10.27.2003 C-USA Women's Soccer Notebook
Courtney Crandell |
With one week remaining in the regular season, seven Conference USA women's soccer teams have earned berths in the league tournament Nov. 5-8 in Charlotte, N.C. The battle for the last spot in the tournament will be decided on the field in a head-to-head match up between Charlotte and East Carolina in Greenville on Friday. USF's Jenny Mulvihill was named the C-USA Women's Soccer Offensive Player of the Week, while Charlotte's Shannon Huffman was honored as the Defensive Player of the Week. Read about this and all of the latest news in this week's C-USA Women's Soccer Notebook.
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
OFFENSIVE
Jenny Mulvihill, So., Midfielder
USF
Mulvihill had the game-winning goal in consecutive matches for USF last week in victories over Memphis (1-0) and TCU (2-1). She opened the week by scoring the only goal in the 77th minute to give the Bulls a road win over the Tigers, heading in a corner kick by Katie Reed. With the match against the Horned Frogs tied 1-1, Mulvihill knocked in another header off an another assist from Reed to secure the win in the 93rd minute on Sunday.
DEFENSIVE
Shannon Huffman, Fr. Goalkeeper
Charlotte
Huffman notched three straight shutouts for the first time in her career, blanking Davidson, Cincinnati and Louisville. She began the week with a 2-0 home victory over the Wildcats, making three saves. At Cincinnati, Huffman had a six-save performance versus the Bearcats to secure the 1-0 49er win, followed by another three-save contest in Charlotte's 5-0 home shutout over the visiting Cardinals. For the season, she has a goals against average of 1.69 with 57 saves.
NEWS & NOTES
The In-Crowd ? With one week remaining in the regular season, seven Conference USA teams have qualified for the league tournament in Charlotte, Nov. 5-8. The squads that have secured a spot in the field are DePaul, Marquette, Saint Louis, USF, TCU, Tulane and UAB. The seeding for the tournament will be determined after the conclusion of Saturday?s contests.
Crunch Time ? Friday?s Charlotte at East Carolina match will be critical match for both teams because the winner secures the final berth in the C-USA Tournament the following week. The pair is tied in the league standings with nine points.
The New Kids ? DePaul and TCU will be making their initial appearances in the C-USA Tournament. The Blue Demon program, in its eighth season, has established team records in overall victories (12) and league wins (6) this season.
The Horned Frogs are appearing in their first C-USA Tournament since joining the league in 2001. At 8-8-1, TCU has posted its best record since going 10-9-1 in 2000 and qualifying for the WAC Tournament.
DePaul was picked to finish ninth and TCU was selected to finish 12th in the preseason coaches? poll.
Shutting ?Em Down ? With their 1-0 home win over TCU last Friday, the Blazers tied the program record for shutouts with eight. The mark set during the Blazers inaugural campaign in 1996.
C-USA HONOR ROLL
COURTNEY CRANDELL - CHARLOTTE
Crandell scored two goals last week, including the game-winning goal at Cincinnati with 22 seconds left in double overtime. Then, she scored another goal in Charlotte's win over Louisville. Crandell has now scored eight goals this season, which ties her for the tenth highest single season total in school history. Six of her eight goals have come in Conference USA play.
RACHEL LIBERMANN ? CINCINATI
Lieberman was an integral part of Cincinnati's 2-1 win over East Carolina on Sunday, posting a goal and an assist. Missing the first half of the season due to injury, Lieberman has added much needed confidence and strength to the Cincinnati midfield. She is now tied for second on the team with three points.
ASHLEY MURPHY ? CINCINNATI
Murphy moved to defender this season, starting every game for the Bearcats. Her dominant presence aided the Bearcats in their home victory over East Carolina on Sunday. She blocked many of the dangerous shots the Pirates had, helping to limit ECU to only one goal.
KELLY DEBAENE ? DE PAUL
DeBaene scored a pair of goal this weekend in DePaul's wins over Marquette and Eastern Illinois. Against the Golden Eagles, her header in the 67th minute was the game-winner for the Blue Demons. With the Blue Demons trailing 1-0 on Sunday against Eastern Illinois, she tied the match with a 20-yarder over the Panther goalkeeper. DePaul went on to win the match in overtime, 2-1.
KRYSTEL PABEY ? EAST CAROLINA
Pabey collected two assists on two shots over the weekend, which saw the Pirates record its seventh win of the season and third in the conference. In the 2-0 win over Louisville, she recorded both assists and now has four on the season. This was Pabey's first two-assist game in her career.
PENNY PERROTT ? EAST CAROLINA
Perrott helped the Pirates collect their seventh win of the season and third in the conference with a 2-0 win over Louisville. For the weekend, she recorded eight shots and collected her fifth assist of the season against Louisville, which is second best for the Pirates this season. Perrott also anchored a defensive unit that recorded its sixth shutout of the season, one shy of the school record.
NIKKI HAWKINS - HOUSTON
Hawkins scored the tying goal with 26 seconds remaining in regulation to force overtime in Houston's double-overtime 3-3 tie with Southern Miss on Oct. 24. In addition to the goal, she assisted ANNE GASSER with Houston's first goal on the night, and racked up seven shots, including four on goal, in the game against the Golden Eagles. Hawkins netted Houston's lone goal in the 2-1 loss at Tulane on Oct. 26.
ANNE GASSER ? HOUSTON
Gasser netted the Cougars' first goal and her second of the year in Houston's 3-3 double-overtime tie with Southern Miss on Oct. 24. She had a total of five shots, including two on goal, and an assist on Oct. 24. Gasser leads Cougar defenders with five points, two goals, seven shots on goal, 13 total shots, and one assist in 2003.
KRISTEN JENSEN ? MARQUETTE
Jensen scored the tying goal against Saint Louis in MU's 2-1 win over the Billikens. Against SLU, she posted a team-best four shots and then followed with another four shot outing against DePaul.
LINDSAY SMALE ? MARQUETTE
Smale led the Marquette defense to a split in last week?s action, defeating Saint Louis, 2-1 and losing to DePaul, 0-1. Smale recorded an assist in the win over Saint Louis. She collected a SLU pass and started MU's goal scoring play with a perfect feed to KRISTIE MATOLA who found MEGHAN CONNELY for the goal. Smale led the MU defense to shut down the SLU attack, limiting the Billikens to just four second half shots.
YUIKO KONNO -MEMPHIS
Konno tallied her 11th goal of the season in a 2-1 loss to UAB on Sunday. She is the first Tiger to have 11 goals in a season since Meredith Smith accomplished the feat in 1996. Her 11 goals are tied for the third most scored in a single season by a Memphis player.
BRECK BANKESTER ? USF
Bankster recorded two wins on the week including a shutout over Memphis. The lone goal she gave up on the week was to TCU, a two-on-one opportunity. On the year she has four shutouts, averaging 1.08 goals per game and has played every second of the season for the Bulls.
CARLY BARKLEY ? SOUTHERN MISS
Barkley scored a pair goals for the Golden Eagles in USM?s 3-3 tie at Houston last Friday.
JESSICA MENDEZ - TULANE
Mendez led Tulane to an undefeated weekend with two goals in two games. She scored the game-winner in Tulane's 4-1 win over William Carey and then scored Tulane's opener in the 2-1 win over league rival Houston. This season, Mendez is tied for the team lead with five goals, with four of them ranking as game-winners.
TARA KIDWELL ? UAB
Kidwell scored the game-winning goal in Sunday's critical C-USA matchup against Memphis. She added a key assist in the Blazers' 2-1 victory that moved them into first place in the conference. She played a crucial role in UAB's offensive scheme over the weekend as she compiled nine shot attempts, four of which were on goal with an assist and a score. Kidwell moved into sole possession of fourth place on UAB?s all-time goal-scoring list with 23 goals in three seasons.
KATIE FORBIS - UAB
Forbis registered five saves in a vital 1-0 shutout victory over TCU on Friday. She followed that performance with a six-save outing against the Memphis scoring attack on Sunday. Forbis earned four solo shutouts and has played at least 45:00 minutes in seven of UAB's team-record eight shutouts this season. She improved to 10-2 as a starter in her freshman campaign. Forbis owns a stellar 0.80 goals against average and has only allowed nine goals in 12 starts. She holds the freshman record for victories in a season with 10 and is in sole possession of third place on the all-time wins list.
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Each week, an offensive and defensive player of the week are selected by a vote of the league?s head coaches.
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
S2 Meghan McCallion, So., F, ECU
Jessica Traver, Fr., F, TUL
S8 Carolyn Klopp, Sr., MF/F, MAR
Julianne Sitch, So., F, DPU
S15 Nikki Hawkins, Jr., MF, HOU
Lindsay Morris, Jr., F, TUL
S22 Julianne Sitch, So., MF/F, DPU
Jill Knottek, Sr., F, UAB
S29 Julianne Sitch, So., MF/F, DPU
O6 Christie Cigno, So., MF, SLU
O13 Kim Miles, Jr., MF, CHA
O20 Yuiko Konno, Jr., F, MEM
O27 Jenny Mulvihill, So., MF, USF
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
S2 Leah Peterson, Fr., D, TUL
S8 Katie Bissen, Jr, GK, MAR
S15 Penny Perrott, Sr., D, ECU
S22 Kara Kornfeld, Jr., B, SLU
S29 Megan Morey, So., GK, TUL
O6 Anny Lucier, Sr., B, SLU
O13 Katie Bissen, Jr., GK, MAR
O20 Katie Buchanan, Fr., GK, TCU
O27 Shannon Huffman, Fr., GK, CHA
NATIONAL HONORS
In addition to the C-USA Offensive and Defensive Players of the Week, league players are occasionally honored for their outstanding performances throughout the season by Soccer America and Soccer Buzz. Track those accolades here.
Soocer America Team of the Week
S23 Kara Kornfeld, B, SLU
O15 Asia Simons, D, TUL
Soccer Buzz Elite Team of the Week
S9 Julianne Sitch, MF/F, DPU
S23 Julianne Sitch, MF/F, DPU
O6 Anny Lucier, D, SLU
O16 Asia Simons, D, TUL
C-USA ON TV
The championship match of the 2003 Conference USA Women?s Soccer Tournament will be televised by affiliates of the Conference USA Television Network. The veteran announce team of DON RUSSELL (play-by-play) and AMY PRICHARD (color analyst) will call of all of the action. More details will be released as the championship approaches.
The top eight finishers in the regular season earn a spot in the Conference USA Tournament, November 5-8 in Charlotte, N.C.
STATIONS AIRING C-USA CHAMPIONSHIP
Charter Communications Information Network, Ch. 21 ? St. Louis (Live)
College Sports Television (CSTV), DirecTV Ch. 610 ? (Live)
Comcast Charter Sports Southeast (Live)
Cox Sports Television - New Orleans (Tape Delay on Nov. 12 at Noon CST)
Fox Sports Net Chicago (Tape Delay on Nov. 11 at Noon CST)
Fox Sports Net South (Live or Tape Delay ? Time TBD)
UNC Charlotte Cable Television, Ch. 22 ? (Live)
WXIV-TV, Ch. 14 - Greensboro (Tape Delay at 7 p.m. EST