Sept. 18, 2002
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The Baylor soccer team welcomes in SMU Friday evening, kicking off Parents' Weekend on the Baylor campus. After playing three games last week, the Bears have only one game on the slate this week.
The Bears, rolling along with a 6-1 record, have tied their best start under head coach Nick Cowell. The 1999 squad, Cowell's first team at Baylor, also started the season 6-1 and finished the year 14-7-1 overall.
In addition to Friday night's game, other Parents' Weekend athletic events include the Baylor-Tulsa football game Saturday at 6 p.m., volleyball against Kansas State Saturday at 2 p.m., and the Baylor Invitational (cross country) Saturday morning.
Though ranked ninth nationally by SoccerBuzz in its preseason poll, SMU comes to Waco with just a 3-2 record on the season and having fallen out of the top 25. Since beating Duquesne 5-1 in the season opener, the Mustangs have played four straight games decided by one point each. SMU lost 2-1 in double overtime to then-No. 5 Texas A&M in College Station and fell to Oklahoma in Norman 1-0 on Sunday. The Mustangs' other two wins have come against Colorado College (3-2, OT) and Arizona State (2-1, OT).
SMU leads the all-time series with Baylor, 4-1, including a 4-0 SMU victory in the first round of the 1999 NCAA Tournament. The Bears' lone win came in 1998, a 3-1 win in Dallas over the then-No. 13 Mustangs. The two teams last met in Baylor's 2000 season opener, a 2-1 SMU win in Dallas.
Last Time Out
Junior goalkeeper Monica Housden, a transfer from North Texas, shut out Northern Arizona Sunday afternoon in her first appearance as a Bear, leading Baylor to a 2-0 win at Lumberjack Stadium.
The shutout was the third of the year for the Bears, matching the team's total all season a year ago. Northern Arizona managed only two shots on goal on the day as the Lumberjacks were shut out for the first time this year. Sophomore Kristin Ruef and senior Whitney Barrett provided all the scoring for Baylor with a pair of first-half goals.
A single Arizona State goal midway through the second half proved to be the only score of the night as the Sun Devils beat Baylor Friday evening, 1-0, to snap the Bears' five-game win streak to start the year.
Bear goalie Tanya Sena nearly matched the Sun Devils' shutout, allowing only the one goal while recording a season-high six saves. The Bears missed two chances to tie the game late. With just under four minutes to go, Emily Fukuchi's shot carried past ASU goalie Kelly Fitzgerald only to rebound off the post. With less than a minute remaining, Fukuchi had an open shot in front of the net but put the ball over the bar.
Emily Fukuchi came off the bench to score two goals as Baylor pounded McNeese State, 6-0, Wednesday night at Betty Lou Mays Soccer Field.
Fukuchi recorded her second career multi-goal game, scoring the Bears' first and last goals of the night. In between, Tiffany Boshers, Kristin Ruef, Bethany Vick and Ginny Rosario-Tull each scored a goal. Kate Hensman notched two assists, while Vick, Rosario-Tull, April Robertson and Sam Savage each earned one.
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. Through five games, Crawley is tied for second on the team lead in goals and assists -- despite having started each game on defense and spending only limited time at the front.
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.
Fukuchi Forging Ahead
With 31 career points, junior Emily Fukuchi has passed former Bear teammates Rachel Kacsmaryk and Alyson Miles to move into sixth place on the Baylor career scoring list. Next up: Britt Talley, who scored 33 points between 1996 and 1999. Fukuchi is already fourth all-time in career goals, behind only Courtney Saunders, Molly Cameron and Nikki Hales.
Fukuchi finished second on the team in goals and points as a freshman in 2000, and through five games this season, is tied for the team lead in goals and ranks second 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 notched her first goal and assist of the season on Opening Day against Louisiana-Lafayette.
Ruef leads the Bears in points and is tied for the team lead in goals this season. She leads the Big 12 Conference in shots, having taken 27 shots (18 shots on goal) in the team's first seven games. To put that in perspective, Candace Reilly led the Bears in shots last season with 35 shots in 18 games.
Baylor Keepers Double Your Pleasure in Debuts
Each of the Bears' three goalkeepers this season have 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
As a team, Baylor leads the Big 12 in shots and goals and ranks second in points and assists. The Bears are also third in the conference in goals-against average, through games of September 16.
Baylor individuals among the Big 12 leaders, through games of September 16:
Tiffany Boshers: 6th in shots (23), 9th in shots per game (3.29)
Emily Fukuchi: t-4th in goals (3), t-10th in points (6)
Kate Hensman: t-5th in assists (2)
Monica Housden: 1st in shutouts per game (1.0), t-4th in shutouts (1)
April Robertson: t-5th in assists (2)
Ginny Rosario-Tull: 3rd in shots (25), t-5th in assists (2), 7th in shots per game (3.57)
Kristin Ruef: 1st in shots (27), t-2nd in GWG (2), 4th in shots per game (3.86), t-4th in goals (3), t-5th in points (7)
Tanya Sena: t-5th in saves (18), t-6th in saves per game (3.00), t-4th in shutouts (1), 3rd in GAA (0.83), t-8th in shutouts per game (0.17)
Bethany Vick: t-5th in assists (2)
Bears Share in Scoring
If this year's Baylor team knows how to do one thing, it's sharing. Through seven games, 10 different Bears have combined to score the team's 18 goals. Emily Fukuchi and Kristin Ruef lead the team with three goals apiece. Four players are tied for second with two goals apiece.
The same thing can be found in the assist category; nine players have at least one assist, with no player having more than two.
Ruef leads the team with seven points; four other Bears each have five or six points, and three more have four points apiece.
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 sixth in career points. Sophomores April Robertson and Ginny Rosario-Tull have already impacted the career leaderboards, and senior Tamura Crawley is quickly moving up the charts for games played and games started.
Notable records:
Career Points: Emily Fukuchi (6th, 31)
Career Shots: Candace Reilly (7th, 75)
Career Goals: Emily Fukuchi (4th, 13), Ginny Rosario-Tull (t-5th, 9), Whitney Barrett (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), 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-10th, 2)
Most Games Started, Career: Tamura Crawley (t-8th, 65)
Consecutive Games Played: Tamura Crawley (t-5th, 66) -- has appeared in every game during her career
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.
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.
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.
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).
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.
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 joins 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, becomes the first volunteer assistant to work with the Bears under Cowell. Stoneman played four years of soccer at Oklahoma Christian 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 University in Ada, Okla., 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 will work specifically with the goalkeepers in addition to assisting with recruiting and other day-to-day office activities, while Stoneman will assist 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.
