Women's Soccer to Host Stetson, FGCU this Weekend
10/6/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
SPARTANBURG, S.C. - After traveling to the state of Florida last weekend, the USC Upstate women's soccer team will host a pair of conference foes from the state of Florida this weekend at County University Soccer Stadium.
Upstate will host Stetson on Friday night at 7:00 p.m. Following the match with the Hatters, the Spartans will entertain Florida Gulf Coast at 12:00 p.m. on Sunday.
Scouting the Hatters
After dropping the first two conference matches of the season by scores of 1-0 at North Florida and at Jacksonville, Stetson has won three consecutive matches. The Hatters defeated Campbell in Buies Creek, N.C., 4-1, before downing both Kennesaw State and Mercer in DeLand, Fla., by scores of 4-1 and 5-1, respectively.
Stetson is led offensively by Tessa Gavilsky, Courtney Jenista and Katie Bitetto. Gavilsky and Jenista are tied for the team lead with six goals, while Gavilsky and Bitetto are tied with seven assists. Gavilsky is also the leader in points (19), shots (27) and shots on-goal (17). Andrea Garavaglia has logged all 1167:44 between the pipes for Stetson in 2010. She has made 79 saves and owns a GAA of 2.62 (34 total goals allowed).
Fans not in attendance can watch the action live online at ASun.TV by visiting the service's web site, www.asun.tv, and clicking on the USC Upstate tab. Fans can also receive live statistical updates by visiting the official Upstate Athletics Web site at www.upstatespartans.com.
Scouting the Eagles
Florida Gulf Coast enters the week at the top of the A-Sun standings with a 4-0-1 mark in conference play (7-4-1 overall). The Eagles opened conference play with a scoreless draw at Jacksonville on Sept. 17. In FGCU's last four games they are 4-0, while outscoring its opponents (at UNF, at Campbell, Mercer, Kennesaw State) by a 6-1 margin.
Lindsay Haw and Jenci Villaverde are the offensive leaders for the Eagles. Haw and Villaverde are tied for lead in points (7), with Haw leading the team in goals (3) and Villaverde the assist leader with three. Stephanie Powers has started all 12 matches, logging 1079 of a possible 1112 minutes. She has made 43 saves, while allowing just eight goals (0.67 GAA) in 2010.
Fans not in attendance can watch the action live online at ASun.TV by visiting the service's web site, www.asun.tv, and clicking on the USC Upstate tab. Fans can also receive live statistical updates by visiting the official Upstate Athletics Web site at www.upstatespartans.com.
Looking Back at Jacksonville and North Florida
Last weekend the Spartans traveled to the River City to face Jacksonville and North Florida in conference action. On Friday, Upstate fell to JU by a score of 5-1. In the match, freshman Rachel Curd recorded her first collegiate goal. To close out the road swing, the Spartans fell to UNF by a score of 3-0.
2 for 15
Freshman Jessica Jackyra leads the Spartans with two-game winning goals in 2010. The freshman scored her first collegiate goal at Alabama State on Sept. 19 to give the Spartans a 1-0 advantage. Upstate went on to defeat the Hornets, 2-0, in Montgomery, Ala. The Upstate defender scored her second goal of the season against Lipscomb (Sept. 26). Jackyra's blast from 35 yards found the back of the net, helping the Spartans earn its first conference win of the campaign. Not only does number 15 lead Upstate in game-winners, she is near the top of the conference, as she is tied for third.
All-Tournament Trio
Three different Spartans earned All-Tournament honors at the 2010 Border Classic hosted by Under Armour and Gardner-Webb (9/10, 12). Senior Catherine Nolff was named to the team for the second consecutive season. Nolff along with Ashleigh Barkley and Courtney Mack helped solidify the back line for the Spartans as Upstate claimed the 1-0 victory against Morehead State (9/10).
Second to None
When Renee Lopez was hired on Nov. 18, 2009 as head coach, she immediately hit the recruiting trail. Lopez signed a total of 12 freshmen to her first recruiting class and not only is that the largest freshman class in the Atlantic Sun Conference, but only one other school in the entire nation has 12 incoming freshmen for the 2010 season. Joining the Spartans with the 12 freshmen mark are the Argos from West Florida, a Division II institution located in Pensacola, Fla.
The Energizer Bunny
Not only has senior Catherine Nolff seen action in all 13 games for the Spartans this season, the Columbia, S.C., native has not left the field for a single second. Nolff has played all 1186:21 on the pitch for first-year head coach Renee Lopez.
Fort Collins
Freshman Rachel Collins made her collegiate debut in the match against Charleston Southern. The Raleigh, N.C., native recorded nine saves in the first half and finished with 14 saves. Her 14 saves tied a school-record as she joined Diana Wabnitz, Samantha Spradley and Brittany Daughtry as the only players to accomplish the feat. Collins is the only freshman to record 14 saves in a single match. Her 14 saves is also a single-match high in the A-Sun this season. In the match against Lipscomb (Sept. 26), Collins made eight saves as she helped the Spartans earn their first conference victory of the 2010 season. It was also the first shutout victory for the first-year Spartan.
In 2010, Collins has tallied a total of 86 saves, including a 10-save match against Wofford as well as a pair of nine-save outings against Furman and Gardner-Webb. Collins leads the conference in both saves and saves per match (6.62). Collins also ranks fourth in save percentage (.789) and eighth in shutouts (1).
In conference matches, Collins leads the way with 30 saves and also ranks first in saves per match (6.00). She is tied for seventh in shutouts and ranks eighth in save percentage (.750).
Ashlee Barrow Named as Player to Watch by TopDrawerSoccer.com
Each season TopDrawerSoccer.com lists its preseason top 20 players to watch in each conference. This season, Ashlee Barrow was ranked 16th in the list of 20 players from the Atlantic Sun Conference. The Fishkill, N.Y., native was named to the A-Sun All-Freshman Team in 2009 and has an outstanding preseason to begin her sophomore season. With her selection to the All-Freshman Team, she became the first Spartan since 2006 and the first since the move to D-I to earn all-conference honors. Aside from the All-Freshman Team accolades in 2009, Barrow earned All-Academic Team honors from the A-Sun as well as Upstate's Coach's Award and the Wilde Soccer Scholarship.
Miss Dependable
Senior Catherine Nolff has appeared in every match during her Spartan career. Nolff, a senior from Columbia, S.C., has appeared in 68 matches and has started in 67 straight, a streak dating back to the second game of her freshman season (at Furman, Sept. 6, 2007). Nolff is the all-time D-I era leader for games played and games started. With her start at Alabama State (9-19-10) she passed Leslie Logwood (2000-03) for third all-time in matches started and sits alone in fourth-place in matches played.
Sweet Sixteen
A total of 16 new players will suit up for the Spartans in 2010. Gabrielle Fennell (a transfer from Garner-Webb) and Karen Martinez joined the Spartans during the spring. Of the remaining 14, 12 of the newcomers are freshmen (Kimberley Anderson, Rachel Collins, Rachel Curd, Jessica Jackyra, Erika Kotterer, Kimberly Ledwell, Alyssa Librizzi, Courtney Mack, Kayli Moore, Sarah Plantz, Jessica Voigt and Danielle White). Julia Harris joins the Spartans after a two-year stint at Spartanburg Methodist College, while Krystal Hedderman comes on board after two years at St. Andrew's Presbyterian College in Laurinburg, N.C.
The Spartanburg Circuit
Mary Rea was named as an assistant women's soccer coach on July 16, 2010 and joined the third and final Spartanburg four-year institution. Prior to joining the Spartan coaching staff, Rea served as an assistant coach at Converse College during the 2009 season. Converse is a NCAA Division II institution and is a member of Conference Carolinas.
She was a four year letterwinner at Wofford College from 2004-08, where she earned defensive MVP honors as a freshman and team MVP accolades as a junior. Rea, who earned all-academic honors for her hard work in the classroom, was a team captain as a senior.
These Days in History
On today's game date, Oct. 8, these notable events occurred: New York Yankees' pitcher Whitey Ford set the World Series record for consecutive scoreless innings, reaching 32 in a 7-0 shutout of the Cincinnati Reds in Game 4, surpassing the old mark of 29.2 IP by Babe Ruth (1961)... Green Bay Packers' running back/kicker Paul Hornug set a team record for points scored in a game with 33 (four touchdowns, six extra points and one field goal) as the Packers defeated the Baltimore Colts, 45-7 (1962)... A U.S. District Court in Anchorage, Alaska, approved a $900-million settlement (annual payments made over 10 years) with Exxon Oil Corporation for the Valdez oil spill. Exxon also agreed to pay a $250-million fine, which would reimburse the state of Alaska and the U.S. for the cleanup, damage assessment and litigation (1991)... Chart toppers include: "Oh, Pretty Woman" by Roy Orbison (1964) and "Another One Bites the Dust" by Queen (1980)... Notable birthdays include: Actor Chevy Chase (1943)... Actress Sigourney Weaver (1949)... Actor Matt Damon (1970).
On this day in Spartan history (Oct. 8), the Spartan volleyball team sets a school-record with 80 kills in a four-set match as the Spartans downed UNC Pembroke 3-1 (1995).
On today's game date, Oct. 10, these notable events occurred: The billiard ball was patented by John Wesley Hyatt (1865)... Hank Bauer's bases-loaded triple in Game 6 lifted the New York Yankees to a 4-3 win and their third-straight title as the defeated the New York Giants 4 games to 2 (1951)... The Red Baron first appeared in the "Peanuts" comic strip, with Snoopy at the controls (1965)... Chart toppers included "Reach Out I'll Be There" by the Four Tops (1966) and "Friends in Low Places" by Garth Brooks (1990)... Notable birthdays include: Singer David Lee Roth (1954)... Singer Tanya Tucker (1958) and former Southern Miss QB and current NFL QB Brett Favre (1969).
On this day in Spartan history (Oct. 10), men's soccer goalkeeper Darren Ambrose records 10 saves helping the Spartans earn a 1-0 victory over Charlotte (1989).
