Oct. 16, 2002
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Colorado (6-6-1, 1-3-1 Big 12) at Baylor (7-6-1, 1-4-1 Big 12)
Friday, Oct. 18 (7 p.m.) * Waco, Texas
#20 Nebraska (7-4-3, 2-2-1 Big 12) at Baylor (7-6-1, 1-4-1 Big 12)
Sunday, Oct. 20 (1 p.m.) * Waco, Texas
After leading both No. 6 Texas A&M and No. 3 Texas at the half this weekend before settling for a tie and a loss, the Baylor soccer team enters its final home weekend of the year looking to continue that high level of play against only slightly less impressive competition in Colorado and No. 20 Nebraska.
The Bears wrap up a stretch where they played five of six games at home Friday at 7 p.m. against Colorado. Sunday's 1 p.m. start versus Nebraska is the final home game of the 2003 regular season for Baylor; fans are encouraged to arrive early for a pregame ceremony honoring the team's senior class. During halftime of each game, one lucky student will win a $600 scholarship from Xerox/Documaxx.
After a four-game winless streak, Colorado comes to Waco having won its last two games, bringing the team's season record back to .500. To date this season, the Buffs' defense has been strong, allowing only 1.66 goals per game. The team's problem has been offense; they have been outscored 66-56 on the season.
Like Baylor, Colorado has depended on a number of sources for offensive firepower. 11 different Buffs have scored a goal this year. Freshman Fran Munnelly leads the team with five goals and 13 points on the season. In goal, senior Sara Erskine and freshman Jeanne Rankin have each logged over 500 minutes this year.
Baylor is 4-1-1 all-time against Colorado; the Bears have not lost to the Buffs since 1997. Last season, goalkeepers Emily Koch and Stephanie Dempsey combined to shutout Colorado 3-0 in Waco.
No. 20 Nebraska, meanwhile, has endured what for the Huskers can be considered a "down" year, beginning the weekend in sixth place in the Big 12. Nebraska remains among the top 25 in the nation, however, as each of their four non-wins has come across top-25 teams (including two losses and a tie vs. top-10 teams).
Two-time defending Big 12 Player of the Year Christine Latham again leads the Husker offense with seve goals and 16 points beginning the weekend. Preseason All-Big 12 goalkeeper has played every minute this season in net, logging a miniscule 1.02 GAA, including a conference-leading seven shutouts.
The Bears are 1-9 against Nebrasla all-time; the Huskers are the only conference opponent to lead the all-time series against Baylor. Baylor's lone win over Nebraska came in 1998, when the Bears beat the Huskers 1-0 in Waco to clinch the 1998 Big 12 Conference title. Nebraska has knocked Baylor out of the last three Big 12 Tournaments, with second-round wins in 1999 and 2000 and a first-round victory in 2001.
Last Time Out
Baylor led sixth-ranked Texas A&M for 83 minutes Friday night, but a late Aggie goal tied the game before the two soccer teams battled to a 1-1 tie through double overtime in front of 1,448 fans, the largest regular-season crowd in Baylor soccer history.
Sophomore Ginny Rosario-Tull scored her third goal of the season just 1:33 into the game, giving Baylor the early lead. That shot would prove to be the only Baylor shot of the first half, while Texas A&M managed 10 shots in the first period. The Bears got off two more shots in the second half and a total of three in overtime, but were still outshot by the Aggies 25-6 on the night.
Baylor had at least two chances to add to its lead with under 10 minutes remaining in the game, but none of the Bears' late shots found the net. Instead, it was Texas A&M junior Kristen Strutz who connected on a header with 5:17 left in the game, tying the match at 1-1 and forcing overtime.
The Bears came out rejuvenated in overtime, and each team had legitimate chances to end the game. In the end, neither team was able to score and the match concluded in a tie.
Sunday's game was eerily familiar, as Baylor led third-ranked Texas 1-0 at halftime, but the Longhorns scored three unanswered goals in the second half to claim a 3-1 win Sunday afternoon in Austin.
After battling scoreless through the first 40 minutes, freshman Sam Savage scored her second goal of the year at 41:03 (assisted by senior Whitney Barrett) to give the Bears the 1-0 lead.
The Texas offense finally broke through in the second half. At the 63:10 mark, UT sophomore Kelly McDonald scored her team-leading eighth goal of the year to tie the game at 1-1. Five minutes later, Texas sophomore Kristen Teter put the Longhorns on top to stay with a free-kick goal. The Longhorns added an insurance goal at 77:41 on a score by junior Kylee Wosnuk, creating a virtually insurmountable two-goal lead.
After outshooting Texas 7-6 in the first half, the Bears managed only two shots in the second half while the Longhorns pounded out 14 second-period shots en route to the comeback victory. Texas also earned 15 corner kicks, tying the Baylor record for most corners by an opponent.
Housden Holding Down the Fort
Junior transfer goalkeeper Monica Housden was named Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week for games played 10/7-10/13, becoming the Bears' first defensive player of the week since Dawn Greathouse in 2000.
Housden, a junior transfer from Denton, Texas, shut out sixth-ranked Texas A&M Friday night for 84 minutes before allowing a game-tying goal, then shut out the Aggies for the next 25 minutes as the teams battled to a 1-1 double-overtime tie. She recorded a Baylor season-high 12 saves in just her fourth start as a Bear. Her efforts led BU to become the first unranked opponent A&M has failed to defeat this season.
Sunday against No. 3 Texas, Housden held the Longhorns scoreless for 60 minutes before giving up three late goals in a 3-1 defeat. For the weekend, Housden played 200 minutes and allowed four goals for a 1.80 goals against average against two top-10 teams. She also recorded 17 saves and lowered her season GAA to 2.12 in five games.
Fukuchi Forging Ahead
With 33 career points, junior Emily Fukuchi has moved into a tie with Britt Talley for fifth place on the Baylor career leaderboard. Next up: former teammate Gina Castellano, who scored 35 points between 1997 and 2000. Fukuchi also sits fourth all-time in career goals, behind only Courtney Saunders, Molly Cameron and Nikki Hales. Through 14 games this season, is tied for third on the team in goals and is fourth in points.
Ruef Roughing Up Opponents
After finishing her rookie season tied for sixth on the squad in scoring with six points (two goals, two assists), sophomore forward Kristin Ruef has already beat her numbers from a year ago.
Through 14 games this season, Ruef leads the team in both points (13) and goals (six) -- tripling her goal total from last season and more than doubling her point total. The combined numbers have moved her into a tie with Whitney Barrett for 10th place on the Baylor career goals leaderboard.
Boshers Making Up For Lost Time
After sitting out all of 2001 with a torn ACL, redshirt freshman Tiffany Boshers is making up for lost time this season. Through 14 team games, she is second on the team with four goals and nine points, despite missing three games with a hurting ankle.
Crawley Charging Baylor Attack
Three-time All-Big 12 defender Tamura Crawley has contributed more to the Bears than just anchoring their defense early this season. Late in games, Crawley has been moved up to forward to take advantage of her quick attack skills -- with noticeable results.
On the road at Rice (9/6), Crawley scored her first goal of the year, tying the game at 1-1 with just over 11 minutes to go; the Bears went on to win in overtime. Two days later against Southwest Texas, she repeated the feat, scoring with 8:13 left to again tie the game and force overtime. In the second overtime period, Crawley assisted on the game-winning goal.
Her efforts for the week (9/2-9/8) earned her Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week and Soccer America National Team of the Week honors.
Baylor Keepers Turn Triple Play of Perfect Debuts
Each of the Bears' three goalkeepers this season performed splendidly in their debuts.
Freshman Tanya Sena shut out Louisiana-Lafayette on opening day, making her the first Bear in school history to record a shutout in her first collegiate appearance -- and all while playing with a cast on her right hand, thanks to a broken thumb.
Fellow freshman Morgan Pinter made her debut off the bench against McNeese State (9/11) and finished off a 6-0 shutout of the Cowboys. Pinter allowed no goals in the final 18:39.
Junior transfer Monica Housden shut out Northern Arizona in her first appearance as a Bear (9/15), leading Baylor to a 2-0 win. Housden recorded two saves while playing the entire 90 minutes.
Bears Among Big 12 Statistical Leaders
A number of Baylor players rank among the Big 12's individual leaders, through games of Oct. 14:
Monica Housden: 8th in shutouts per game (0.20), t-10th in shutouts (1)
Ginny Rosario-Tull: 8th in shots (44), 8th in shots per game (3.14)
Kristin Ruef: t-9th in goals (6)
Tanya Sena: t-9th in saves (31), t-10th in shutouts (1)
Three Bears also rank among the Big 12's leaders for their play in conference games, through Oct. 14:
Monica Housden: t-3rd in saves (21)
Kristin Ruef: t-7th in goals (3)
Ginny Rosario-Tull: t-8th in shots (16), t-4th in game-winning goals (1)
Working Their Way Up the Charts
Several current Bears are making their ways up the leaderboards in the Baylor recordbook this season. Most impressively, junior Emily Fukuchi ranks fourth in school history in career goals and is tied for fifth in career points. Sophomores April Robertson, Ginny Rosario-Tull and Kristin Ruef have already impacted the leaderboards, and senior Tamura Crawley is quickly moving up the charts for games played and started.
Notable records:
Career Points: Emily Fukuchi (t-5th, 33), Ginny Rosario-Tull (t-7th, 28)
Career Shots: Candace Reilly (7th, 82), Ginny Rosario-Tull (8th, 78)
Career Goals: Emily Fukuchi (4th, 13), Ginny Rosario-Tull (5th, 11), Whitney Barrett (t-10th, 8), Kristin Ruef (t-10th, 8)
Career Multi-Goal Games: Emily Fukuchi (t-4th, 2), April Robertson (t-4th, 2), Ginny Rosario-Tull (t-4th, 2)
Career Multi-Assist Games: Ryan Lee (t-4th, 2), Emily Fukuchi (t-5th, 1), Kate Hensman (t-5th, 1) Kristin Ruef (t-5th, 1)
Career Game-Winning Goals: Emily Fukuchi (t-4th, 4)
Career Game-Winning Assists: Candace Reilly (6th, 4), Tamura Crawley (t-7th, 3), Emily Fukuchi (t-7th, 3)
Most Games Played, Career: Tamura Crawley (t-10, 73)
Most Games Started, Career: Tamura Crawley (8th, 71)
Consecutive Games Played: Tamura Crawley (4th, 73) -- has appeared in every game during her career
Bears Share in Scoring
If this year's Baylor team knows how to do one thing, it's share. Through 14 games, 11 different Bears have combined to score the team's 29 goals. Kristin Ruef leads the team with six goals while Tiffany Boshers has four of her own. Seven other players have at least two goals apiece.
The same phenomenon can be found in the assist category; 12 players have at least one assist. Candace Reilly and Ginny Rosario-Tull lead the Bears with three assists each.
Ruef leads the team with 13 points; seven other Bears each have at least five points, and three more have four points apiece.
Crawley Named Preseason All-Big 12 -- Again
Senior defender Tamura Crawley was named to the Preseason All-Big 12 Team by the league's coaches for the third straight season in 2002. Crawley earned All-Big 12 second-team honors in 2000 and 2001 after being named to the conference first team in 1999. She has earned Preseason All-Big 12 accolades as a sophomore, junior and now as a senior.
Bears Add Goalie Housden to Stable
After much haggling, the Bears welcomed junior goalkeeper Monica Housden to the team in week two of the season. Housden, a junior transfer from North Texas, is coming off a season in which she recorded a 0.83 goals-against average and earned second team All-Sun Belt Conference honors.
In two seasons with the Mean Green, Housden appeared in 37 of team's 40 games. She leaves North Texas as the program's career leader in shutouts (12.5) and saves (202). A junior from Denton, Texas, Housden started 21 of her team's 22 games as a true freshman in 2000 and notched back-to-back shutouts against Centenary and Texas Tech in her first two collegiate games. Her eight shutouts as a rookie were a team single-season record. She also voted a team co-captain as a sophomore.
Housden has also been selected to try out for the Mexico National Team World Cup Qualifiers in late October, which may cause her to miss some of the Bears' late season games.
Baylor Picked Seventh in Big 12 in Preseason Poll
Baylor was picked to finish tied for seventh in the Big 12 Conference this season as the league's coaches compiled their annual preseason poll. After advancing to the NCAA Elite Eight a year ago, Texas A&M was picked to win the 2002 Big 12 title, followed by defending conference champion Texas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Missouri and Kansas. The Bears were picked to tie with Colorado, while Oklahoma State, Iowa State and Texas Tech round out the standings.
The Bears finished the 2001 season in seventh place in the Big 12 and lost in the first round of the Big 12 Tournament to then-No. 9 Nebraska.
Bears in the Pros
Former Baylor all-America goalkeeper Dawn Greathouse completed her second season as a member of the Woman's United Soccer Association (WUSA) in 2002. Greathouse, an all-American for Baylor in 1998, spent all of 2001 and part of 2002 season with the Washington Freedom. She appeared in five games for the Freedom early in the season, but was released and signed by the San Jose Cyber Rays, with whom she completed the rest of the season.
Greathouse is one of three Baylor-related players to have participated in the WUSA's first two seasons. Courtney Saunders, a1998 all-American at Baylor, spent the inaugural season with the Philadelphia Charge, while former assistant coach Rebecca Hornbacher was a member of the Boston Breakers in 2001.
Pannell Retires
Redshirt-freshman goalkeeper Mel Pannell, one of the Bears' top recruits a year ago, has retired after learning that she would miss her second straight season after reinjuring her right shoulder during the summer. Pannell played in Baylor's season opener last season, but dislocated her shoulder in the 80th minute and had surgery in October to correct the problem.
Pannell worked her way through nine months of rehabilitation, but reinjured her shoulder late in the summer and had total reconstructive surgery in August. The procedure would have kept her out of action for at least six months before any return to action could have been considered.
Betty Lou Mays Soccer Field
The 2002 season marks the fourth year for the Baylor soccer team at Betty Lou Mays Soccer Field. The former Baylor Soccer Stadium was retitled during the 2000 season in honor of the late Betty Lou Mays of Amarillo, Texas. Mrs. Mays was the wife of Troy Mays, a 1945 graduate of Baylor; the two were longtime supporters of Baylor athletics.
The stadium seats 3,000 fans, making it the largest soccer-only facility in the Big 12. Betty Lou Mays Soccer Field is is set in the plush backdrop of the Brazos River on University Parks Drive. The field is part of the Jim and Julie Turner Riverfront Athletic Park, which includes the Baylor Ballpark, Getterman Stadium and the new Baylor Tennis Center. All four venues share the parking lot with the Ferrell Special Events Center.
Head Coach Nick Cowell
In 2002, head coach Nick Cowell enters his fourth year at the helm of the Baylor soccer team. He has steadily built a program that consistently rates as one of the best in the Big 12 Conference.
In Cowell's first year at Baylor, the team finished 14-7-1 overall and placed fourth in the conference with a 6-3-1 mark. In 2000, the Bears again finshed fourth in the Big 12 and compiled an overall record of 10-6-3. The 2001 season was marred by injuries and saw the Bears finish 8-10 overall (4-6 Big 12, seventh in the league). Under Cowell, the team has made one NCAA appearance (1999) and barely missed out on another (2000).
Prior to coming to Baylor, Cowell spent eight years as head coach at Trinity University in San Antonio. During that time, he led his team to seven straight conference titles, including 49-straight conference victories and six trips to the NCAA Division III Tournament.
At Trinity, Cowell's success resulted in him being named the SCAC Coach of the Year five times. In 1992, he garnered Regional Coach of the Year honors. Prior to his work at Trinity, Cowell was at The College of Wooster where he had a 22-11-4 record in two seasons. He led the Lady Scots to the North Coast Athletic Conference title in 1990. Following that season he was named the NCAC and Ohio Collegiate Soccer Association Coach of the Year.
Cowell began the 2002 season ranked 19th in career winning percentage and 25th in career wins among active coaches at four-year colleges, with a career record of 171-64-16 (.713).
Cowell Adds Pair of Assistant Coaches
Head coach Nick Cowell welcomed one old friend and one new friend into the Baylor coaching staff for this season as he added assistant coach Courtney Petrie and volunteer assistant coach Rich Stoneman.
In Petrie, Cowell is rejoined by one of his former stars. A 2000 graduate of Trinity, she played two seasons (1997-98) under Cowell at Trinity. During her career at Trinity, Petrie was the starting goalkeeper for the Tigers as they won two conference titles and made three straight NCAA D-III tournament appearances. She held opponents to a 0.24 goals against average in 1999 and compiled a career GAA of 0.36, setting both school and conference records.
Petrie joined the Bears from the University of Akron, where she spent the past season as assistant women's soccer coach. She also spent the past year working with the Greater Akron Premier Club, where she coached the under-14 team and served as goalkeeper coach for the entire club.
Stoneman, meanwhile, became the first volunteer assistant to work with the Bears under Cowell. Stoneman played four years of soccer at East Central University before graduating in 1999. He participated in MLS tryouts in 1997 as he was invited to combines for the Dallas Burn and Kansas City Wizards, and spent three years playing in the United States International Soccer League with the Oklahoma City Slickers, Tulsa Roughnecks and Carolina Shamrocks.
Stoneman spent the 2000-01 season as assistant women's soccer coach at East Central as the team advanced to the conference tournament for the first time in team history. He also has extensive experience with club and high school soccer.
Petrie works specifically with the goalkeepers in addition to assisting with recruiting and other day-to-day office activities, while Stoneman assists with coaching goalkeepers as well as with video analysis and other training drills. The pair joins second-year assistant coach Rj. Anderson on the staff.
BaylorBears.com
Baylor's official athletic web site can be found at www.BaylorBears.com. The comprehensive site, which includes releases, photos, biographical sketches and audio broadcasts, is part of the Official College Sports Network. OCSN currently hosts sites for more than 100 universities, including eight Big 12 schools.
Live scoring updates are available on BaylorBears.com for all Baylor soccer home games and select road games.
Inside Baylor Sports
"Inside Baylor Sports", a half-hour look at the world of Baylor athletics, airs weekly throughout Central Texas and the region. The program, co-hosted by John Morris and Lori Scott-Fogleman, airs on KCEN-TV Channel 6, Fox Sports Net Southwest and the College Channel (Waco cable channel 18). KCEN carries the show at 10:30 p.m. Sundays, and it airs at 1 p.m. Wednesdays on FSN Southwest.
