USF Women's Soccer Opens up the 2009 Season This Week

Aug. 26, 2009

Complete Release in PDF Format

THIS WEEK FOR THE DONS: USF opens 2009 play hosting Marist at Negoesco Stadium on Friday, August 28 and Academy of Art on Sunday, August 30. Game time versus the Red Foxes is set for 7:00 PM, with the final weekend match against the Urban Knights will kick off at 1:00 PM.

NEXT UP FOR USF: The Dons host their first tournament since the 2006 season, welcoming San Jose State, Long Island, and Fairfield to the Hilltop for the USF odwalla Nike Classic September 4 and 6. San Jose will meet Fairfield at 5:00 PM on Friday, and USF will take on Long Island in the night cap at 7:30 PM. On Sunday, the Dons will host Fairfield in game one at 11:00 AM and San Jose State and Long Island will close out the event at 1:30 PM.

DONS AGAINST RANKED OPPONENTS: USF is set to meet no less than three teams with early season rankings. The Dons host No. 22 Santa Clara at home on Friday, October 16 at 5:00 PM. Two days later, they host No. 13 USD at 11:00 AM as a part of a women's and men's double header at Negoesco. Finaly, USF travels to No. 4 Portland on Sunday, October 25 for a noon start.

FRESHMAN ALY DRAKE EARNED ATHLETE OF THE YEAR HONORS AFTER SENIOR SEASON: Incoming freshman Aly Drake, who signed with both the USF women's soccer team and the track squad, has earned Santa Clarita Valley 2008-09 Female Athlete of the Year by The Signal newspaper after a fantastic senior season at Valencia High School. In soccer, Drake was the co-captain for the second straight year, and helped lead her team to a co-Foothill League Championship. She was second on the team with eight assists, and third with 10 goals. On the track, she won the 800m at the CIF State Track and Field Championships with a personal best 2:07.45.

TWO DONS EARN ALL-CONFERENCE HONORS: Junior forward Kristina Hall was named to the West Coast Conference Second Team, and senior midfielder Katherine Kimure earned Honorable Mention for the 2008 women's soccer season. Hall finished the season with one goal, two assists, and four points. Her goal was an unassisted shot at Colorado (8/31) to prevent the Dons from being shut out in the 4-1 loss. She added assists in a 1-1 overtime tie at Northridge (9/28) and in the 2-0 win over Bakersfield (10/5) at home. She finished the season with 15 shots and played tremendously well on defense. Kimure earned her second Honorable Mention nod, adding to her 2006 selection. She led the Dons with 49 shots and was among the top ten throughout the Conference in total shots and shots per game (2.45). As a midfielder, Kimure was aggressive both on offense and defense. The senior finishes her career with 109 shots in 75 games (67 starts), with four goals and eight points.

Anika Steig NAMED VALEDICTORIAN: Graduating senior and goalkeeper Anika Steig was selected as class Valedictorian for the Class of 2009. The Politics major and Peace and Conflicts minor's accomplishments in the classroom are even more impressive when one couples it with the commitment Steig made to being a student athlete. Student athletes at the Division I level can spend up to 20 hours a week dedicated to their sport; something that many college students would have a hard time balancing. Steig's not only balanced athletics and academics, but also thrived in both. The senior goalkeeper was a team leader that helped in setting the new team foundation the last two years. Her contributions to the program's commitment to excellence in the classroom are very impressive and summarized below:

- Valedictorian of the College of Arts and Sciences - speaking at 12 pm graduation on Friday, May 22nd.
- Ruth Aubrey prize - given to one graduating senior from the Honors in the Humanities Program
- Charles L. Harney Award - senior male and female student athlete who has maintained the highest academic average during his or her tenure at USF.
- Honored at the Scholar Athlete Luncheon for being the top senior with the highest cumulative GPA in their sport.
- Dean's List all semesters
- Member of Pi Sigma Alpha - the National Political Science Honor Society
- Member of NSCS - National Society of Collegiate Scholars

USF DONS PRESEASON RECAP

MATCH ONE

WOMEN'S SOCCER DEFEATS UC DAVIS 1-0 IN FIRST EXHIBITION: University of San Francisco women's soccer started off pre-season with a 1-0 win over UC Davis on Thursday afternoon on a sunny and breezy day in Davis, CA. The Dons are 1-0 in the early going and have one more exhibition match before the regular season starts at the end of the month. Dons newcomer, junior defender Ashley O'Brien, scored the game winner at 31:22 on Aggies freshman goalie Kathleen Brandl. O'Brien headed it in on a cross from senior defender Samantha Brand, who earned the assist on the play. Senior goalkeeper Kelly Pohle did not record a save in, but played nearly the whole game with 70:49 minutes in goal. Freshman Noelle Salter had one save in 19:11 minutes. UCD's Brandl recorded three saves along with a goal against in the first half, while junior Sarah Peters had one save in the second. O'Brien, senior midfielder Kristina Hall, freshman midfielder Camile Cholger, and sophomore midfielder Meritt Peterson led the Dons with two shots each, with sophomore forward Molly Hall, junior midfielder Jamie DeAraujo, sophomore midfielder Kallie Caldwell, and freshman forward Megan Connor each adding one. USF controlled the ball most of the match, out shooting the Aggies 12-7. Each team had five corner kicks in the game.

WOMEN'S SOCCER WINS FINAL EXHIBITION MATCH 2-0 OVER SF STATE: In its final exhibition match prior to the opening of the 2009 season, San Francisco women's soccer defeated San Francisco State 2-0 on Friday afternoon at Negoesco Stadium. The Dons finished their exhibition season 2-0 after defeating Davis 1-0 on August 13. With just over three minutes off the clock in the first half, the Dons came out aggressively. Senior midfielder Kristina Hall headed the ball into the right side of the goal after a perfect cross from junior defender Lauren Maris to make it 1-0 USF. In the second half, freshman forward Camile Cholger scored on a penalty kick at 76:38 to put the Dons up 2-0. USF out shot the Gators 17-4 in the contest, while State held the corner kick advantage, 4-1. Dons' senior goalie Kelly Pohle had three saves in the contest and Rachel Lauderdale had three for the opponents.

WEEK ONE

OPPONENT CAPSULES

MARIST RED FOXES
Head Coach: Elizabeth Roper, 5th Year (Fordham '89)
Career Record (Years) / School Record (Years):
26-43-6 (4) / 26-43-6 (4)
2009 Record: 1-0-0, 0-0-0 MAAC
2008 Overall / Conference (Place): 5-14-0 / 3-6 (T-7th)
NCAA / Final Ranking: NA
Returning letter-winners / Starters: 18 / 10
Predicted 2009 Conf. Finish: 7th
Series Record: First Meeting
Last Meeting: NA
Series Streak: NA
Marist Website: www.GoRedFoxes.com

A LOOK AT MARIST: The Red Foxes travel to the Hilltop with a win under their belts after defeating Youngstown State 2-0 in the 2009 season opener. Freshman Jakie Frey scored in the 56th minute, followed by junior Amy Tillotson's score 23 minutes later.

ACADEMY OF ART URBAN KNIGHTS
Head Coach: Aileen Nasypany, 1st Year (Bentley College `99)
Career Record (Years) / School Record (Years):
10-5-2 (1) / NA
2009 Record: 0-0-0, 0-0-0 PacWest
2008 Overall / Conference (Place): 2-14-1 / NA
NCAA / Final Ranking: NA
Returning letter-winners / Starters: 8 / NA
Predicted 2009 Conf. Finish: 8th
Series Record: First Meeting
Last Meeting: NA
Series Streak: NA
AAU Website: www.academyartathletics.com

A LOOK AT AAU: The Urban Knights open up their 2009 season hosting Cal State East Bay on Friday before meeting the Dons at Negoesco on Sunday. AAU was accepted into the NCAA (Division II) after last season and have joined the Pacific West conference. They return eight letter-winners from a team that went 2-14-1 in it's first year of existence.