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NOTING RICE VS. BAYLOR
• Tonight's match marks the third meeting between the Bears and the Owls. Baylor owns a 2-0 edge in the series, with wins over Rice in 2001 and 2002.

• Baylor and Rice already have one common opponent this season: Houston. The Bears defeated the Cougars 6-1 in an exhibition match as Rice beat UH 1-0 in their regular-season opener.

• Baylor is 5-1-1 all-time in regular season home openers.

The Baylor soccer team opens the 2004 portion of the home schedule when the Bears face Rice at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, August 31, at Betty Lou Mays Field. Rice enters the contest with a record of 1-0 after defeating Houston 1-0 on August 27. Meanwhile, the Bears are looking to rebound from a 7-2 loss at the hands of second-ranked Notre Dame.

"Rice will be a good challenge for us," head coach George Van Linder said. "They are a talented team that just missed out on the NCAA Tournament last year. Hopefully, we will be able to respond from the loss at Notre Dame and play a strong match."

The Owls come into the contest with Baylor featuring senior goalkeeper Lauren Shockley. In her first game of the season, the all-conference selection made four saves en route to the victory. True freshman forward Caitlin Robbins provided the scoring in the match, as her goal in the 51st minute held up as the Owls went on to defeat the Cougars 1-0.

Baylor comes into the match after suffering a 7-2 loss at the hands of second-ranked Notre Dame, coached by former Baylor head coach Randy Waldrum. Trailing 7-0 with five minutes remaining, Brittani Zonker and Margaret Kaderli scored for the Bears as Baylor avoided its worst loss in school history.

The Bears will meet the Owls for the third time in school history. In 2001, Baylor defeated Rice 3-1 on Sept. 21 as the Bears made it two-and-a-row over the Owls with a 2-1 overtime win on Sept. 6, 2002.

The two teams were scheduled to continue the series in 2003, however, the Rice bus broke down on the way to Waco and the game had to be cancelled.

Overall, Baylor is 6-1-1 in its home openers, with the only loss coming at the hands of No. 21 Arizona State on Aug. 31, 2001.

The first 300 fans to Betty Lou Mays Field will receive free Baylor schedule magnets. Tickets can be purchased at the gate or by contacting the Baylor ticket office at 710-1000 or 1-800-BAYLOR-U.

The Notre Dame soccer team showed why they are one of the favorites to win the national title this season as the Fighting Irish knocked off Baylor 7-2 in the season opener for both teams. With the loss, Baylor falls to 0-1 on the season as Notre Dame moves to 1-0.

Notre Dame's Amanda Cinalli put the Fighting Irish up 1-0 in the 13th minute, as she took a pass from Amanda Thorlakson and knocked it past Baylor goalie Ashley Holder into the back of the net.

The combination worked a second time in the 22nd minute as Cinalli took a low cross from Thorlakson and managed to deflect it off the right post into the net to give Notre Dame a 2-0 lead.

Thorlakson continued her strong play in the first as she scored on a counter play in the 28th minute to give Notre Dame a 3-0 lead. Jen Buczkowski set up the goal with a long pass up the field for the assist.

The Fighting Irish the extended the lead as Buczkowski and Thorlakson scored goals only 60 seconds apart to give Notre Dame a five goal cushion heading into halftime.

Baylor was unable to mount a comeback in the second half, as Candace Champan scored a pair of goals to give the Fighting Irish a 7-0 lead.

Baylor's Brittani Zonker prevented the shutout, however, when her shot from 10 yards out in the 85th minute made the score 7-1. The goal was Zonker's second of her career.

A pair of Bear newcomers ended the scoring on the evening as freshman Margaret Kaderli took a pass from transfer Anna Schuch and pushed in past the goalie in the 88th minute for the first goal of her career to make the score 7-2.

Notre Dame controlled the contest throughout, as the Fighting Irish out-shot the Bears 32-9 and held an 8-1 advantage on corner kicks.

In the loss, freshman goalie Ashley Holder established a new school record for most saves in a game with 15.

Erika Bohn and Lauren Karas combined to record the win for Notre Dame.

Several Bears are aiming to continue making their ways up the leaderboards in the Baylor recordbook in 2004. Most notably, senior Ginny Rosario-Tull begins the year ranked fourth in school history in career goals and tied for fifth in career points.

Notable records:
Career Points: Ginny Rosario-Tull (4th, 50)
Career Shots: Ginny Rosario-Tull (5th, 153), Candace Reilly (8th, 89)
Career Goals: Ginny Rosario-Tull (4th, 21), April Robertson (t-7th, 9), Kristin Ruef (6th, 11), Tiffany Boshers (t-7th, 9)
Career Multi-Goal Games: April Robertson (t-5th, 2), Ginny Rosario-Tull (4th, 4)
Career Multi-Assist Games: Kristin Ruef (t-5th, 1), Tiffany Boshers (t-5th, 1), April Robertson (t-5th, 1), Ginny Rosario-Tull (t-5th, 1)
Career Assists: Ginny Rosario-Tull (10th, 8)
Career Game-Winning Goals: April Robertson (7th, 3), Ginny Rosario-Tull (7th, 3), Kristin Ruef (t-8th, 2)
Career Game-Winning Assists: Brittani Zonker (t-8th, 3)

George Van Linder enters his second season as head coach of the Baylor women's soccer program in 2004. In his first season as Baylor's head coach, he guided the team to a 7-9-2 record as the squad showed the program, under his guidance, could be heading back toward the Bears' dominant days of the late-1990's in the Big 12 Conference.

The season-ending victory over Texas Tech provided a highlight for Van Linder, as he reached a career milestone with the win. With the 3-0 victory, Van Linder recorded his 100th career coaching win, as he improved his overall record 100-56-13.

Under Van Linder's guidance, a number of Baylor student-athletes received recognition for their performance on and off the field in 2003. The Bears tied a school record with eight selections to the Academic All-Big 12 Conference first team. In addition, Melissa Humke and Emily Fukuchi earned CoSIDA Academic All-District VI honors, only the second time in school history at least two Bears were named to the all-district squad.

Prior to his arrival at Baylor, Van Linder coached at SMU, where he led the Lady Mustangs to four straight conference championships and three NCAA Tournament appearances. Under Van Linder, SMU finished in the top 25 three times and compiled a four-year mark of 59-21-10 (.711) and a conference record of 24-3-2 (.862).

In 2002, SMU finished with a 13-5-5 record and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament, as well as winning its fourth-consecutive WAC championship. The Mustangs finished the year with a No. 20 national ranking by the NSCAA.

Van Linder was named the 2000 WAC Coach of the Year after leading the Mustangs to a 13-5-1 record and their second-straight conference title.

In 1999 he led SMU to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament and a No. 17 national ranking with a final record of 17-6-1. For his team's outstanding accomplishments, Van Linder was tabbed Central Region Coach of the Year by Soccer Buzz at the conclusion of the season.

Prior to his stint at SMU, Van Linder spent five seasons at Butler, the final three (1996-1998) as head coach of the women's program. He was named the 1996 Midwestern Collegiate Conference Coach of the Year after he led Butler to the MCC regular-season and tournament championships. The Bulldogs were ranked No. 22 in the final poll, the highest national ranking in program history.

Van Linder also has worked extensively with the Olympic Development Program. He coached the Indiana youth squad from 1994-98. He spent 1999 and 2000 working with the North Texas ODP team. Van Linder led the 2000 squad to a second-place finish at the national championships.

The 2004 season marks the sixth 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 Baylor Tennis Center. All four venues share the parking lot with the Ferrell Special Events Center.