SAN DIEGO -- All-American Maren Hendershot's winning goal and a new school record in shots on goal with 42 was all BYU women's soccer team needed to capture the 1-0 victory over Wyoming in the quarterfinals of this year's MWC Women's Soccer Championships Wednesday.
The Cougars now advance to the semifinals and another meeting with in-state rival Utah. The Utes defeated New Mexico 4-2 in other quarterfinal action from San Diego's ARCO Olympic Training Center.
Hendershot's unassisted game winner came in the 71st minute in the game on a direct free kick from 25 yards out, after a Wyoming foul. The Cougars outshot the Cowgirls 42-4, setting a new BYU record. In the first half, Wyoming was only able to get one shot on goal.
"I was pleased with the way we created a lot of opportunities to score, they just weren't falling in for us," said head coach Jennifer Rockwood. "The girls fought through it and didn't lose their composure."
In Thursday's first semifinal game, the Cougars will once again meet Utah in an 11 a.m. matchup. The later game will pit hosts and top seed San Diego State against Air Force, who advanced by defeating UNLV.
Coach Rockwood is pleased to get another chance to play Utah.
"We're excited to play them again. They always play us tough and it should be a great game," she said.
At the beginning today's quarterfinals, the Mountain West Conference announced its All-Conference teams, with five BYU players making the list. Senior Maren Hendershot led the Cougar contingency along with teammates Sara Reading and Staci Reynolds being named to the MWC First Team. Hendershot was also named this year's Player of the Year. On the All-Conference Second Team were BYU players Kim Lowe and sophomore goalkeeper Jennifer Waldron.
The winners of Thursday's two semifinal games will meet for the championship at 12 p.m. on Saturday.
Date: Nov 3, 1999Weather: Sunny, warm, breezy
Goals by Period 1 2 Tot
-------------------------------
Wyoming............. 0 0 - 0
BYU................. 0 1 - 1
SCORING SUMMARY:
1. 71:34 BY HENDERSHOT, Maren (14) (unassisted) - Direct free kick from 25 yards
Shots: Wyoming 4, BYU 42
Saves: Wyoming 17 (KUYPER, Sarah 17), BYU 2 (WALDRON, Jennifer 2)
After finishing MWC play with a 5-1 first place tie with SDSU and Utah, the Cougar women open the first-ever MWC soccer championships seeded second and play Wyoming in the first round, Wednesday, November 3, 2 p.m., at ARCO Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, Calif. The Championships are hosted by San Diego State University.
Cougars In This Week's Polls
• In Soccer Times Poll - 20th
• Ranked 23rd by the NSCAA
Returning Starters To Watch
• 20 Maren Hendershot - F, Sr (13G, 8A, 34PTS, 65SH)
• 15 Kim Lowe - MF, Jr (8G, 9A, 25PTS, 45SH)
• 12 Sara Reading - MF, Jr (14G, 3A, 31PTS, 79SH)
• 11 Sarah Higham - MF, So (8G, 8A, 24PTS, 38SH)
• 4 Natalyn Lewis - MF, Jr (4G, 5A, 13PTS, 40SH)
• 14 Karen Wunderli- MF, Sr (3G, 8A, 14PTS, 36SH)
• 00 Jennifer Waldron - GK, So (13 GA, .79Average in Goals Allowed)
Newcomers To Watch
• 5 Rachelle Dixon - 5-6 MF/F, Fr (2G, 2A, 6PTS, 15SH)
• 18 Jeni Willardson - 5-9 MF/F, Fr (7G, 4A, 18PTS, 34SH)
Cougar Season Highs To Date
• Most goals in a game (team) - eight vs Northwestern on 9/4
• Most shots in game (team) - 40 vs University of New Mexico on 10/8
• Most corner kicks in a game (team) - eight vs Wisconsin-Milwaukee 9/9
• Most assists in game (team) - eight vs Cal Poly on 9/11
• Most goals in a game (individual- Sara Reading) - three vs University of New Mexico on 10/8
Cougar '99 Quickie Stats After 20 Games
• Averaging 24.6 shots on goal per game
• Averaging 3.3 goals per game
• Average 3.2 assists per game
• Average 9.9 points per game
Cougars In Conference Stats - Team
• First Place - Shots: 176, 29.33 average
• First Place - Goals: 23, 3.83 average
• First Place - Assists: 20, 3.33 average
• First Place - Points: 66, 11.0 average
• First Place - Goals Allowed: 2, 0.33 average
• First Place - Corners: 43, 7.17 average
BYU In Conference Stats - Individual
• First Place - (Sara Reading) Points: 15, 2.50 average
• First Place - (Sara Reading) Goals: 7, 1.17 average
• First Place - (Kim Lowe) Assists: 4, 0.67 average
• Second Place - (Sara Reading) Shots: 22, 3.67 average
• Second Place - (Maren Hendershot) Goals: 6, 1.20 average
• Second Place - (Jennifer Waldron) Shutouts: 3.5, 0.70 average
• Third Place - (Maren Hendershot) Points: 12, 2.40 average
BYU vs Wyoming Notes
The Cowgirls finished the '99 year with a 4-13, 1-5 record and a number seven seed in this year's MWC Championships. In the earlier conference meeting between BYU and Wyoming, the Cougars grabbed a 7-0 victory in Provo on 10/21. Wyoming's lone conference victory was a 1-0 shutout over New Mexico in Albuquerque. The Cowgirls are averaging 9.33 shots per game in conference action. BYU leads the series against Wyoming 4-0.
Cougars Itinerary in San Diego
BYU will be staying in the MWC headquarters hotel, the Hilton Mission Valley, 901 Camino del Rio South, 619-543-9000. They leave Provo, Tuesday, Nov. 2 at 1 p.m., arriving in San Diego about 3:45 p.m. The Cougars return Saturday, Nov. 6, at 5:50 p.m., arriving in Provo about 10 p.m. BYU's SID Norma Collett is traveling with the team and can be reached at the hotel for coach/player interviews.
Coach Jennifer Rockwood Quotes
(On the Cougars) We finished our regular season very strong. Things are very positive for our team right now and people have been playing well and many players are contributing. Our number one goal this year has been to get ourselves ready to win this first conference tournament.
(On Wyoming) They are a very young team and I thought we played very well against them here at home. Now we need to show that we can play just as solid on the road.
Up Next For The Cougars
If BYU defeats Wyoming in the first round, they will play the winner of the Utah vs New Mexico game in one of two semi-final contests, Thursday at 11 a.m. The MWC Soccer Championship game is on Saturday, Nov. 6 at 12 p.m.
Directions
The Inaugural Mountain West Conference Women's Soccer Championships will take place Wed.-Sat., November 3-6 at the ARCO Olympic Train Center in Chula Vista, Calif. A map is shown below. Take Telegraph Canyon/Otay Lakes Road seven miles east of I-805 and turn right on Wueste Road; follow signs. For general/hours/tour info, call (619) 482-6222.
