Women's Soccer Travels To Arkansas and SMU This Week
9/15/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
This Week In Women's Soccer
Saint Mary's will hit the road for matches at the University of Arkansas and Southern Methodist University this week. The Gaels travel to Fayetteville, AR for a 5 p.m. (PST) match against the Arkansas Razorbacks on Friday, Sept. 17, from Razorback Field. On Sunday, Sept. 19, the Gaels take on the SMU Mustangs in an 11 a.m. (PST) game from Westcott Field in Dallas, TX.
Who's Hot
Daelyn Paul scored the game-winning goal in a 1-0 win over No. 32 Long Beach State on Friday, extending the Gaels' winning streak to six games to open the season. Paul stole a pass from a LBSU defender, and fired a shot from 30 yards out for her first goal of the season. It was Paul's first game-winning goal of the season and second of her career.
Follow the Gaels Online
Fans can follow SMC women's soccer in real time, with live scoring available for all home games through www.SMCGaels.com. The livestats feature is a free service, and can be accessed through the "Gaels Live" link on the home page or through the livestat link on the women's soccer schedule page. Live audio and live video will not be available for this game.
Scouting the Arkansas Razorbacks
Arkansas enters this week with a 3-3-0 overall record and is coming off a 2-1 overtime win over Missouri State on Sunday. Prior to the win over MSU, the Razorbacks were defeated by Missouri (4-0) on Friday. Arkansas also has wins over Miami (1-0) and Florida International (1-0). As a team, Arkansas has scored five goals to average 0.83 goals per game, while allowing eight goals in six games. The Razorbacks are outshooting their opponents 87-77 this season, and average 14.7 shots per game.
Leading the offensive attack for Arkansas is sophomore forward Allie Chandler and senior defender Laurel Pastor with three points each. Both Chandler and Pastor have one goal and one assist each. Kelsey Allison, Erin Moskos and Ally Atkins have one goal each. Britani Williams has played all but 52 minutes in goal, and has a 1.45 goals against average with 30 saves and eight goals allowed.
All-Time Series Record vs. Arkansas
Friday's game between Saint Mary's and Arkansas will be the first ever meeting between the two teams. Kai Edwards is 0-0 all-time as a head coach against Arkansas.
Scouting the SMU Mustangs
The SMU Mustangs enter this week with a 4-2-1 overall record and are coming off a 1-0 win over previously unbeaten New Mexico on Sunday. SMU, which will host North Texas on Friday night, has won three of its last four games, with its loss to No. 14 Oklahoma State (2-1). The Mustangs have scored eight goals in seven games to average 1.14 goals per game, and have allowed five goals this season, while posting four shutouts. SMU has taken just 33 shots (4.7 spg) while allowing its opponents 35 shots (5.0 spg) this season.
Lauren Shepherd's five points, with one goal and a team-high three assists, leads the Mustangs. Shelby Redman leads the team with two goals, and five other players have scored once. Kenzie Scovill, Amanda Burgardt, and Jessica Bartol have one goal and one assist each. Courtney Webb has seen all 650 minutes in goal this season, and has a 0.69 goals against average, allowing five goals while making 29 saves. Webb also has four shutouts this season.
All-Time Series Record vs. SMU
When Saint Mary's takes on SMU on Sunday, it will mark the sixth meeting all time between the two schools. SMC is currently 2-3-0 against the Mustangs, following a 3-2 win in Moraga last season. After SMC won the first game of the series (4-1) in 1994, SMU posted three straight wins in 1995, 2004, and 2005, shutting out the Gaels in all three games. Kai Edwards is 1-0 all-time in games against SMU.
Jordan Marada Ranked 76th Best Freshman in The Country
Saint Mary's freshman midfielder Jordan Marada was named one of the top-100 freshmen in the nation by TopDrawerSoccer.com on Sept. 6. Through seven games, Marada, who is ranked 76th in the topdrawersoccer.com list, is the Gaels' leader in points (10), goals (4), assists (2) and shots (23). Compared to the West Coast Conference, Marada is second in points, third in goals and is tied for 10th in assists.
Gaels Getting Goals From Everyone
Through seven games, Saint Mary's has scored 14 goals to average 2.0 goals per game, which ranks second in the WCC. What's interesting about the goals being scored, 10 different players have scored at least one goal this season. In 20 games during the 2009, Saint Mary's had seven different players find the back of the net. Two players, Jordan Marada (4) and Alyssa Doniak (2) have multiple goals this season.
Best Start Since 2001
Following the win over Long Beach State, SMC improved to 6-0 to open the season, matching the best start in 10 years. The last time SMC got off to a 6-0 start was during the 2001 campaign, before posting a 0-0 tie with Stanford in game seven. That year, the Gaels opened the year with a 12-0-1 record before losing their first game of the season. The 2001 squad posted a 15-3-2 overall record, was ranked as high as No. 5 in the country, and ended the year with a second round finish in the NCAA Tournament.
Gaels Blank Four Straight Opponents
SMC has five shutouts in seven games, while holding its opponents scoreless in four of the last five games. Prior to allowing a goal to CS Bakersfield on Sunday, SMC posted four straight shutouts. The last time SMC posted four consecutive shutouts from Sept. 11-25, 2005, when SMC finished the year with seven shutouts. Before giving up the goal in the final six minutes to CSUB, Saint Mary's went 437:11 minutes without giving up a goal. The single season record for shutouts is 12, which came during the 2001 campaign.
Gaels Ranked Eighth in West Region
After a 1-1 record last week, SMC is ranked eight in the NSCAA West Regional rankings, dropping one spot from No. 7 last week. SMC has been ranked all four weeks of the NSCAA Regional rankings this season, and since taking over as the head coach prior to the 2009 season, Kai Edwards has had the Gaels in the regional top-10 a total of 11 weeks. Last season, SMC was ranked in the regional rankings for seven weeks, and were ranked as high as No. 5 on the week of Oct. 20, 2009.
Sarah Peters WCC Player of the Week on Sept. 6
Saint Mary's senior goalkeeper Sarah Peters was named the West Coast Conference Player of the Week on Sept. 6. In road wins over Weber State (3-0) and Utah (2-0), Peters played 175 of 180 minutes to help the Gaels post back-to-back shutouts. She collected all nine saves and played all but 4:43 of the possible 180 minutes on weekend. Against Weber State, she had three saves, and then against Utah she made six stops, with five coming in the first half.
Head Coach Kai Edwards
Kai Edwards is in his second year as the head coach of the Gaels. In his first season, Edwards guided the Gaels to a 9-11 overall record with three players earning All-West Coast Conference honors. With a 6-1 record this season, Edwards is currently 15-12 overall as a head coach at SMC and in his career. Prior to coming to SMC, Edwards was the associate head coach at UC Santa Barbara from 2007-08. He also coached one year at his alma mater, Sonoma State, after he was an assistant coach at Western Washington for two seasons.
Quotes from Kai
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Peters Starts Off Strong In First Game As A Gael
Senior goalkeeper Sara Peters is off to a good start for her first and only season with Saint Mary's. The UC Davis transfer has three shutouts this season (second in the WCC), while playing a key role in two more SMC team shutouts. Peters currently ranks second in the WCC with a 0.58 goals against average, allowing four goals in 620 minutes, to play all but 16 minutes this season.
Looking Back at Last Week
Last week, Saint Mary's posted a 1-1 record after beating Long Beach State, 1-0, and losing to Cal State Bakersfield, 0-1. Long Beach State came into the weekend with a 4-1-1 record and was ranked No. 32 in the country by the NSCAA. SMC got a goal by sophomore midfielder Daelyn Paul in the 20th minute. It was Paul's first goal of the season, and second game-winner of her career. Goalkeeper Sarah Peters made the goal stand up, as she collected six saves en route to her third shutout of the season. In the second game of the week, Saint Mary's gave up a late goal to the Roadrunners, when Tyler Shirk scored at the 84:40 mark. Saint Mary's had a number of chances to score, putting seven of their 15 shots on frame. CSUB goalkeeper Kym Gause made seven saves in the match, with a number of quality stops against the Gaels.
Next Week
After the road trip, Saint Mary's will return to action with a two-game week, playing once at home and once on the road. SMC will return to Saint Mary's Stadium on Friday, Sept. 24 with a 4 p.m. game against the Washington Huskies. The Gaels close the week with a road game against San Jose State on Sunday, Sept. 26. The match against SJSU will kick-off at 5 p.m. from Spartan Stadium.
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