Spartans Bound for Sunshine State
10/22/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
SPARTANBURG, S.C. - The USC Upstate women's soccer team will conclude the 2009 campaign with a pair of matches in the sunshine state this weekend. Upstate (0-17-0, 0-8-0 A-Sun) will face Stetson on Friday night in DeLand, Fla., followed by a Sunday matinee with Florida Gulf Coast in Fort Myers, Fla.
Stetson enters the weekend with an overall record of 8-6-2, while posting a 4-4-2 mark in league play. Meanwhile, FGCU owns a record of 9-5-3 and a 4-4-2 mark in the conference. Stetson and FGCU, along with Campbell are in a three-way tie for fourth place entering the final matches of 2009.
This weekend will be the final matches in a Spartan uniform for senior Brittany Daughtry. Daughtry was honored on senior day last Sunday when Upstate battled Mercer. In her final home match of her career, Daughtry recorded seven saves.
In 2009, Daughtry has appeared in seven matches for Upstate while tallying 58 saves. She enters the final weekend of her career with 220 total saves in 35 career matches. The Smithfield, N.C. native will finish third all-time in career saves.
At A Glance...
• Upstate looks to break a three-match scoreless drought as
they travel to the sunshine state this weekend for the final
matches of 2009.
• The Spartans will face Stetson on Friday night. The Hatters
lead the series 2-0 and won last season's match in Spartanburg by a
score of 2-1. It was one of nine matches the Spartans dropped in
2008 by a single goal.
• To wrap up the 2009 campaign, Upstate will face Florida Gulf
Coast on Sunday afternoon. The Eagles have won both matches in the
series.
Scouting the Hatters
Since dropping its Atlantic Sun opener to Kennesaw State by a score
of 3-0, Stetson owns a record of 4-1-2. During the seven game
stretch, the Hatters have outscored their opponents 14-7.
Tessa Gavilsky has some type of impact on 16 of the 27 goals scored this season by Stetson. She leads the team in goals (9) and points (25), while ranked second on the team in assists (7). Katie Bitetto leads the Hatters in assists with nine. Andrea Garavaglia has played all 16 matches for Stetson. On the season she has allowed 23 goals while tallying 75 saves for a GAA of 1.38.
Scouting the Eagles
Florida Gulf Coast snapped a two-match scoreless drought when they
defeated Lipscomb in Nashville on Oct. 18 by a score of 2-1.
The Eagles are led offensively by Amber McCall and Jessica Swartzentruber. McCall leads the Eagles in goals (6) and points (14) and is tied for second on the team with two assists. Meanwhile, Swartzentruber leads the in assists (3) and is second on the team in both goals (3) and points (9). Stephanie Powers has appeared in 16 of 17 matches for FGCU. Powers has lead the Eagles to six shutouts while recording 60 saves and allowing 14 goals for a GAA of just 0.84.
Record Chasing
Catherine Nolff, Alyssa Roegner and Leigh
Ward all rank somewhere in the top five or 10 in various
statisical categories. Leading the trio of juniors is Nolff who is
the all-time Upstate leader (D-I era) for games played (54) and
games started (53). Nolff also ranks fifth all-time in both games
started and games played (all years). Right behind Nolff in games
played are Roegner and Ward. In the D-I category, Roegner is second
in games played with 53, while Ward is third with 45 appearances.
Roegner and Ward are also in the top 10 (D-I era) for games
started. Roegner ranks second with 38 starts and Ward is ninth with
21.
Roegner and Nolff find themselves in the top five in five other categories (D-I era). Roegner is tied for first with five goals and sits tied for third with three career assists. The Shelby Township, Mich. native is second with 19 career shots on-goal, second with 13 career points and ranks third with 32 career shots. Meanwhile, Nolff, the Irmo, S.C. product, is tied for fourth in career goals scored with four. She is third in points with 11. She also ranks fourth in career shots on-goal (13) and fifth in shots attempted (25).
Super Savers
In her first match of her senior season, goalkeeper Brittany
Daughtry recorded a career-high 14 saves at Furman (8/24). The
previous career high for the Smithfield, N.C. native was 13 that
she recorded last season at High Point (8/31/08). The 14 saves by
Daughtry also ties the school record for saves in a game and is the
second player to accomplish the feat since the move to Division I.
Samantha Spradley had 14 saves vs. Charleston Southern in 2007
(Upstate's first season in D-I), while Diana Wabnitz had two 14
save matches (at Carson-Newman, 9/9/06 and at Armstrong Atlantic
State, 10/3/06).
Daughtry has appeared in six other contests this season for the Spartans. In two of those contests, Daughtry has recorded double-digit saves. She recorded 13 at Lipscomb (10/2) and 10 at Belmont (10/4).
In her second career start, freshman goal keeper Sian Jenkins recorded nine saves at Charleston Southern (9/1). The nine saves by Jenkins is an Upstate single game record for a freshman (Division I era). Jenkins tied her career high with nine save versus North Florida (9/27).
Looking for Number Three
The women's soccer team is looking for its third shutout since they
moved to Division I. The last shutout for the Spartans occurred on
its home field when they shutout Campbell en route to a 1-0 victory
on Oct. 11, 2007. The 2008 season was the first season that Upstate
failed to record a shutout. The Spartan program has recorded a
total of 45 shutouts in its history.
All-Tournament Duo
Juniors Catherine Nolff and Alyssa Roegner were
named to the All-Tournament team at the 2009 Border Classic. In the
event, at Gardner-Webb, Upstate faced off with SC State and
Chattanooga. In the match with SC State, Nolff scored just four
minutes into the match to give the Spartans a 1-0 advantage. The
goal by Nolff was the first in `09 and fourth for the defender's
career. She was assisted on the goal by teammateAlyssa Roegner. It
was the first assist for Roegner this season and third for her
career.
Upstate Successful at County University Soccer
Stadium
Since County University Soccer Stadium was opened in 2001, USC
Upstate has had a history of success at home. Upstate is 37-34-6
all-time at County University Soccer Stadium for a winning
percentage of .519. The Spartans were 10-1-0 at home during the
first season of play at County University Soccer Stadium in 2001,
winning the Peach Belt Conference regular season championship.
Reyes There From the Start
Not many coaches can say they were there when a women's soccer
program was started and when it made its transition to Division I.
USC Upstate head coach Kendall Reyes is the only women's
soccer head coach in school history, arriving along with the
program in 2000. Reyes has compiled a 69-104-13 record in ten
seasons including a Peach Belt Conference regular season
championship in 2001 and three seasons of 12 wins or more (2001,
2003, 2004). He was also named Peach Belt Conference Coach of the
Year in 2001. In March 2007, Reyes was appointed to the position of
State Technical Coordinator for Coaching Education by the National
Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA). He is the first and
only person of color to hold the position in the organization. In
addition, he was also appointed as an NSCAA National Staff
Instructor in the summer of 2007.
