Difficult Road Trip Ahead, Play At Virginia, At Wake Forest

Heading into this week's road competition, BYU's women's soccer team, ranked 16th, is on a three-game winning streak and three straight shutouts. This week they travel to ACC country, play at Virginia (Oct. 4) and at Wake Forest (Oct. 6).

Last Game Recap

After five games on the road,d the Cougar women finally enjoyed playing at home at South Field where the team has a 3-1-0 record to date after weekend wins over Arizona, 2-0 and Boston University 4-0. Over 1,000 fans poured into South Field where BYU picked up two consecutive shutouts, giving the team a total of six shutouts after playing nine games to date. Freshman Aydree Soffee came off the bench to score her first collegiate goal. Aleisha Cramer sealed the BYU victory with a penalty kick in the 50th minute of the game. Against Boston University four different players put the ball in the net for the Cougars. Senior midfielder Jennie Christianson started the scoring frenzy in the second half at 53:52 into the game. She was followed two minutes later by Aleisha Cramer, and two minutes later Jeni Willardson Viernes put in her second goal of the year. Freshman Kim Devine picked up her second goal of the season to make the final score 4-0 for the Cougar team.

Cougars in National Polls This Week

No. 13 by Soccer Buzz

No. 16 by Soccer Times Top 25 Coaches Poll

BYU & U.S. Women's National Team Connections

• Aleisha Cramer played on the U.S. Under-21 National Team this summer and is currently playing with the U.S. Women's National Team as they host this year's U.S. Women'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 (2G, 2A, 6PTS, 22SH)

• 11 Sarah Higham Yee - MF, Sr (3G, 1A, 7PTS, 19SH)

• 18 Jeni W. Viernes - F, JR (2G, 1A, 5PTS, 22SH)

• 00 Jennifer Waldron - GK, Sr (5GA, .59 GAA, 6SHO)

Newcomers To Watch

• 15 Kim Devine - 5-5 F/Fr, Laguna Niguel, CA (Starting in eight of nine games, tallying 2G, 3A, 7PTS, 16SH)

• 9 Krissa Campbell - MF/F, Fr, Folsom, CA (Played in all games, starting in two, 1G, 2PTS, 7SH)

• 2 Kimmie Davies - MF/F, Fr, Torrance, CA (Played in all games, starting in one, 2G, 1A, 5PTS, 5SH)

Cougar '01 Quickie Stats

• Averaging 16.9 shots on goal per game

• Averaging 1.8 goals per game

• Average1.55 assists per game

• Average 5.44 corner kicks 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 BYU team, ranked 16th by Soccertimes finally got to play at home last week where they picked up two wins to extend their record to 6-2-1 on the year. The Cougars are also on a three-game wining streak and have tallied six shutouts in nine games. Senior midfielder Sarah Higham Yee is at the top of the leader board in scoring with three goals and one assist for her seven points. Teammate Kim Devine has the same number of points from two goals and three assists. Sophomore All-American Aleisha Cramer is the team's third leading scorer with two goals and two assists her her six points to date. During the month of October, the team will play five games on the road before returning home on the 19th to host MWC foe New Mexico.

Injury Report

Returning defender Farrah Hofheins is out for the season after suffering a torn ACL in practice prior to the start of the season. Megan Dickerson has been cleared for practice and may be on the team's lineup within the next two weeks. She's being evaluated on a day to day basis. Dickerson tore her ACL during spring practice this year.

Virginia Notes

The Virginia Cavaliers, ranked 18th by Soccertimes host the Cougars this Thursday night where they have compiled a 4-1-0 record at Klockner Stadium. Overall, Virginia has a 5-2-1 record. Lori Lindsey is the team's leading scorer with five goals and one point for her 11 points. Teammate Lindsay Gusick follows with nine points from four goals and one assist. The Cavaliers are getting 17.1 shots on goal, 2.0 goals and 2.0 assists per game. They are also getting 5.38 corner kicks a game.

Series Record: 0-0, This will be the first meeting between the two teams.

Wake Forest Notes

Wake Forest has compiled a 2-3-1-, 2-0-0 record to date with wins over ACC members Maryland and North Carolina State. Two of their losses are to common BYU opponents, Portland and Tennessee. Wake Forest returns 10 starters and 14 letterwinners to the 2001 team. Their school will host this year's ACC Championships Nov. 8-11. Senior midfielder Sarah Kate Nofsinger is the team's leading scorer with two goals for her four points from 11 shots on goal. Stacy Roeck, a senior defender and sophomore defender A.B. Robbins follow with one goal a piece. The Demon Deacons are averaging 10.8 shots on goal, .7 goals, .66 assists and 5.16 corner kicks per game. At home on Spry Stadium they have compiled a 1-2-0 record to date.

Series Record: 0-0 first meeting between the teams.

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: 118-28-3/6 (.791)

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

2001 Record: 6-2-1

Travel Itinerary

The Cougar team departs Salt Lake City, Wed. Oct. 3 on a Delta Flight at 10:35 a.m., arriving in Richmond, Virginia at 6:37 p.m. They will be staying at the Charlottesville Fairfield Inn, from Oct. 3-5, at 577 Branchlands Blvd., 434-964-9411, 434-964-9422 fax. From Oct. 5-7 the Cougars will stay at the Winston Salem Courtyard, 1600 Westbrook Plaza Dr., 336-760-5777, 336-760-6617 fax.

Up Next For The Cougars

Next week the Cougar team open up MWC action on the road at UNLV and at SDSU on Oct. 11-13.