coach at the collegiate level as well. Smith spent 11 seasons as an assistant coach under Clive Charles for both the men’s and women’s teams, before taking over this season as the head women’s coach. Smith also coaches for the men’s squad, assisting head coach and Director of Soccer Bill Irwin. Smith’s 2003 team has compiled a 16-2-0 record and an unblemished 5-0 WCC record.
PILOT PRESEASON ALL-AMERICA SELECTIONS: Christine Sinclair and Lindsey Huie have received preseason national honors. Sinclair was a Soccer America preseason pick and also a member of the 15 player M.A.C. Hermann Trophy watch list as released by the NSCAA. Both Sinclair and Huie were selected to Soccer Buzz’s “Elite 12” preseason all-American team.
WCC COACHES TAB PORTLAND, SANTA CLARA FAVORITES: In a preseason poll of the league’s head coaches, the Pilots were selected as the co-favorites along with Santa Clara to win the WCC. Both Portland and Santa Clara received four first place votes and 46 total points. Pepperdine was selected to finish third and San Diego was picked No. 4.
MERLO DOMINANCE: The Pilots have historically been dominant at Merlo Field since it’s inception in 1990. The women’s team improved their record to 120-17-3 (.868) and are 7-1-0 at home this season. Portland concluded the 2002 season 7-2-1 (.750) on their home turf. The Pilots were ranked second in national attendance last season, averaging just over 1,685 fans per contest.
COMING UP: The Pilots return home to close out the regular season with their WCC finale against San Diego at Merlo Field on Nov. 8.
PILOTS ON THE INTERNET: The University of Portland women’s soccer team will have live stats via the internet for their final match. Check out the Pilot matches at: http://www.portlandpilots.com/livestats/wsoccer/xlive.htm.
REGULAR-SEASON PRACTICE SCHEDULE: The Pilot soccer team’s practice time vary, for regular scheduled practice times, please contact Jason Brough. Portland soccer practices are open to the media and public. To set up interviews before or after practice with coaches or Pilots players, please contact Jason Brough, men’s and women’s soccer SID at: (503) 943-7439 (office).
REGULAR-SEASON POST-MATCH SERVICES/INTERVIEWS: The coaching staff and Portland players will be available for interviews following a 10 minute cooling off period. A member of the Portland sports information staff will gather interview requests immediately following the match. Box scores will be provided and faxed upon request.
