USD T orero Thread This info is from the usd torero dot com site, which doesn't list page url's in the address block... *** The University of San Diego women's soccer team enters the 2002 season looking to qualify for their fourth consecutive NCAA Tournament. The Toreros return 13 letter winners and welcome six newcomers to a team that will open the 2002 campaign against #11 UCLA in Los Angeles on Friday, August 30th at 2:00 PM. Two days later San Diego will play in Torero Stadium (home of the WUSA’s San Diego Spirit), opening their home schedule against UC Santa Barbara on September1st at 1:00 PM. USD is just one year removed from setting a school record, winning 10-of-11 games in Torero Stadium; the 2002 Toreros are faced with a schedule that has USD playing the bulk of their key games on the road. Four preseason Soccer Buzz Top-25 programs, as many PAC-10 opponents and a date with the defending national champion Santa Clara Broncos highlight USD’s road schedule this fall. “We are really taking on the Pac-10 and the WCC, the two strongest conferences out west,” says fifth-year head coach John Cossaboon. “A good number of our games are on the road against teams like Arizona State, Santa Clara, USC, and UCLA. Those are hard games to begin with. Add the road contests, and yes it becomes more difficult, but those are challenges we need to step up to and overcome.” Cossaboon must find a way to replace seven graduated seniors, including record- setting keeper Leila Duren, team captains Gina Poltl and Claire Currie, and offensive threats Stephanie Barnier and Casey Loveland. The loss of key personnel may be a reason the Toreros are picked to finish fifth in the West Coast Conference. However, the Toreros have never experienced a losing season in conference play, and have never placed lower than fourth since 1994. The Toreros will counter with a very talented group of young players. Junior all conference defensive players Alexis Obeji and Cristina Romero should help keeper Libby Bassett get accustomed to tending net for an entire 20-game season. Bassett, a 5-11 junior from Seattle, is expected to be the Toreros' starting goalkeeper in 2002 after solid play through six games as a sophomore. Bassett and senior midfielder Rebecca Smith are the 2002 team captains on a squad that is adjusting well to all the roster changes early on. “It is a lot of fun being down at training right now, and that says a lot in terms of our hopes for this season," added Cossaboon. “This is a new group with lots of different people coming in that will make major impacts. We are seeing very positive things day to day and our early expectations have risen from what we have seen in training.” Smith and fellow senior and two-time all-conference performer Val Strocco will provide Cossaboon with experience at the midfield position. Starters Katie Allen and Andrea Keesling both return off of strong seasons in 2001. Allen scored two game-winning goals including an unassisted score to beat USC 1-0. Keesling, a sophomore from Thousand Oaks, started every game during an All-WCC honorable mention season as a rookie. Forward Ashley Jacobsen returns for her senior season after scoring the game- winning goal against UC Irvine in 2001. Junior Brenna Mullen is another upperclassman that made major contributions last season. Mullen is one of eight local players that have come to USD after playing with the San Diego Surf Club program. Juniors Colleen Fogarty, Hayley Robertson and sophomore Brooke Roby are among them. Fogarty and Robertson each scored goals last season, while as a true freshman, Roby saw extended time as a midfielder. With the loss of seven seniors, the newcomers will be expected to contribute. The recruiting class includes three prep league MVP’s - Lee Ann Klopschinski (Upland, CA), Megan Oliveira (Lemoore, CA) and Stephanie Baines (Everett, WA). Another freshman recruit, Michelle Rowe, enters the Torero program after leading her Calgary Blizzard club team to a national championship as a prep player in Canada. Midfielders Marie Claude Henry, a transfer from Nebraska, and sophomore Shanon Bauer (Escondido, CA) round out the Torero’s six new players.
From this mornings Union-Tribune Here is an article on the U-19 SD area club team that USD gets a lot of its players (there are 8 on the 2002 roster) from... *** A Special Team Long, terrific run by San Diego Surf group ended with yet another championship By Glae Thien, SPECIAL TO THE UNION-TRIBUNE August 28, 2002 As they had for years, the San Diego Surf players gathered in a circle for a talk just before taking the field. It would be their final game together. Many of them were in grade school when they joined the team. Now all were in college. This was the 533rd game for the original members, their fourth straight trip to the national tournament, their third consecutive final appearance, and their chance to win a second U.S. title in their farewell. "We talked about giving it our all," the Surf's Kim Castellanos said "This was our last game. This was what we worked our entire lives for. Every single minute of that game, we gave it our all." The result was the Surf prevailed 7-2 over the Michigan Hawks in the Under-19 age division – the ultimate group – in the Snickers U.S. Youth Soccer National Championships at Germantown, Md., on July 28. Castellanos scored two goals and Brenna Mullen had three to help lead the Surf, which avenged a 2-1 loss to Michigan in the previous year's final. "It was just absolutely amazing," Mullen said. "We all came in there with the attitude that we weren't going home with anything less than first place. It was the final thing for this team that had accomplished so much." Surf player Megan Kakadelas couldn't attend the tournament because of a conflict with training for the U-19 national women's team. But she eagerly monitored the team's progress through updates from her mother, who was in touch with other parents at the tourney. "Oh, yeah, I was calling my mom all the time to see how they did," Kakadelas said. "It was kind of hard not being there, but I had to stay (behind). I knew they could do it. There were so many good players on the team." As the new school year begins, Castellanos – who was featured in Sports Illustrated's Faces in the Crowd after leading the U-19 tournament with six goals in four games – competes at San Diego State, Mullen plays at USD, and Kakadelas has transferred to Santa Clara from USC, where she was Pac-10 Freshman of the Year. All 16 members of the last Surf U-19 are playing for Division I schools. Mullen, Kakadelas and Kristen Rogers were with the team from the very beginning as a U-11 team. Some 50 girls reported for the team tryouts, and 15 were selected to become part of the Surf. Castellanos came aboard for the U-13 season, after her family moved from the Los Angeles area as a result of her father's job transfer. Initially, two other clubs rebuffed her, but then she received the tryout she really wanted from the Surf, whose coaches remembered her from tournament play. This Surf team would wind up with an overall record of 474-30-29, ranking it among the greatest teams in youth sports history. Only 12 of the losses were against teams in the same age bracket since the team often moved up a division to face tougher competition. In its first season, the Surf went 51-0 and won the State Cup title while outscoring the opposition 211-4 overall. The Surf even had a 6-2 record against boys teams during its early years. Colin Chesters, the Surf director of coaching, happened to begin his tenure with the club the same year this team began at the U-11 level. He soon called the girls "freaks of nature" because of their soccer talent. "Even at under-11 or under-12, there was talk of us going on to nationals. We always had that goal instilled in us," Mullen said. "We always talked about winning State Cup and winning Regional and winning Nationals. So we all definitely had those goals. Then it actually came true." Off the field, the players remained a team as well, just shifting in time from kids celebrating birthday parties to teens hanging out at the beach. But always, too, they say there were player-parent dinners that demonstrated the teamwork between generations. The Surf first reached the national tournament in 1999 in the U-16 division, but finished third when it tied all three group games – two on late own goals. It then won its first championship the following year. This year, unlike any other for the Surf, the players gradually returned from college for a final reunion on the field. "Honestly, being at Nationals my very last year, it really made me realize how I appreciate the sport of soccer, going back to college," Castellanos said. "It's here, it's now. I want to look back and say, 'I gave it my all.' I want to say that everything that I wanted to accomplish, I accomplished." So, just as they ended one era, these players are beginning another the same way. *** Surf U-19 national champions Where players on this year's national champion San Diego Surf team will be playing this fall: Player Pos.\City\College Kim Castellanos\F\Escondido\SDSU Natalie Dew\D\Encinitas\Cornell Laura Greenberg\M\Mission Viejo\Texas Chr. Lindsey Huie\D\Aliso Viejo\Portland Laura Janke\G\Simi Valley\CS Fullerton Megan Kakadelas\M\Carlsbad\Santa Clara Andrea Keesling\D\Thousand Oaks\USD Noelle Langston\M\Santee\USF Brenna Mullen\M\San Diego\USD Kaitlyn Pruett\D\Encinitas\USC Brooke Roby\M\Poway\USD Kristen Rogers\D\Bonsall\Portland Krystal Sandza\M\Poway\UCSB Kelley Schweighart\F\Solana Beach\Washington Rachelle Snyder\F\San Diego\Penn Alyson Spencer\M\Temecula\UC Irvine
USD - UCLA [R] not a pretty result, as Bruins overwhelm the Toreros 6-0... And their next opponent, UCSB, should be a determined one, as they let a 2-0 lead evaporate against San Francisco - that game ended in a tie.
USD-UCSB game [R] USD defeated UCSB 4-2 at Torero Stadium, with the temperature hovering around 90 for the entire game. The Toreros got off to a 3-0 lead in the first 30 minutes, and gave back a goal on a defensive miscue in the 43rd minute. The lead was widened to 3 again at 53:07, and by the 70th minute the home team began to run out of energy. UCSB was able to get a second tally at 78:06, but was unable to score again. The visitors suited up 27 players and all but the 3rd keeper saw action, probably the reason they were able to gain more of the play in the last 20 minutes. Unofficial statistics from the scoreboard at games end were: Shots 18-8 USD, Saves 9-4 UCSB, Corners 4-2 USD, Fouls 18-8 UCSB. USD goals by Barnes, Mullen, Smith, and Klopschinski UCSB goals by Martinez and Borcich
Away game versus UC Riverside The USD women's soccer team improved to 2-1 on the season with a convincing 3-0 road victory over the UC Riverside Highlanders (0-3). USD goals were by Brooke Roby, Leeann Klopschinski, and Brenna Mullen.
Denver University Game [R] This will be short, as the system just ate my original post.... USD was able to eke out a 1-1 tie with the Pioneers. The home team was missing a number of players to injury and one to a death in the family, so only 2 field substitutes were available. Compounding this was the fact that defender Alexis Obeju had to leave the game because of her 2nd yellow card in the 72nd minute. Starting keeper Libby Bassett also had to leave the game when a DU forward collided with her after she got to a through ball first. She ended up on the bench with an icepack to her head and a dazed expression on her face. It was hot and humid at game time, but by end of the first half the home team had outshot the visitors, had a 4-1 edge in corners, and had outfouled them by a ratio of 2 to 1. But they looked to be worn out by halftime, and should be proud to have hung on through the 2 overtime periods. Denver seemed to be a bit faster over all, and created a number of scoring chances. But their finishing was abysmal and they were a bit unlucky, hitting the top of the cross bar twice. I found their coach very irritating. There's nothing wrong with shouting instructions to his players, but he also made a lot of remarks about the officiating - in fact, just about every call that went against his team was an occasion for him to say something (think of him as a college version of Tom Stone.) In fact, I'm a bit surprised that he didn't get disciplined by the ref.
USD Game 9-11-02 It was a good night to play soccer, as the temperature was just on the warm side when the game started at 7pm, and just on the cool side when it ended. USD wore it’s all-white home uniforms, and Cal State Northridge black with white side panels on their shirts. The home team was again playing short-handed, with central defender Alexis Obeji sitting out the game because of the 2 cautions received in the last game, and a number of others out because of injury. That gave the team a different look in their starting lineup: Fogarty – Klopschinski – Allen Henry – Robey – Mullen – Strocco Romero – Keesling – Smith Bassett After the first 51 minutes of the game last night, the Toreros had to be really frustrated. The visiting Matadors had been soundly outplayed by the home team up to that point, but were able to take advantage of a scramble in front of the USD box after a free kick and took a 1-0 lead when Cindy Mallett was able to put a shot past keeper Libby Bassett on her teams second shot of the game. By that point, the Toreros had taken 6 times as many shots, earned 5 corner kicks to none, but hadn’t been able to take advantage of their scoring opportunities – including hitting the cross bar twice. Ten minutes after that goal, the home team seemed to have tied the game. A shot by Katie Allen was stopped by the keeper and the rebound was knocked in by Leeann Klopschinski. But it was called back on a late offside call. USD’s midfield continued to control matters, but time after time something happened to keep the team from scoring – balls hit or headed just wide, diving saves by the keeper, etc. Finally, at the start of the 76th minute, a corner kick by Marie-Claude Henry was headed in by Brenna Mullen to tie the game. Less than a minute later the CSN keeper had to make a save on a hard shot, and then the USD keeper had to make her only tough save of the game just 30 seconds after that. Immediately after that, the Toreros almost scored again when a shot after a save by the Matador keeper was blocked right at the goal line by a defender. The home team kept up the pressure, and then had a bit of luck. Up to this point, the visitors’ keeper had made some good diving saves, but had been shaky as far as being able to hold onto the ball. Brenna Mullen took advantage of that fact, receiving a pass from Brooke Robey that brought her to a mark 45 yards out from the goal. She hit a hard shot that just dipped a bit as it neared the goal, and keeper Jen Jasper leapt up, just getting her fingertips on the ball, allowing it to fall behind her into the goal. That made it 2-1. The Toreros kept assaulting the Matador goal, with shots being saved by Jasper, and one header off a corner kick kept out of the goal by a defender. Two and a half minutes before the end of the game, a centering pass by Colleen Fogarty was just tipped wide by Robey, and less than a minute after that a centering pass from Mullen was tipped into the middle of the box by Robey and tapped in by Klopschinski. That made the final score 3-1. Final stats on the scoreboard showed USD with advantages of 25 to 5 in shots and 9 to 1 in corner kicks. During the game, the Matadors played just enough good defense, with the back 4 players getting support from midfielders, to keep the Toreros from getting off in-close quality shots. But they also committed to more slide tackling than I had ever seen in a college game. Most of the time they got a piece of the ball, but just about all of the time they got a bigger piece of the player’s legs. By the end of the game 5 or 6 of the home teams starters were gimping around because of that. I thought that the ref did not call near enough fouls for that – only 13 fouls were called against them, most of those not for those tackles.
The USD account of the game has been posted at http://www.usdtoreros.com/ and according to it Natalie Bobbit was the keeper for the Toreros. I guess that Libby Bassett was still getting over her head injury from the game before this one, and I didn't notice the different name called out in the pre-game intros. I wonder which of them will be playing tonight, on Friday the 13th?
13 Sept game against Fresno State The Fresno State Bulldogs came into this game with a 1-3-0 record, but with some 'Friday the 13th' luck stunned the Toreros in the first 4 minutes of play by having their first two shots turn into a 2-0 lead on a pair of goals by their #22, Kortney Lewis. Both goals were scored off bad mistakes by USD’s reserve keeper, who was starting because Libby Bassett was still out from the head injury suffered two games ago. On the first, a long through ball was run at by the keeper, who kicked the ball right into one of her defenders, with the ball bouncing behind her – that allowed Lewis an easy open ground stroke shot for a goal. On the second, the keeper was caught out of position and didn’t even move to try and stop the shot from the top right corner of the box. But that was really it for the visitors. Although they did get off 4 more shots during the game, not of them were on target – the USD keeper didn’t make a save the entire game! The Toreros had some communication problems during various times, that might account for them only getting off 15 shots themselves. Because the Toreros had another forward (Katie Allen) out, they didn’t use the 3-4-3 formation of the last game, but instead had this lineup at the start: Klopschinski – Fogarty Henry – Roby – Mullen – Strocco Keesling – Obeji – Romero – Smith Bobbit The home team started to put on some pressure soon after that, and in the 12th minute LeeAnn Klopschinski beat 2 defenders in the box on the right side, and then was tripped as she headed towards the goal. The ref didn’t make a call, though. A minute after that, LeeAnn was able to get some revenge by heading in a goal off a high centering pass from Marie-Claude Henry. She would continue to make the Bulldogs pay the rest of the game. Part of that was on a crunching shoulder charge that knocked 2 players over the sideline, earning her a yellow card from the ref, Mr. Baldeaux. In the 22nd minute, a shot by Brenna Mullen was caught by the FSU keeper, Mary-tyler (yes, that’s her first name) Wahl. That was the first of the game, and there would only be one more the rest of the game! By halftime, USD had a 10-4 edge in shots and a 4-0 edge in corners. They had been called for 8 fouls, and the visitors 9 (the ref missed or didn’t call 5 hand-balls by the Bulldogs.) The Toreros had controlled most of the play, with FSU reduced to hitting a series of long balls that were not aimed with any real purpose besides getting the ball in the USD box, hoping for another mistake. The home team got off to a fast start, earning a corner kick at the :20 mark. It was taken, a shot was blocked, and then FSU’s #19 handled the ball in the box, but the ref again refused to make a call. Again, in less than a minute, retribution was a hand, as a centering pass was lofted into the box by Brooke Roby and headed into the net by Klopschinski! That made the score 2-2 and had the visitors reeling. At the 7:00 minute mark the ref finally called a hand-ball – but it was on USD! It took a bit longer this time for the Torero’s to react to the situation… They scored in the 15th minute as LeeAnn got her hat-trick on a tap-in of a ground pass from the right side to the far post by Megan Oliveira. A little bit over a minute after that a FSU player finally got a yellow card for one of their repeated fouls – this time on a sliding tackle from the rear that got all leg, no ball. Another minute, and Mr. Baldeaux finally called a hand-ball on them, garnering him a mock-cheer from the crowd . USD got a 4th goal at the 28:34 mark when Brooke Roby slid a pass over to Val Strocco at the top right corner of the box, and Val made a couple of moves to get free for a sweet shot to the upper right corner of the goal that the keeper couldn’t reach. That 4-2 score was to be the final, Neither side had any real scoring chances after that. There were two things of note during the last 16 minutes. One was a yellow card to the home team’s Shannon Bauer on a hand ball at mid-field (she wasn’t trying to stop a breakaway or anything, I do not know what the ref was thinking, especially after all of the ones that he let go for FSU…) The other was that at the 41:50 mark the visitors got their first corner kick of the game, and that was only because an attempt at a long pass was deflected by a midfielder right after it was kicked - and it only just rolled over the endline by the corner flag before the keeper could get to it. FSU used a 4-4-3 formation throughout the game, and their players actually seemed to be a bit faster than the USD players. But they had a difficult time controlling the ball, lost most 50-50 challenges, and had to block a lot of passes by the home team with their bodies and heads (I bet they’ve got a lovely set of bruises from this game.) But they never quit trying, and had a small contingent of very vocal fans to cheer them on. Those fans had a good time bantering back and forth with some of the “Hooligans” that USD has. Something to worry about for USD was the lack of communication during parts of the game. This lack was between the keeper and the backs, between the backs themselves, and between the midfielders and the backs. This wasn’t something that I’ve seen from them before. It’s especially mysterious because Alexis Obeji was back after her 1 game suspension, so all 4 regular backs were there – and the regular midfielders were in also… Next up for the Toreros, another home game this Sunday. The opponent will be Long Beach State, who were 0-3-0 going into their game today against Oregon State. So USD should have a good chance of moving to a 5-1-1 record before they travel to Arizona State and Arizona on the 20th and 22nd.
USD 9-15-02 Game against Long Beach State It was another hot 1pm game, but there was a bit of a wind, so things weren’t as bad as last Sunday. The field was in decent shape, but is starting to show the wear from the football team also using the field. The Toreros looked sluggish during most of this game, but were still able to defeat Long Beach State 3-0. The USD keeper only had to make 1 real save the entire game, and the 49ers were charitably credited with 6 shots. The first score of the game came at the 8:23 mark as Marie-Claude Henry was able to collect a ball at the top left corner of the box and then drilled a shot with her left foot, beating the keeper inside the near post. 1-0 Toreros. A minute later, the 49ers took their only two shots of the first half, but had them blocked by USD defenders. Another minute later they also got their only two corner kicks of the half (and the game) but both balls were headed out of trouble by the defense. In the 34th minute right outside defender Rebecca Smith brought the ball down the side line and then made a great curving pass that Brenna Mullen was able to head down into the goal from just inside the box. That made it 2-0. LBS had a difficult time defending corner kicks during the game, but USD repeatedly hit their headers wide. They did do a good job pressuring whoever had the ball, but the Torero midfielders were very good at using dribbles and short passes to keep possession. They did such a good job of this that the defenders repeatedly had to use slide tackles – I thought that the ref did a horrible job in allowing them to keep doing that, as they were only getting a little bit of the ball and really hammering the legs of the Torero players. The 49ers also had to do a lot of back passing, and when they got the ball into the midfield they were dispossessed of the ball most of the time. The home team didn’t get it’s 3rd score until the 76th minute. LeeAnn Klopschinski was able to tap a ball into the open net after Brooke Roby beat 2 defenders in the box and drew the keeper out with a move before slotting a ground pass to Leeann. The referee did call a lot of fouls, but seldom for those sliding tackles. He also handed out several yellow cards (2 to LBS, 1 to USD) and I couldn’t figure out why he gave 2 of them. Several of his foul calls also left everyone scratching his head. On one play, he called a foul on Andrea Keesling, when in fact Andy was elbowed while leaping in the air to head a ball. I’m sure he was embarrassed when he had to stop the game for several minutes while a dazed Keesling was treated and then helped off the field. The other incident occurred a bit after that, as Klopschinski was put back into the game to replace the fallen player. Five minutes after she re-entered the game, there was a loose ball that she went for, doing a forward slide that enabled her to get to the ball first. A 49er got there late and fell over LeeAnn’s legs. All of us expected a foul to be called on the Long Beach player for getting there late and kicking the player that was on the ground. Instead, the ref handed the poor Torero player a yellow card! Coach Cossaboon immediately tried to get her out of the game, but the ref ignored the 4th officials attempts to substitute her out. Everyone had a laugh during those last 2 minutes of the game, as Coach had to keep yelling at LeeAnn to not try any tackling, and then yell at her not to even mark anyone. Some of the fans started also yelling at here to stay away from the opponents. Unofficial statistics: Shots USD 19 – LBS 6; Saves USD 1 – LBS 9; Corners USD 6 – LBS 2, Fouls USD 14 – LBS 19.
Arizona State Game The Toreros suffered their second loss and shutout of the season as Sun Devils Elizabeth Bogus & Temryss Lane scored for the home team, who now have a 3-1-2, while the visitors fall to 5-2-1. Back up keeper Natalie Bobbit started once again for USD, as Libby Bassett is still recouperating from a head injury.
University of Arizona game The Toreros were able to make up for their performance against ASU by defeating AU 3-0. Nothing is up yet at the USD site, but this was at Arizona's... http://arizonaathletics.ocsn.com/sports/w-soccer/recaps/092202aaa.html
Game at USC The Toreros and Trojans fought to a 0-0 tie, with the home team enjoying a 17-7 advantage in shots. There is a short account of the game at the USD website, provided by USC...
Cal State Fullerton game 9-29-02 The Toreros became the 2nd area team to lose to the Titans this week. The final score was 2-1, even though USD outshot their opponents and caused the visitors to make 4 saves to 1 for their own keeper. The hosts lost a goal in the first half when a breakaway was called back because the scorer was fouled and the ref didn't allow the advantage... There is a full report on the Toreros site...
Cal Poly The Toreros defeated the Mustangs 3-0. There is nothing posted at the USD site yet, but this has appeared at Cal Poly's... *** San Diego, CA - The Cal Poly women's soccer team fell to San Diego, 3-0, in the Mustangs' final non-conference soccer match of the season at Torero Stadium Sunday afternoon. The loss dropped the Mustangs to 6-5 on the season. San Diego broke the scoring drought in the 62nd minute when Val Strocco scored off a Katie Allen throw-in. Less than a minute later (0:32), Marie Claude Henry increased the margin to 2-0, putting in a rebound of a Michelle Rowe shot. San Diego's final goal came in the 74th minute, as Rowe tallied a goal of her own on a breakaway off a pass from Henry. The Toreros outshot the Mustangs, 11-9. Katie Collins (Ocesanside, CA) and Erica Claussen (Santa Rosa, CA) recorded two shots, with both of Claussen¹s shots on goal. Greta Shirdon (Santa Barbara, CA) made four saves in goal for the Mustangs. Cal Poly returns to action on Friday, October 11, when it hosts Cal State Northridge in the Mustangs¹ Big West Conference opener in Mustang Stadium at 7 p.m. San Diego 3, Cal Poly 0 At Torero Stadium, San Diego, CA October 6, 2002 Score by periods: Cal Poly 0 0-0 San Diego 0 3-3 Scoring: SD-Val Strocco (Katie Allen) 62:03 SD-Marie Claude Henry (Michelle Rowe) 62:35 SD-Michelle Rowe (Marie Claude Henry) 73:52 Shots (On Goal): Cal Poly 9 (4), San Diego 11 (7) Saves: Greta Shirdon (CP) 4, Libby Bassett (SD) 4 Attn: 358
Quality Conference article A nice article on the WCC, more emphasis on the men than the women, with information on the USD program. There is a side bar that lists all of the conference alumni who are in the MLS and WUSA (a lot more women than men) that I'll try to post a bit later. As always with U-T articles, they will only be available for a week or so, so read it fast... http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/uniontrib/wed/sports/news_z1s16quality.html
University of San Francisco Dons Game The Toreros won this 5pm game by a 2-0 score. But if not for very good work by the USF keeper Jennifer Orantes, and poor finishing by several USD players, it could just as easily have been a 6-0 game. Even though it had been cloudy for the entire day, the skies cleared up about 30 minutes before game time. In the first half the visitors had to face the sun, but USD never took any of the type of shot what would have given the Dons’ keeper problems. The home team wore all white, with USF their all green uniforms. This game was in part a story about the two keepers. The final statistics are really misleading. The USD keeper looked shaky for most of the game, but USF was never really able to take advantage. None of their shots were from good positions, and all were from long distance. In fact their one real chance to score came in the 71st minute when the Torero keeper came all the way to the sideline to kick a ball and had one of the Dons’ midfielders miss-hit her long chip shot to the left of the very open goal, as the keeper was still 20 yards away when the ball crossed the endline. The USF keeper, on the other hand, was kept very busy. She made a number of very good plays early on in the game that I think caused the USD attackers to try to get too ‘cute’ after that. She made 10 saves, made somewhere in the neighborhood of 15 catches, and forced players to shoot wide or have their kicks be blocked. She also came out to cut off potential through ball breaks at least 10 times. Even though she never scored, I thought that the player of the game was Marie-Claude Henry. Early in the game she so dominated the left side from her midfield spot that the USF coach had to make two substitutes in only the 9th minute of play. By that time, she had beaten players a number of times and made 5 crosses, any of which could have resulted in goals if the attackers had timed their headers or volleys better. As it was, she got an assist at the 7:13 mark when she beat two players, forced the keeper to move towards her, and hit a low cross that was so good that all Brooke Roby had to do was re-direct it into the net with her chest! ‘M-C’ continued to torment the opponents throughout the first 20 minutes – by then adjustments were made and more through balls and crosses began to happen in the middle and the right side. A number of saves, catches, and kicks by Orantes kept the score at 1-0 until the 40th minute, when a pass by Val Strocco let Roby in on a breakaway from the right side. Unlike a number of other players, Brooke made no mistake, faking the keeper out and hitting a low shot into the goal. Things slowed down in the second half, and right around the 57 minute mark Henry had to leave the game when she was fouled so hard that she was down on the turf for 4 minutes and was seen to be bleeding from the mouth. She never returned to the game. USD more or less continued to control play, but weren’t able to get on the scoreboard again. Besides Henry, I was impressed with the play of Strocco and LeeAnn Klopschinski. Val showed some very nice footwork in her dribbling and passing and LeeAnn was a great target player in the middle – she redirected or passed the ball quite well as she had her back to the opposition’s goal around the midfield mark. On the other hand, I was disappointed in my first look at Michelle Rowe, who plays on the Canadian U-19 team. Unofficial statistics: Shots USD 20 – USF 12; Saves USD 5 – USF 10; Corners USD 5 – USF 2, Fouls USD 13 – USF 11.
Re: University of San Francisco Dons Game hey! you got a new torero fan right here! GO MARIE-CLAUDE AND MICHELLE!!! two more canucks to cheer for in the NCAA's!!! loved reading your insights to games...will be following a lot more closely now that i realized that both MC and michelle are with the program!! heehee... :: french accent :: "marie-claude hen-rie!!!" a very nice person!!!! keep the updates coming!!! went to their site, too bad MC doesn't have a bio pic!!! elaine
I'm glad that you liked my recap. The USD site now has a short description of the game, and it has a nice action picture of Michelle dribbling the ball.
St Marys game 10-20-02 This is a ‘bummer’ of a game to write about, as the Toreros lost it 4-1. What makes it so difficult is that they really controlled most of the game, but they did not take advantage of their early chances, faced a really hot keeper (while their own played badly), and had a referee that was really inconsistent in his calls. USD had such control of the game early that the Gaels weren’t able to get over the midfield stripe with the ball in their possession, and didn’t get their first shot off until the 23rd minute. St Mary’s kept up a pressure defense in the midfield, but Val Strocco, Brooke Roby, Brenna Mullen, LeeAnn Klopschinski, and Marie-Claude Henry all were up to the task of fending off the very physical play of the visitors. What the Toreros weren’t able to do, though, was to put the ball in the net during the first 18th minutes. They had balls skim the cross bar, just miss wide, and be knocked away on great diving and sliding saves by Ruth Montgomery, the Gael keeper. She kept her team from falling behind by 3 or 4 goals during that period. But she wasn’t able to do anything about the goal that USD scored at the 18:05 mark. M-C Henry had been feeding crosses into the middle of the box, just like she did in the last game. At this point, her cross was actually headed into the net by a St Mary’s defender – an own goal. A minute after that, Montgomery came up big again, as Klopschinski freed herself from 2 defenders at the top of the box and moved in on goal with the ball. The Gael keeper came out and made a sliding kick that just got enough of the USD forward’s shot to have the ball skim away from the goal. Unfortunately for the Toreros, that was their high water mark. In the 23rd minute the visitors got a break when a USD defender miss-kicked an attempt at volleying an incoming long kick by USF, and it spun off her foot and just rolled out of bounds inside the left corner flag. This was the visitor’s first corner kick chance – and they made the most of it. A good kick across the box found an unmarked Jennifer Barbera at the far side of the box – she hit a perfect header, angled down and back towards her far corner. The Torero keeper didn’t react soon enough, and the score was tied at 1-1. USD shook it off, and went back to controlling play. Strocco volleyed a cross by Henry off the cross bar, then a few minutes later Klopschinski repeated the feat but put the ball a few inches higher. Then Ruth Montgomery made a leaping save to her left on a free kick by Alexis Obeji. Less than 2 minutes after that the Toreros had things go terribly wrong – keeper Natalie Bobbit had a long hard ground shot come right at her, but she misplayed the ball, let it get a way from her, fumbled her attempt to recover the ball, and then saw Katie Fagundes pounce on it for an easy open net goal. An attempt at an equalizer 10 seconds before half time was not to be, as yet another cross from Henry was just headed over the cross bar by Klopschinski. For the second half, USD replaced it’s keeper with Libby Bassett. The 4th minute saw the first of a series of what seemed to me to be bad calls by the ref. He awarded a free kick to the Gaels right at the top of the Triton box, directly in front of the goal. That kick came to nothing, but throughout the half he ended up making calls that gave possession to St Mary’s on the Torero side of the field. What turned out to be the nail in the home team’s coffin came in the 7th minute. Lucianne Crenshaw took a long pass that beat defender Andrea Keesling and under pressure from Obeji she got off a perfect low shot that beat the keeper, just inside the far (left) post. Only two minutes later, Crenshaw unfortunately suffered an injury when she was overpowered on a 50-50 ball that both players tried to kick through. The Toreros kicked the ball out of bounds so she could be attended to and she was helped off the field after several minutes. Later I saw her sitting on the sidelines, obviously in a lot of physical and mental pain. At first I had thought that her ankle had been injured, but she had icepacks on her right knee for the rest of the game. I hope that it turns out to not be as serious as it looked. USD went back to trying to get some of those goals back, but what chances they have were saved by Montgomery, or were just high or wide. By this point, I think that they were trying to be too fine with their shots because of the great goalkeeping. The fates now seemed to want to rub the situation in the Torero’s faces – St Mary’s had just been kicking the ball forward for the most part, waiting for the ref to make more of his bone-headed calls. They got a corner kick awarded that when taken bounced around a lot and ended up at the top of the box where Katie Fagundes happened to be. She miss-hit what looked to be a pass and it flew up into the air and somehow ended up behind a leaping Basset for the fourth Gael goal. After that interlude, it was back to the home team pushing forward and the visitors kicking the ball out of bounds or up the field. Gael players also did a lot of flopping on the field every time they came in contact with one of the Toreros and more times than not the ref called a foul. One time he stopped play during a USD fast break – a Torero and Gael had collided and hit heads, with the Torero going down in a heap and the Gael walking away – but after a few seconds the Torero got up and the Gael went down – THAT is when the ref stopped play! For the game, the home team got whistled for 16 fouls and the visitors 8. Montgomery had to make several more nice saves and had 2 more balls skim the cross bar before the match ended.
Loyola-Marymount game on the road and in the rain. The Toreros won 2-1. Rowe and Mullen scored. A brief account of the game is at the USD website... http://www.usdtoreros.com/ *** Note - a small piece in this morning's Union-Tribune says that Mullen's goal came on a penalty kick, and that Trask's was on a free kick...
Away game versus Pepperdine The #12 ranked Wave defeated USD 3-1. The lone goal scored by the Toreros was by Colleen Fogarty. USD is now 9-6-2, and only 2-3-0 in conference play.
UC Irvine away game The Anteaters (7-9-1) lost to the Toreros (10-6-2) by a score of 5-0 at Anteater Stadium. Val Strocco got on the board first for USD with a goal at the 9:30 mark of the first half. Brooke Roby earned an assist on the goal. Brenna Mullen made it 2-0 at the 28:25 mark of an assist from Strocco. Lee Ann Klopschinski scored at the 30:30 mark off a corner kick by Colleen Fogarty. Klopschinski scored again on a breakaway at the 81:43 mark with assists to Alexis Obeji and Michelle Rowe. Michelle Rowe scored the final goal at the 85:18 off another corner kick by Fogarty.
Gonzaga game Brooke Roby scored two goals and an assist Sunday afternoon to give the University of San Diego Toreros a 4-0 shutout over the Bulldogs. Marie Claude Henry sparked the USD offense as she took a short pass from Roby in the midfield and made a fast break, scoring their first goal with a 5-yard shot from the left post at 15:11. Claude recorded an assist two minutes later off a corner kick as Cristina Romero headed a shot to the far left side of the net to give USD the 2-0 lead. Roby came up with her first goal at 35:48 when she took a cross from Michelle Rowe and punched an 18-yard shot over the goalkeepers head. Roby posted San Diego's only second-half goal as she converted a short pass from Alexis Obeji from midfield and shot it from 10-yards out into the middle of the net. Bulldog assistant coach Kieran Barton was issued a yellow card warning at 61:05, GU's Heidi Jacobson was also issued a yellow card at 63:18. Toreros' Marie Claude-Henry was issued a yellow card at 64:00. I wonder what went on there?
Portland game The Toreros and Pilots played to a 120 minute 0-0 tie. Portland outshot USD 18-1, but could only get 4 of those shots on goal. Now both teams will have to wait and see whether they make the 64 team playoff field on Monday.