USF to Host St. Mary's Sunday in the West Coast Conference Opener

Oct. 7, 2003

DONS LOSE LAST TUNE UP BEFORE WCC PLAY BEGINS: USF (4-8-0) played their last non-conference match of the season before heading into West Coast Conference play as they hosted San Diego State (5-5-1) at Negoesco Stadium last Sunday afternoon. The Dons controlled much of the game, but could not find the back of the net against a determined Aztec defense, falling 1-0 in overtime Sunday afternoon at Negoesco Stadium. In the first half, USF held a 4-1 shot advantage, but could not convert against San Diego State goaltender Stephanie Pearson. USF goaltender Jennifer Orantes faced only one shot in the first half. In the second half, the attacking picked up a bit for both sides, as both teams took four shots in the second half. In the 75th minute, an Aztec shot from 20 yards out hit the cross bar, and in the 86th minute a header went over the cross bar by about a foot. Orantes also had a great save in the 70th minute that would have been an Aztec goal had she not gotten her gloves on it. As regulation came to an end, the teams headed in to the first 10-minute overtime period still tied at 0-0. In the third minute of the extra period, San Diego State forward Kim Castellanos took a pass from the right, beat two defenders and put in the winning goal for the Aztecs.

DONS TO HOST ST. MARY'S: The Dons will welcome in the St. Mary's Gaels (3-6-1) on Sunday October 12th for the WCC season opener for both teams. Over the weekend, the Gaels went up against two Mountain West Conference teams in #19 Utah (10/3) and New Mexico (10/5). On Friday, the Gaels were shut out by the Utes 2-0, giving up a goal in each period. Both teams took 10 shots on the game. On Sunday, the Gaels took on the Lobos and played to a 1-1 tie. Chelsea Montero, who converted a penalty kick in the 80th minute to tie the game, scored the lone goal for the Gaels. The kick was awarded to the Gaels after the Lobo goaltender used her hands to make a save after having the ball deflected to her by her own team on a corner kick.

SCOUTING ST. MARY'S: St. Mary's has played a very tough non-conference schedule this year, playing against five top 25 teams so far this season. In matches against #2 UCLA (L, 1-0 ot), #19 Utah (L, 2-0), #20 Stanford (L, 1-0 2ot), #21 USC (L, 3-2) and #22 Dayton (W, 3-1), the Gaels have gone 1-4, with the lone victory being a 3-1 win over Dayton on September 21st. Leading the way in the scoring department for the Gaels is senior defender Chelsea Montero. Montero has four goals and one assist on the season, good for nine points. Senior forward Lucianne Crenshaw is leading St. Mary's with six assists on the season and she has one goal, for eight points, which is second on the team behind Montero. In goal, the Gaels count on sophomore Alicia Artuso. Artuso has a record of 3-6-0 on the season. She has a goals against average of 1.62 and has 45 saves on the season. As a team, the Gaels have out shot their opponents 120 -117 and have been out scored 17 goals to 12. The Gaels will play one more match against Sacramento State before the game on Sunday. Overall in the series, St. Mary's holds a 12-3-1 advantage, beating the Dons 3-0 last season.

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 (8) and assists per game average (0.67) and fifth in shots (30) averaging almost three a game. Schmidt is also tied for fifth in points (12). Against Cal State Northridge (9/26) Schmidt added two more assists to her league leading total, leading the Dons to an 4-0 victory. Schmidt was named co-West Coast Conference player of the week for the week of 8/25 -8/31.

Chelsea Hunt RECORDS THE FIRST USF HAT TRICK IN NINE SEASONS: Chelsea Hunt's hat trick on September 26th was the first for USF women's soccer since former Dons stand out Kelli Bryant performed the feat back on October 7th, 1994 in a 7-0 shut out of San Diego. Hunt began the game with two goals on the season and finished the game with five and in a fourth place tie for the league lead.

THE DONS RANK HIGH IN CONFERENCE TEAM STATISTICS: The Dons are ranked high in many of the WCC statistical categories. The Dons lead the league in shots (184) and are third in points (69), goals (25), and goals per game (2.08) behind only Santa Clara and Pepperdine, and are second in corner kicks (63) behind Santa Clara. The Dons are also third in assists (19) and assists per game average (1.58), behind only Santa Clara and Pepperdine. With 48 saves, the Dons are in third place in the conference behind Gonzaga and St. Mary's.

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 second place in points (16), third in goals (6) and assists (4), and is fourth in goals per game average (0.50), points per game average (1.33) and shots (31). Freshman midfielder Chelsea Hunt is second in the conference in shots (39) and game-winning goals (2), and is fourth in the conference in goals (5). Senior goaltender Jen Orantes ranks third in the conference in saves (43).

SCHMIDT CLOSING IN ON THE ALL-TIME ASSISTS TOP FIVE: 12 games into her first season on the Hilltop, junior Annika Schmidt is already closing in on the top five in career assists. Presently, Schmidt has eight assists. The fifth spots all time are held by Kishandee Green (1995-98) and Jannik Abel (1994), each with 10 assists for their career.

IF IT'S A WIN, IT MUST BE A SHUTOUT!: So far this season all of the wins for the Dons have been shutouts. The all-time USF record for shutouts in a season is 10, which was done in 1994. That season the Dons went 12-6-1, the best season in USF Dons Women's Soccer history.

TEAM LEADERS IN KEY STATISTICS Goals - Shuree Hyatt (6) Assists - Annika Schmidt (8) Points - Shuree Hyatt (16) Shots - Chelsea Hunt (34) Saves - Jennifer Orantes (40) Wins - Jennifer Orantes (4)

A LOOK AHEAD: The Dons will head up to the Northwest on the weekend of October 17th to take on the Gonzaga Bulldogs (10/17) and the defending National Champion Portland Pilots (10/19). Going into the conference's opening weekend, Gonzaga is sporting a 7-4 record, while the Pilots have gone 10-2. These two teams will square off with one another this Sunday in their team's conference openers.