USF Travels To the Desert To Take On Arizona State and Arizona

Sept. 18, 2003

September 19th vs. Arizona State @ 7:00 PM Tempe, AZ/ Sun Devil Soccer Stadium

September 21st vs. Arizona @ 1:00 PM Tucson, AZ/ Murphey Stadium

THE DONS GO 1-1 IN THEIR FIRST HOMESTAND OF 2003:After two straight weekends in Oregon, The USF Dons Women's soccer team (3-3-0) finally made their home debut on Friday night against San Jose State (1-5-0) at Negoesco Field and they did not disappoint their fans. The Dons scored six goals in the first half and never looked back, shutting out the Spartans, 8-0. Six different Dons found the net, led by freshman forward Shuree Hyatt and sophomore midfielder Ashley Davies, who each had two goals. Hyatt also had two assists in the game. Junior midfielder Annika Schmidt added a goal and an assist. Other goals were scored by freshman midfielder Chelsea Hunt, sophomore forward Liz Sylva, and sophomore midfielder Stephanie Gray. Senior goaltender Jennifer Orantes picked up her third win of the season without making a save. On Sunday, the Dons took on the University of Pacific Tigers (1-5-1). The Dons out shot the Tigers 19-5, but all it took was one goal for the Tigers to pull off the upset, beating the Dons, 1-0. Schmidt took six shots in the game, but was unable to get one past UOP goaltender Erin Kishimoto, who picked up her first win and shutout of the season.

THE DONS TRAVEL TO THE DESERT TO TAKE ON ARIZONA STATE AND ARIZONA: The Dons travel to Arizona to take on two of the top women's soccer teams in the Pac-10 when they battle Arizona State (3-1-1) and Arizona (2-3) this weekend. On Friday, September 19th, the Dons take on the Arizona State Sun Devils at 7:00 in Tempe. On Sunday, September 21st, the Dons will make the drive down to Tucson to take on the Arizona Wildcats at 1:00 PM. These matches will be the first of three straight against Pac-10 teams for the Dons. USF will take on Stanford on Wednesday, September 24th on the road to complete the three-game road trip.

SCOUTING ARIZONA STATE:In their last match, the #19 ranked Arizona State (3-1-1) played Vanderbilt to a 1-1 tie. The Sun Devils lone goal was scored in the 65th minute by senior defender Amy LePeilbet. So far on the season, the leading scorer for the Sun Devils has been sophomore midfielder Brittany Cooper. Cooper has three goals and one assist for a total of seven points. Freshman midfielder/forward Courtney Crane has also chipped in with two goals and three assists for a total of seven points. LePeilbet leads a defense that has only surrendered five goals in five games this season. The Sun Devils are led in goal by junior Kelly Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald has a 3-1-1 record this season. She has a 0.85 goals against average to go along with two shutouts. The Sun Devils lone loss so far this season came at the hands of the #5 Fighting Irish of Notre Dame, who beat ASU 5-1 back on September 4th.

SCOUTING ARIZONA: The Wildcats of the University of Arizona (2-3-0) are coming off a 2-1 victory against Northern Arizona, after losing two straight to Arkansas and Missouri. Sophomore Mallory Miller scored the first goal for the Wildcats in the 43rd minute and after NAU tied the game up, junior forward Candice Wilks scored the game-winner in the 82nd minute to give the Wildcats the win. Wilks is the leading scorer for Arizona this season with four goals, good for eight points. Her 29 points in her career place her fourth on the all-time Wildcat list. Miller and freshman midfielder Erin Bevacqua both have four points on the season. Junior defender Lindsey Peoples leads the Wildcat defense. On the season, Peoples has an assist and has taken five shots. In her career, Peoples has started 42 consecutive games for the Wildcats. Junior Krystal Werges and sophomore Natalie Jaurez have shared the goaltending duties for Arizona this season. Werges has tallied 270 minutes and has a record of 1-2, with seven saves and a 2.00 goals against average. Jaurez has played 180 minutes and has a record of 1-1, with five saves and a 1.50 goals against average. Arizona has out shot its opponents 75-34 this season and holds a decisive edge in corner kicks, 42-10.

Annika Schmidt AMONG LEAGUE LEADERS IN MOST OFFENSIVE CATEGORIES: Annika Schmidt continues to be one of the more dominant players in the West Coast Conference. She leads the conference in assists (5) and assists per game average (0.83). Schmidt is also tied for third in points (9). Against San Jose State (9/11) Schmidt scored her second goal of the season and added another assist to her conference leading total of five, leading the Dons to an 8-0 victory. Schmidt was named co-West Coast Conference player of the week for the week of 8/25 -8/31.

THE DONS RANK HIGH IN CONFERENCE TEAM STATISTICS: The Dons 3-3 start to the 2003 campaign has them ranked high in many of the WCC statistical categories. The Dons lead the league in shots (118) and are second in points (46), goals (17), goals per game (2.83), and corner kicks (31) behind only Santa Clara. The Dons are also second in assists (12) and assists per game average (2.00), behind only Pepperdine.

DONS AMONG THE LEADERS IN INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS: Several Dons players are near the top of the leader board in key statistics. Freshman forward Shuree Hyatt is currently in a second place tie in points (10), points per game average (1.67), goals (4), and goals per game average (0.67). Sophomore midfielder Ashley Davies also has four goals, which is good for second in the conference. Freshman midfielder Chelsea Hunt is second in the conference in shots (23) and is third in the conference in assists (3) and fourth in points (7). Senior goaltender Jennifer Orantes has a goals against average of 1.08, which places her fourth in the conference

A LOOK AHEAD: The Dons will travel south to take on #24 Stanford (3-2) down on the Farm on Wednesday, September 24th. The Cardinal are riding a two-game winning streak after beating Harvard 2-1 and Dartmouth 1-0. This weekend Stanford will participate in the Santa Clara/Adidas Classic, where they will meet #2 Notre Dame on Friday, September 19th. Sunday, they will take on the University of Georgia. The Cardinal are led by junior All-American goaltender Nicole Barnhart. Barnhart has a goals against average of 0.60 and has made 13 saves in five games.