Spring Season Update - USD Women's Soccer USD played both UCLA and Arizona State to even 1-1 ties http://usdtoreros.ocsn.com/sports/w-soccer/spec-rel/030904aaa.html USD's 2004 schedule again includes a lot of difficult non-conference opponents: UCLA, USC, Washington, Denver, Utah, and Colorado.
Updated Roster USD has an expanded roster listed now - but it is in pdf format, just like the schedule and 'quick facts' pamphlet. There are 7 starters returning (including Canadians Marie-Claude Henry and Michelle Rowe), along with 6 other letter-winners. The roster now includes a total of 15 freshman (1 of those is a red-shirt.) Of note, all 3 keepers listed are incoming freshmen. Here is a 'notepad' version of the roster: # Name Pos. Ht. Yr. Hometown/Last School 0 Karen Cook GK 5-7 FR San Jose, CA/Archbishop Mitty HS 00 Alisha Ferrer GK 5-5 FR Stanton, CA/Cornelia Connelly 01 Kylie Taylor GK 5-4 FR Hermosa Beach, CA/Mira Costa HS 02 Sarah Chifcian D 5-5 SO Fullerton, CA/Rosary HS 03 Lee Ann Klopschinski F 5-8 JR Upland, CA/Upland HS 04 Veronica Ambort MF 5-7 SO Fountain Valley, CA/Fountain Valley HS 05 Joslyn Williams D 5-5 SO San Diego, CA/USDHS 06 Brooke Roby MF 5-3 SR Poway, CA/Poway HS 07 Kelly Emsiek MF 5-6 SO R. Santa Margarita, CA/Santa Margarita HS 08 Michelle Rowe F 5-11 JR Calgary, Alberta/Bishop McNally 09 Kaitlyn Pruett D 5-8 SR San Diego, CA/La Costa Canyon HS 10 Amy Epsten F 5-6 FR San Diego, CA/Acad. of Our Lady Peace 11 Stefanie Baines D/MF 5-6 SO* Everett, WA/Cascade HS/Emerald City 12 Leigh Ann Robinson MF 5-9 FR San Diego, CA/Mt. Carmel HS 13 Shannon Sullivan D/MF 5-5 SO Poway, CA/Poway HS 14 Marie Claude-Henry MF 5-7 SR St. Hyacinthe, Canada/U of. Nebraska 15 Elizabeth Cochran F 5-2 FR Atlanta., GA/North Atlanta HS 16 Vanessa Vella D 5-5 FR Encinitas, CA/La Costa Canyon HS 17 Andrea Keesling D 5-6 SR Thousand Oaks, CA/Thousand Oaks HS 18 Allison Wolters F 5-5 FR Upland, CA/Upland HS 19 Mary Sturgeon D 5-5 FR Libertyville, IL/Libertyville Community HS 20 McKenna Starck F 5-4. FR Encinitas, CA/La Costa Canyon HS 21 Mackenzie Atkinson MF 5-5 FR* Albuquerque, NM/Albuquerque Academy 22 Ashley Graumann D 5-7 FR Menlo Park, CA/Menlo School 23 Brittany Young D/MF 5-8 SO Fair Oaks, CA/San Marcos HS 24 Katie Buser MF 5-2 FR Lakewood, CA/Bellarmine Prep 26 Lisa Lerud D 5-4 FR Hawaii/Punahai School 27 Kate Rassmussen D 5-7 FR Atherton, CA/Menlo-Atherton HS *Has utilized redshirt year
Union-Tribune article by Glae Thien Tough Twosome The article features Marie-Claude Henry and Brooke Roby. For a change, the online version includes the same pictures of them that the paper does - and of course the online ones are in colow. Here is a quote about 'M-C':
Re: Union-Tribune article by Glae Thien Obviously! She's is a CANADIAN!! afterall Thanks for the link Don!
8/27 game at UCLA USD again starts the season with a tough game, as they traveled to UCLA and were defeated 4-0. USD Falls 4-0 To #9 UCLA In Season Opener
I just read the stats for the UCLA game and the UC Irvine match, and noticed that Leigh Ann Robinson started both games. This young lady is an outstanding player who came from the Surf program locally, but ironically never played a minute of high school soccer. She played four years of varsity basketball at Mt. Carmel HS (as did SDSU freshman Jenae Gibbens). I expect the next four years will be a treat with Robinson on the field for the Toreros. She and Vella played on the National championship Surf team in 2003, and are proven winners.
02 Sept road game vs Colorado [R] SD Women Upset #23 Colorado The Toreros overtime victory was powered by Amy Epstens goals. MC Henry got another assist. Vella, who scored in the last game, assisted on the OT goal. Box score hasn't been posted yet...
Great win for the USD women - on the road no less! Ada is doing a much better job than many give him credit for. Good stuff Toreros! If you notice, this team is built much like the USD mens teams of the early 90's with a healthy dose of local club players coming off a national championship team to form the core, with top quality imports filling in the holes. Having 2/3's of your roster come from SD allows you to spread your scholarship dollars farther, too.
04 Sept game at Denver U [R] Denver Topples USD The shot stats for this game make me wonder what really went on, as the Pioneers account of the game says nothing at all about their keeper making 13 saves. And it does seem like the Torero starting keeper had problems with the rain (although the stats say USD had 13 saves, it credits the 2 keepers with 4 and 1 respectively...)
USD - Sept. 8 at Fullerton (R) I saw Wednesday night's Cal State Fullerton-San Diego game (1-0) at Titan Stadium. Not a great game, fairly even, only goal an own goal (by Leigh Ann Robinson) off a fine cross by Lauren Cram. Fullerton was without five starters, including both center backs (Mexican national-teamer Marlene Sandoval, dealing with post-Olympics eligibility issues, and Vanessa Valentine, not cleared following a concussion) and goalkeeper (England U-19 GK Karen Bardsley, still not 100 pct after breaking her leg at Portland last year). And forward Kandice Wilson, the Titans' top scorer in 2003, was benched. And the Titans lost two more starters to knee injuries, one an apparent ACL tear, in the first half. Neither team produced a lot offensively, and both teams defended well. I think Fullerton probably has a stronger side this year, but this could be the best Fullerton team ever. That may not mean much, as the Big West looks solid, especially at the top. Pacific's win at Nebraska on Friday night might start clue-ing some people in to how good the Big West really is. Of course, UC Santa Barbara -- a strong team -- needs to do more than 6-1 losses at UCLA. ... Anyway ... the earlier post on Robinson is correct. She looked strong at right back, and the own goal was just poor fortune. What surprised me was that Michelle Rowe -- a huge presence (she's 5-11, and solidly built) -- spent the first half in midfield. I thought she, and the Toreros, were much more dangerous when she moved up front in the second half. I also think USD could have won the game had they tried to use her height more, send in crosses for her head. We rarely saw USD even try that tactic -- late in the match, with Fullerton ahead, corner kick from the right, and Rowe was virtually unchallenged. Her header, alas, went high. Another time, USD attacking up the left flank, and Rowe is alone in front of the goal. CSUF defenders are marking the other forward, but they've left Rowe alone, or she's slipped her marik and is standing on the edge of the 6. No cross comes for her. Marie-Claude Henry disappeared for much of the match. I expected more, but players have off-games, and this one seemed like an off-game for her. The freshman forward, Epsten, looked dangerous late in the match, but the Titans did a pretty good job on defense, especially Lauryn Welch, who moved inside in Valentine's absence and played a helluva game.
11 Sep 04 game vs. SDSU [R] USD defeated a game SDSU team by a final score of 4-1. It was actually a closer game than the score would indicate. The entire game was end to end action, but the Toreros were able to create better scoring chances, and were able to capitalize on most of those chances (they only had 5 shots on goal). The placement of the shots that scored was such that the Aztec keeper had no chance to stop them. There was a very large crowd that covered at least two thirds of the concrete bleacher side of Torero. There were a lot of college students, a lot of young ladies from clubs like the Surf, and a lot of adults. I assume that it was because the two local rivals were playing. Some of what is listed in the box score of the game at the USD website isn’t quite right. There were a few more fouls than what is recorded, and the positions played by some SDSU players weren’t what was listed – Salinas played as a winger, and shadowed Marie-Claude Henry when they were both in the game, and Alexis Solovij played as a forward and/or attacking midfielder the entire game. The Toreros scored their first goal off a corner kick in the 7th minute. MC Henry launched it to the far side, where Brooke Robey policed it up and lofted a pass into the middle of the box, where Amy Epsten had an easy header into the goal. The second goal came as a long pass to midfield was head-flicked on by Michelle Rowe. It still had such speed that Epsten was able to run onto it as it passed the last defender, allowing her to go 20 yards unopposed and then go one-on-one with the keeper - and she easily slotted a ground shot into the net. The rest of the half was end-to-end action, marred by a couple of yellow cards. The first was issued to Epsten, who pushed an Aztec after getting fouled, and compounded that push by apparently mouthing off to the ref. He must have later felt a bit bad about it, as he issued one to SDSU forward Alexis Solovij for holding outside the USD box. The only other incident of note was Michelle Rowe having to leave the game 20 minutes before half time with a leg problem after she extended it in an attempt to poke the ball forward just outside the Aztec box. The second half started out the same way as the last 25 minutes of the first half went, a lot of action with neither side actually coming close to scoring. That stopped when an Aztec defender launched a lot high ball deep into the box from almost the midfield line. The USD keeper, who hadn’t faced a shot on goal at all so far, muffed the ball just like a punt returner would – an onrushing SDSU forward as able to tip it around her, and she tackled her as she went past. A penalty kick was awarded, and Amanda Swiader was able to convert it. That made things 2-1, and suddenly what had appeared to be a comfortable lead looked a bit more precarious. The Aztecs were revitalized and play was more equal than before. But about 16 minutes after that score, the tables turned again – once more off an MC Henry corner kick. This time, she hit a hard lower kick that Michelle Rowe was able to head in from only about 10 feet from goal. Neither side was able to convert their various chances until only 6 seconds left in the game. With 5 minutes left, USD put Amy Epsten back in the game (I admit that at this point I asked the guy next to me why take a chance on your top scorer getting a 2nd caution and having to sit out the next game..) and she made it pay off when she was able to convert a corner kick from freshman Vanessa Vella. Vella impressed me – she played good defense and showed a strong leg when she needed to. She took corner kicks when either Brooke Roby or MC Henry weren’t in the game (those 2 take the CKs where they can hit in-swingers with their dominant feet.) Rowe looked a lot better to me in her flick-on headers – she did a lot of those in the first half before the one that lead to the team’s second goal. She also missed a header goal off a corner kick earlier in the match when it glanced off her forehead at too much of an angle and skipped past the far post. MC Henry didn’t look as good as usual patrolling the left wing, but I believe that that was because Gina Salinas was posted on the SDSU right wing to oppose her. As soon as Salinas was moved around partway through the second half, MC again was able to get down the side and launch some of her patented crosses. She actually missed a chance to score in the last minute of the game (15 seconds before Epsten scored) when she beat 2 defenders with her dribbling down the side and into the box – but then her shot got too close to the keeper, who deflected it out for the corner kick. Here are links to the articles on the game by the schools and the Union-Tribune. Epsten Hattrick Buries Aztecs San Diego Downs Aztecs Freshman's Hattrick Powers USD
Re: 11 Sep 04 game vs. SDSU [R] Got to see the game on Sat. night. Agree, it was a lot more equal than 4-1. After SDSU's goal (by the way, why didn't anyone from USD receive a card, the last defender fouled the sdsu girl??) I thought SDSU had the better run of the play for about 20 min or so. The last part was ugly, and both USD goals were pretty to see. I think if SDSU's starting keeper had been playing, she would've gotten all 3 headers, as they were within the 6, but alas, that is why they play the games. USD has more talent, or plays harder, than in years past. They were defenitely the more talented team, but I am impressed with SDSU. Frankly, they don't have the talent yet, but I think those new coaches are doing something with the hand they were dealt, as that team looked pretty darn good. I think USD will fare much better than last year's 9-9 or whatever, and make noise in the WCC. I am lookin for a win over Santa clara this year. I think SDSU is about a year away (depending on how they recruit) but I was impressed so far, in a game, that I thought would be a runaway USD win.
USD Game Tracker! I didn't realize that the Toreros had this, but when I was checking their schedule (because of a listing of home games for them, SDSU, and UCSD tonight - I knew that at least one of those was incorrect), I noticed that it listed "Game Tracker" under the 5pm starting time. It looks pretty good - check out the Game Tracker from the last game (I assume that that will disappear sometime during the day today.) USD Toreros Schedule/Results Link
17 Sept game vs. Long Beach State [R] A weird game, as the Toreros came away with a 6-0 victory. I'll be brief, as I have to go out with some friends. MC Henry was the star of the game, as her corner kick in the 14th minute was headed in for the first score, and then she scored twice herself in the 2nd half to give the team a 4-0 cushion. I'll have more to post tomorrow.
Full report The game was closer than the final score would indicate. LBS actually played fairly well – they showed disciplined defense, and won most ‘50-50’ balls, whether loose balls on the ground, or the midfield headers. What the visitors did not have, however, were as good a set of athletes, especially when their back line had to face the Toreros’ forwards and attacking midfielders. The one 49er who stood out for me was their #7, Allison Wiegand, a forward/attacking midfielder. As mentioned in my earlier post, the star offensive player this game was Marie-Claude Henry. Her corner kicks during the game were such that the LBS keeper always had to make an instant decision as to whether she should come immediately out and try to punch the CK away, or stay back and hope her defenders would be able to get it headed away. The first one she punched out, the second she didn’t – and Kaitlyn Pruett, a 5-9 defender, made her pay for it by solidly heading it in from about 4 yards out. MC had a chance to score herself in the 21st minute, but she flubbed a ‘one-timer’ from about 10 yards out. That came about 4 minutes after MC had made a run and centered the ball to top scorer Amy Epsten, whose turn-around shot from the middle of the box was saved by the keeper. The second goal came off a long free kick by Vanessa Vella, who got it into the box, where Pruett was able to get a shot off that was blocked by the keeper, but the rebound went directly to Veronica Ambort, who slotted it into the open net. The last good chance to score came a little over 6 minutes later. MC policed up a ball on the right side (not sure what she was doing over there!) and was able to beat 2 defenders on the dribble, positioning herself inside the top right corner of the box – where she unleashed a hard left-footer that just missed catching the top left corner of the post. Halftime saw USD leading in shots 12-2, CKs 4-1 and fouls 9-5. The Torero keeper did not have to make a save and her 49er counterpart made 3. 1 minute into the 2nd half, a corner by Vella was headed to the far side of the box, where Pruett got off a shot that was high and wide. There was a period from the 5th through 14th minutes of that half that the visitors had the better of the play, getting corner kicks and shots. But in the 16th minute whatever momentum they had built up was destroyed when Epsten made a run down the left side, beat a defender at the back line, and then made a pass back to just outside the top of the box – and MC was there to hit a screamer of a ground shot into the open left side of the goal. LBS again seemed to gain the upper hand in play for the next 5 minutes, but again their hopes were dashed when LeeAnn Robinson beat her defenders, forced the keeper to come toward her, and slotted a pass to the waiting Henry, who only had to tap it in from 3 yards out. After that it was mostly USD, and 2 more players were able to get their first goals of the year. Shannon Sullivan scored off a rebound of her own shot, which came off a corner kick by Brooke Roby. The last goal came on a very good individual effort, as Lee Klopschinski took the ball down the right side beat a defender, then made the keeper commit and tucked the ball into the short side using the outside of her right foot. Note: Although she was in uniform, Michelle Rowe never got into the game. I assume that she was nursing the leg injury that she appeared to have suffered in the last game. Stats
19 Sept game vs. USC [R] I wasn't able to attend the game, but from looking at the Gametracker account of the game later, it appeared to be a tough game where the Trojans had the better of the play but were unable to put away the Toreros until the very end of the game. That account has the following at the end of it: 89:40 SHOT - Shot by USD Henry, Marie-Claude. SAVE - Team. USD 0, USC 2 89:59 GOAL - Goal by Lansing, Tracy (55-yard empty netter) Recap
Re: 19 Sept game vs. USC [R] Usually I agree with your accounts of the game, but a 17-5 shot margin doesn't suggest that USD had the run of the play. I am not an USC fan, and think they could be a much better team adn program, but it looked like they dominated this game. I know how screwy soccer can be, so maybe this was one of those games, but I don't see USD dominating and getting off 5 shots and USC sitting back and playing kickball and getting 17 shots.
Re: 19 Sept game vs. USC [R] Notice that I said that the Trojans (i.e., USC), not the Toreros, had the better of play... I just meant to show that apparently USD had a chance there at the end to tie the game up - that SAVE (Team) notation indicated to me that Henry's shot had beat the keeper but was kept from going into the goal by a defender... I also wonder if the Gametracker had a series of 'hiccups' close to the end. It had USD switching keepers a number of times, starting at the 87:03 mark. I wouldn't think the CR would allow that... Speaking of the gametracker (by CSTV), it's apparently now in use for a number of teams. Have other people watched it?
Re: 19 Sept game vs. USC [R] oops, I misread your post. Sorry about that. Teams are now switching keepers at the end of 1-0 games to stop the clock. With the new rule, you have unlimited keeper subs, and with NCAA rules, the clock stops on substitutions.
21 Sept game vs. UC Riverside [R] USD suffered another tough loss, as UC Riverside was able to parlay an early goal into a 1-0 win. The Highlanders did have the edge in play for the first 10 minutes, but weren’t able to get into a good scoring position. Their players were faster and bigger than the Toreros, but overall didn’t have the soccer skills that the home team did. The goal that they scored was a combination of bad keeper positioning and a very good/lucky shot by Kacie McElrath. She launched a high ball from about 37 yards out - and the Torero keeper had to backpedal, but wasn’t quite able to get to the goal line before the ball arrived and dropped a foot underneath the crossbar for a goal. The visitors brought a group of about 50 vocal supporters with them, including 15 girls that all appeared to be part of the Sharks soccer club. The girls all had signs to support UCR or specific players on the Highlanders. Unfortunately, 4 of the adult males (I assume that they were the fathers of players on the field) who came were loudmouths who criticized everything that the officials did or didn’t do. And they had to do a lot of that, as after that first 10 minutes there wasn’t much for them to cheer about – except when their keeper or defenders kept the ball out of the net. The Toreros got stronger as the first half progressed, having several shots that just went wide or high – or that the keeper made good or great saves on. And there was one case at the 38:45 mark where a USD forward was taken down in the box from behind by a two-legged slide tackle – the CR not only didn’t call the obvious foul, he awarded UCR a goal kick! 3 minutes later, the UCR keeper got her hand on a hard shot, had it hit the post and come right back out the 6 feet to where she was laying on the ground in front of the net. The second half was more of the same, with UCR having to use more and more substitutes to keep fresh players in the game – USD was controlling the ball and making them chase down the sides and in the middle of the field. Less than 2 minutes into the half, Michelle Rowe just missed on a header off a cross. 2 minutes after that, a defender had to block a shot 3 yards from the goal – then in the next 15 minutes the Toreros had a series of corner kicks, free kicks, and centering passes that kept the keeper busy with saves, catches, punches, and in 2 cases, watching the ball hit the post or cross bar and bounce out – ending with a header off a corner kick during the 20th minute that a defender was able to block off the goal line. It seemed inevitable that the ball would go in at least once then or later, but it never seemed to happen. The Highlanders finally seemed to get a second wind and during the last 10 minutes of the game had almost an equal amount of the play. The Toreros switched keepers a number of times to get the clock to stop during the last 8 minutes or so, but time finally ran out on the home team... Stats weren’t quite as one-sided as the game really was. USD is listed first: Shots 20-7, Shots on Goal 8-3, Saves 2-8, Corner Kicks 4-3, Fouls 15-22. Something not shown was the large number of free kicks that USD had that went deep into the UCR, I estimate that there were about 10 of those. Note to Elaine: I got to meet Michelle Rowe’s parents, who were down from Canada, and were sitting right next to me during the game. And I told them about your GoBigRed site…
Close Game Gets Away... I think that the title of this one says it all. Looking at the box score, it appears that the Toreros had the same sort of problem getting goals by Jenna Huff that the SDWFC had during the WPSL season, when she was the keeper for the Tabagators. The only difference is that she only had to make half of the saves that she did against the Sea Lions... Nickie Olson was also on that team (she scored the only goal in the 1-0 defeat at the start of the WPSL season), along with Bascones, Carney and O'Harrow.
26 Sept game vs. Cal Polly San Luis Obispo [R] Not a lot to say about this game - this is the first one that I've been to this year where the Toreros got outplayed, and yet it ends in a 0-0 tie. Both teams worked hard in the heat, and I really felt for them in both overtimes... The one good thing that I saw was that USD keeper Karen Cook made some good saves. In all of the past games, her saves were basically routine, and she would only have a few of those. I hope that the offense can get going before the confererence games!