Weekly Release #5

On the Road Again - Then Back Home

For the second time this season the BYU women's soccer team (5-2-1) is heading out on the road, this time to face Gonzaga University (3-3-) in Spokane, Wash., on Tuesday, at 3:00 p.m. (PDT), but then return home to host No. 5 Florida on Friday.

This is the second meeting between BYU and Gonzaga, the first meeting took place in the Cougars' inaugural season back on Oct. 13, 1995 with BYU winning the game in a 4-0 shutout at South Stadium.

BYU is coming off its fifth shutout of the season, a 2-0 win over Idaho State. The Bulldogs also recorded a win with a 4-1 victory over Idaho on Friday.

The Cougars are 1-1-0 this season on the road with their previous games taking place in the Kentucky Invitational where the Cougars defeated No. 14 Kentucky and lost to Iowa.

This season the Cougars are slated to play six games away from South Stadium, with the only remaining games being at San Diego, UNLV and Hawaii.

For the Gators and the Cougars it is also the second meeting between the two schools. The first meeting took place in Gainesville, Fla., on Sept. 19, 2003, with the Cougars coming away with a 2-0 win.

On the season, Florida is undefeated in seven contests. The game marks the first time this season that the Gators have traveled on the road.

At home, BYU is 4-1-1 on the season, including a tie with No. 17 Michigan, and a shutout victory over No. 7 Tennessee.

Kick off for BYU and Gonzaga game is set for 3:00 p.m. (PDT) at Martin Field. The Cougars and the No. 5 Gators get underway on Friday, Sept. 26, at 7:00 p.m. (MDT) at South Stadium.

The Last Time

Playing in their inaugural season, the Cougars managed to defeat Gonzaga University 4-0 to earn their seventh win on the season. Michelle Jensen struck first for the Cougars as she nailed two goals in the first period less than three minutes apart. LeAnne Johnson was credited with the assists on both goals. Shauna Rohbock and Kelli Allen each scored a goal of their own as Ashley Monahan and Heather Dahl earned the assists. The win was the third shutout in the history of the BYU program.

Sara Reading scored two second half goals to lift the Cougars Florida in a 2-0 road win back on Sept. 19, 2000. The win improved the Cougars record to 6-2 on the season while Florida fell to 3-5. Reading's first goal was a header on BYU's third-consecutive corner kick that came early in the second half. Twenty minutes later, Reading extended the Cougar lead with her second goal of the night from 24 yards out that went right into the middle of the goal. Kim Lowe and Jeni Willardson were credited with an assist on each of Reading's scores. Junior Jennifer Waldron was credited with the shutout in the game which was her first of the season.

Scouting The Opponents

Gonzaga holds a .50 record at 3-3 on the season. The team has been out shot by its opponents 82-93, but has managed to out score opponents 9-7 with a .110 shot percentage. The Bulldogs are averaging 1.50 goals per contest while limiting their opponents to 1.17 goals. Annie Hawkins leads the way for the Bulldogs with four goals and one assist on the year. Both Walker Loseno and Ashley Prior have dished out two assists on the year. Goalkeeper Ashley Haugen has a goal against average of 1.21 while recording 6.67 saves per game.

The Gators are averaging 3.29 goals per game entering Friday night's game. On the season the team has out shot its opponents 104-67, and have gained a 37-16 advantage on corner kicks. Florida's goalkeepers have allowed eight goals this season as starter Brittni Goodwin has a goal against average of 1.158 in seven games. Leading the Gators is Crystal Frimpong who has tallied four goals and two assists on the season, while Stephanie Freeman and Melanie Booth have passed out four assists apiece. In the last game, four different players scored goals on the way to Florida's second shutout of the year while out shooting Missouri 28-4.

Last Game: Montana & Idaho State

No. 21 BYU was upset by Montana on Friday by a score of 1-0. The Cougars dominated the Grizzlies in all statistical categories but goals. BYU out shot Montana 13-7 and had a 12-0 advantage on corner kicks. Montana's leading scorer Jamie Rizzuto, scored the lone goal for the Grizzlies as her shot from 45 yards out floated just past the outstretched hands of Cougar goalkeeper Ashley Smith in the 32nd minute. BYU came out aggressively in the second half, but with the Grizzlies playing a primarily defensive scheme, the Cougars had trouble finding good shots. It was the second consecutive loss for the Cougars after starting the season undefeated including three games against ranked teams.

No. 21 BYU recorded its fifth shutout of the season as they defeated the Idaho State Bengals (4-2-1) 2-0 at South Stadium Friday night. The majority of the contest was played on the ISU side of the field as BYU managed to control the tempo of the game, out shooting the Bengals 23-5 on the night. ISU was forced to play without three of its top athletes the Bengals resorted to a primarily defensive game. The Cougars refused to allow the ball to cross the midfield line until the 23rd minute when ISU recorded its first shot of the game. In the 57th minute the Cougars found the back of the Bengals' net to go up 1-0 off a corner kick assist from senior All-American Aleisha Rose to senior forward Lydia Ojuka who converted on the header. Freshman Bobbi Tillotson added the second and final goal of the game for the Cougars with 6:45 left in the game off an assist from fellow freshman Amberlea Anderson, and put the game out of reach for ISU.

Living Live

For the remainder of the 2003 season, all Cougar home games will have Live Stats available online at www.byucougars.com/soccer_w by simply clicking on the 2003 schedule and then selecting the appropriate "Live Stat" link with the corresponding game. Live Stats provides an opportunity for those who cannot be at South Stadium to still follow and enjoy BYU Women's Soccer.

Tops of the NCAA

Category No. Name Actual

Assists in one game 1 Aleisha Rose 6

Assists per game 2 Aleisha Rose 1.00

Shutout Percentage 10 BYU 0.67 (five of eight)

The Assist Queen

Senior All-American Aleisha Rose tallied four assists against Southern Utah, setting a new BYU school record and South Stadium record for most assists in a single game. The previous record of three assists was shared by Natalyn Lewis, Athelia Graham and Shauna Rohbock. With her assist on Terra Bigelow's goal in the 52nd minute against SUU, Rose became the No. 1 all-time career assist leader at BYU, passing Michelle J. Peterson who set the mark in 2000 with 38 career assists.

Ranking Or No Ranking

The Cougars are 2-0-1 against opponents ranked in the top 25 this season. BYU defeated No. 7 Tennessee 1-0, No. 14 Kentucky 2-1, and tied No. 17 Michigan 0-0 in double overtime. At home the Cougars are 1-0-1 and 1-0-0 on the road with the lone road game being against Kentucky.

Rose On Hermann Trophy Watch List

Three-time All-American senior Aleisha Rose, of the BYU women's soccer team, was named to the Missouri Athletic Club's Hermann Trophy watch list Tuesday. The M.A.C.'s Hermann Trophy is college soccer's equivalent to the Heisman Trophy and represents the highest level of individual achievement in the sport.

Rose, a preseason All-American, is one of 16 athletes who make up the watch list that includes the top Division I athletes in the country. Past recipients include some of the biggest names in soccer, such as Mia Hamm, Kristine Lilly, Shannon MacMillan, Cindy Parlow, Claudio Reyna, Tony Meola and Alexi Lalas.

Rose Named Preseason All-America

On Tuesday, Soccer America announced its 2003 preseason All-Americans, and heading up the list is three-time All-American senior Aleisha Rose of the BYU women's soccer team.

Rose, a native of Lakewood, Colo., is one of the most decorated athletes to ever play for the Cougars and has been an integral part to the team's success the past three seasons.

Rose is one of 11 athletes that makes up the 2003 Soccer America preseason All-American list.

Cougar Awards in 2003

National

Preseason All-American - Aleisha Rose

Hermann Trophy candidate - Aleisha Rose

Soccer Buzz Elite Team of the Week:

- Midfielder, Aleisha Rose 9/16

Soccer America Team of the Week:

- Defender, Claire Thomas 9/8

- Midfielder, Aleisha Rose 9/16

Conference

Offensive Player of the Week - Aleisha Rose 9/15

Defensive Player of the Week - Nicole Jensen 9/2

Claire Thomas 9/8

Cougar Awards in 2002

National

NSCAA ALL-AMERICAN: Aleisha Cramer-Rose, 2nd Team

NSCAA All-West Region: Aleisha Cramer-Rose, 1st Team; Jeni Viernes, 1st Team; Brooke Bowman, 3rd Team

SOCCER BUZZ ALL-AMERICAN: Aleisha Cramer-Rose, 3rd Team; Brooke Bowman, Freshman 3rd Team

SOCCER BUZZ ALL-WEST REGION: Aleisha Cramer-Rose, 1st Team; Jeni Viernes, 1st Team; Brooke Bowman, All-Freshman Team

Conference

MWC PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Jeni Viernes

MWC FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR: Brooke Bowman

MWC FIRST TEAM: Aleisha Cramer-Rose, Jeni Viernes, Brooke Bowman

MWC SECOND TEAM: Annie Hoecherl, Charlene Lui

MWC TOURNAMENT MVP: Jeni Viernes

MWC TOURNAMENT TEAM: Aleisha Cramer-Rose, Jeni Viernes, Jennifer Fielding-Henry, Brooke Bowman

MWC ACADEMIC ALL-CONFERENCE: Brooke Bowman, Aleisha Cramer-Rose, Jennifer Fielding-Henry, Katherine Gabbart, Britney Holman, Charlene Lui, Terra Smith-Bigelow, Jeni Viernes

Standing Room Only

A record crowd packed into South Stadium on Friday, Sept. 5 to watch the Cougars take on the No. 7 Tennessee Lady Vols. The game drew a standing-room-only crowd with 2,758 fans in attendance, breaking the old record of 2,191 set one week earlier in the season opener against No. 17 Michigan, a game that ended in a 0-0 double overtime tie.

South Stadium

For the past eight years South Stadium, formerly South Field, has been the battlefield for the Cougars as they have taken on, and defeated, the top teams in their conference and in the NCAA. The Cougars have amassed a 65-12-2 (.855) record at home, a record that is among the best in the nation over the same time period.

Of those 65 home-game wins, an outstanding 43 have ended in a shutout. The Cougars consistently hold their opponents scoreless when playing at South Stadium with 55.26 percent of all their games ending in shutout victories, while BYU has been shutout only five times in the stadium's history.

The Stadium's crowds consistently rank in the top 15 in the NCAA for the largest crowds in the country. With an average attendance of 1,075 fans during the 2002 campaign, the Cougars had the 15th largest attendance average in the country making South Stadium one of the toughest places for opponents to play in college today.

The Rockwood File

In only eight short years, head coach Jennifer Rockwood has taken the BYU women's soccer team to national prominence and established herself as one of the premier coaches in Division I soccer today.

Rockwood currently ranks eighth in winning percentage among active NCAA coaches with an impressive 142-39-3 (.780) overall record for her career, with the likes of Anson Dorrance, John Walker, Chris Petrucelli, Becky Burleigh and Clive Charles being the only coaches ahead of her. Over the last seven seasons, Rockwood has averaged 18.85 wins per year, an average that has her ranked second behind only Anson Dorrance of North Carolina.

In eight years as head coach, Rockwood has guided the Cougars to five conference championships. After going undefeated in conference play and winning their fourth straight Mountain West Conference title last season, the Cougars managed to remain the only team to win the conference title in the history of the MWC.

On the national scene, Rockwood and her teams have made six consecutive appearances in the NCAA Tournament and reached the "Sweet Sixteen" in 1998 and 2000. Under the watch of Rockwood, the Cougars have also had seven consecutive top-25 finishes including last season's No. 23 finish.

Among the many achievements and awards she has received over her career, Rockwood has been honored with two Coach of the Year citations, one by the Western Athletic Conference in 1996, and then by the MWC in 2000. She also became the first MWC coach to eclipse the 100-win total mark when the Cougars shutout Milwaukee-Wisconsin 2-0 on Sept. 23, 2000.

Under Rockwood's tutelage, a long list of All-American soccer players has emerged from BYU's program. These athletes include Aleisha Rose, Jeni Viernes, and Michelle Jensen. Among the players who have been coached by Rockwood are four athletes that were drafted by the women's United Soccer Association: Shauna Rohbock, Maren Hendershot, Sara Reading, and Staci Reynolds.

Prior to becoming the head coach, Rockwood led BYU's highly successful club soccer team for seven years. In that time she amassed an overall record of 128-25-9, and in the final two years she took her teams to the Western National Collegiate Club soccer Association (NCCSA) title and placed second in the NCCSA National Championships.

The Lake Oswego, Ore. native was a three-sport athlete in college playing soccer, basketball, and track. After one year at Ricks College on a basketball scholarship, she transferred to BYU where she became a four-year starter at center midfield on the Cougars' club soccer team. Rockwood has also coached in the Utah ODP, youth club programs, and at the high school level.

ROCKWOOD, YEAR-BY-YEAR

Year W L T Conference

1995 11 8 1 WAC

1996 22 1 0 WAC

1997 19 4 0 WAC

1998 20 5 0 WAC

1999 21 4 0 MWC

2000 19 4 1 MWC

2001 14 7 1 MWC

2002 16 6 0 MWC

2003 5 2 1 MWC

Total 147 41 4 (.830)

BYU club team under Rockwood:

128-25-9 (.790), six years (1989-1994)

ROCKWOOD AMONG COACHING ELITE

Rockwood currently ranks eighth in winning percentage among active NCAA Division I coaches with an impressive 142-39-3 (.780) overall record for her career. Anson Dorrance, John Walker, Chris Petrucelli, Becky Burleigh and Clive Charles are the only coaches ahead of her. Over the last seven seasons, Rockwood has averaged 18.85 wins per year, an average that has her ranked second behind only Anson Dorrance of North Carolina.

Fresh Faces

This season's incoming class of Cougar freshman can be expected to make strong contributions to the team, with five of the nine recruits hailing from Utah.

With the loss of some key defenders from last year's squad, expect freshmen Claire Thomas, and Nicole Jensen to make an immediate impact for BYU.

Jensen was a 2002 All-State selection out of Denver, CO, and Thomas was a 2002 and 2003 Barons All-Tournament Team selection as well as a 2002 second-team All-Palomar athlete, and joins the team at 16 years of age.

Among the Utah athletes headed to BYU is the 5A MVP in 2002 Elizabeth Affleck (redshirting the 2003 season) out of Alta High School and the two-time 4A MVP Courtney Asay from Mountain View High School.

The Cougars' incoming class ranks along side with the best classes the school has ever had. Affleck and Bobbi Tillotson were both members of the 5A State Championship Alta High School, and Asay, Haylee Cuthbert, and Ali Williams all played for the three-time 4A State Championship Mountian View Bruins.

Home Sweet Home

The 2003 regular schedule is set to be one of the best home game schedules in school history. The Cougars will be playing 13 of their 19 regular season games at South Stadium. Highlighting this season's home schedule will be three teams that finished in the 2002 NSCAA top-25: No. 11 Michigan, No. 10 Tennessee, and No. 22 USC. BYU will also host four teams that are ranked in the NSCAA preseason top-25: No. 14 Tennessee, No. 17 Michigan, No. 19 USC and No. 21 Florida.

In the past home field advantage has paid great dividends for the Cougars as the team has amassed an impressive 61-10-1 record at home. In the those games BYU has managed to shut out its opponent 38 times, while losing only four games in a shutout.

Also included in the home schedule is the 1998 NCAA Championship team, Florida, as well as in-state rivals Southern Utah, Weber State, and Utah. The Cougars and Utes will face-off in the final regular season home game for BYU on Nov. 1 at South Stadium.

With seven teams on the regular season schedule that qualified for the 2002 NCAA Tournament, this year's schedule promises to be one of the most competitive seasons for the Cougars who finished No. 23 in the NSCAA final rankings last year and are No. 24 in the NSCAA preseason poll.

Cougars Picked Second in mwc preseason

The Mountain West Conference announced its 2003 preseason poll Monday with the league's coaches selecting BYU to finish second behind Utah.

One point and one vote separated the Cougars and the Utes in the voting, with BYU totaling 33 points and three first place votes, while Utah grabbed 34 points with four first place votes.

For the 2003 season BYU returns eight starters and 11 letterwinners while the Utes return six starters and 14 letterwinners.

MWC Preseason Coaches' Poll

Pl. Team (1st pl. votes) Points

1. Utah (4) 34

2. BYU (3) 33

3. New Mexico 26

4. UNLV 19

5. San Diego State 18

6. Air Force 9

7. Wyoming 8

Four-straight MWC Titles

With a 2-1 win over Utah in the final game of the regular season, BYU ensured itself a fourth-straight MWC Regular Season Championship.

The Cougars first goal of the game came in the 41st minute on a header by sophomore forward/midfielder Kimmie Davis. Senior forward Jeni Willardson-Viernes put BYU up 2-0, scoring her sixth game-winning goal of the season in the 64th minute on a pass from junior All-American Aleisha Cramer-Rose. Utah's only goal came on a penalty kick by Ute forward Shauna Gurr-Bingham.

Going into the MWC Tournament the Cougars earned a first-round bye before defeating San Diego State 9-2 in the second-round. The win advanced BYU to the championship game where they came out on top of New Mexico 5-1, winning their fourth consecutive MWC Championship title.

To date, the Cougars remain the only team in the MWC to ever win the either conference crown.

Injury Update

Senior Aydre Soff tore her meniscus in practice on Sept. 4, and is done for her career. Freshman goalkeeper Meredith Simmons is out for the season due to a torn MCL she suffered in practice Sept. 3 . Sophomore midfielder Brooke Bowman has a sprained MCL and will be out 4-6 weeks.

Practive and Interviews

Practice is held weekdays from 2:15-4:30 on Haws Field. Interviews with Coach Rockwood and/or members of the Cougar soccer team are schedules through the BYU Athletic Media Relations office. To schedule an interview, Please contact Jason Wells at (801) 422-8999 or by

e-mail at soccer_sid@byu.edu.