NOTING THIS WEEKEND
• Baylor has faced Iowa only once during the program's history, losing to the Hawkeyes 1-0 in 2002. The Bears and the Badgers have never met on the soccer field.

• Baylor comes into the game after a shutout tie against Rice. It marked only the second scoreless tie in school history (Oklahoma, 2002).

• Baylor is 7-8-0 all-time in games played on a neutral field.

WACO, Texas-The Baylor soccer team returns to action this weekend when the Bears travel to Columbia, Mo., for the Nike Tiger Invitational. In the tournament, the Bears (0-1-1) will face Iowa (0-0) at 4:30 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 3, before facing Wisconsin (2-0) on Sunday, Sept. 5, at 11:00 a.m.

"We look forward to playing in the tournament," head coach George Van Linder said. "We are coming off a tough tie against Rice and I think the team is eager and ready to play well this weekend."

The meeting with the Hawkeves will mark the second time Baylor and Iowa has squared off on the soccer field. Iowa captured a 1-0 win in the first meeting between the clubs on Oct. 27, 2002. Iowa's contest with Baylor is the first of the year for the Hawkeyes after having their season opener against Southwest Missouri State postponed due to weather.

Iowa is coming off a tough 2003 season, however, return junior forward Katelyn Quinn, who scored 11 goals to pace the Iowa attack last season.

Following the match against Iowa, Baylor will face Wisconsin in the finale of the tournament. The Badgers have started the season off strong, posting a 2-0 record with a 6-0 win over Ohio and 3-1 victory over Kentucky.

Wisconsin features Kara Kabellis, a sophomore midfielder who leads the team with three goals this season.

After the Bears finish play in the Nike Tiger Invitational, the team will return to action on Friday, Sept. 10, when Baylor plays host to TCU at 7:00 p.m. at Betty Lou Mays Field.

Baylor goalkeeper Ashley Holder recorded her first career shutout, however, the Bears were unable to capitalize on several offensive chances as BU and Rice battled to a scoreless tie in action at Betty Lou Mays Field. With the tie, Baylor improves to 0-1-1 on the season as Rice moves its record to 1-0-1.

"We were able to control the play most of the game; but, we just could not find a way to put the first goal in the net," head coach George Van Linder said. "I was pleased with the way our defense responded after the loss to Notre Dame."

The Bears out-shot the Owls 18-10 on the night and owned a 10-3 advantage on shots on goal, however, were unable to put a ball past Rice goalie Lauren Shockey.

Baylor's best chance came just five minutes into the contest, as Tiffany Boshers headed a ball from eight yards out that Shockey managed to barely deflect over the net.

Freshman forward Margaret Kaderli provided the Bears with another scoring opportunity late in the second half; but, Shockey managed to make the save on the low blast and preserve the tie.

On her way to recording her first career shutout, Holder made a diving stop in the second half off a shot from Owls forward Ashley Anderson as the ball deflected wide left to keep the game scoreless. It would be the best opportunity for Rice the rest of the night, as the Baylor defense managed to slow down the Owls offensive attack.

Following ninety minutes of regulation, neither team had a strong shot on goal in the two ten minute sudden-death frames, as the contest marked only the second time in school history Baylor has played to a scoreless tie. In 2000, Baylor and Oklahoma played 120 scoreless minutes on Oct. 6 in Norman, Okla.

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, 156), 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)

In her first two games as the Baylor goalkeeper, freshman Ashley Holder has already secured a pair of milestones. The native of Roseville, Calif., broke the Baylor single game saves record with 15 against No. 2 Notre Dame in the first game of the season.

The 15 stops broke the previous record of 13 by Baylor great Dawn Greathouse. Greathouse made 13 stops against Nebraska in 1999 and Colorado in 200. In fact, Greathouse was there in-person to see her record fall; because, the former Bear and professional player is now an assistant coach for the Fighting Irish.

In her second game, against Rice, Holder recorded her first career shutout, as the Bears and Owls played to a scoreless tie. Greathouse still owns a strong grip on this record, however, as she posted 27 career shutouts from 1997-2000.

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.

The Bears will return to action on Friday, Sept. 10, when Baylor plays host to TCU at 7:00 p.m. at Betty Lou Mays Field. Tickets to the contest are $5 for adults and 3$ for youths.