Spartans Ready for Spartanburg Battle
9/2/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
SPARTANBURG, S.C. – On Sunday afternoon, the USC Upstate women's soccer team will make the short trip down Pine Street to face the Wofford Terriers at 2:00 p.m. It will be just the second meeting all-time between the two squads.
- Scouting the Terriers
- Looking Back at Georgia Southern and Gardner-Webb
- Catherine Nolff has yet to Miss a Second of Action
- Rachel Collins Leads the Way in the A-Sun
Scouting the
Terriers
In the preseason, Wofford was selected 11th in the preseason
Southern Conference coaches' poll after receiving 31
points. Wofford currently sits 2-2-0 on the campaign with
wins over Alabama State (6-0) and Presbyterian (1-0, OT). The
Terriers fell on the road at Troy (6-1) and lost in double-overtime
at Francis Marion (3-2). Emily Bougas and Nikki Siebert are
the team's leaders in goals, assists and points. The
pair are tied for the team lead in points (7), as Bougas is
Wofford's top goal scorer (3), while Siebert has recorded
three assists through the first four matches.
Sunday's match will be just the second all-time meeting
between the two Spartanburg schools. Wofford claimed a 2-0
victory at County University Soccer Stadium on Sept. 6, 2009.
Fans who cannot attend the match can catch the action live as well
as receive live statistical updates by visiting
www.woffordterriers.com.
Looking Back at the Georgia Southern and
Gardner-Webb
On Saturday, Upstate played its first match at County University
Soccer Stadium as the Spartans hosted the Georgia Southern
Eagles. Upstate fell in the match by a score of 3-0, as GSU
tallied one first half goal and two in the second half. One
of the second half goals was an own goal as Upstate attempted to
clear the ball.
On Tuesday night, Upstate entertained Gardner-Webb. The
Spartans and the Bulldogs battled to a scoreless draw at halftime,
at the end of regulation and at the end of the first overtime
period. It wasn't until the 107th minute that either
team found the back of the net. GWU's Meagan Reynolds
put her shot from the right side of the box past Upstate keeper
Rachel Collins to lift the Bulldogs to a 1-0 victory in double
overtime.
Spartan 360-plus
Not only has senior Catherine Nolff seen action in all four games
for the Spartans this season, the Columbia, S.C., native has not
left the field for a single second. Nolff has played all
376:21 on the pitch for first year head coach Renee Lopez.
Nolff also ranks second on team in shots on-goal and is tied for
second in total shots.
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.
Since the CSU match, Collins has tallied 23 saves, including a pair
of nine-save outings against Furman and Gardner-Webb. Collins
leads the Atlantic Sun Conference in saves (37) and saves per game
(9.25).
Ashlee Barrow Named as Player to Watch by
TopDrawerSoccer.com
Each season TopDrawerSoccer.com lists its 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 60 matches and has started in 59 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 Furman
(Aug. 24, 2010) she tied Lemeh Horace (2001-04) for fifth all-time
in matches played and sits alone in fifth-place in matches
started.
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.
This Day in History
On today's game date, Sept. 5, these notable events
occured: The first Labor Day holiday parade was held in New
York City (1882)... "Ring of Fire" by Johnny Cash
topped the charts (1971)... Cal Ripken, Jr. ties Lou Gehrig's
mark of 2,130 consecutive starts (1995)... Mother Teresa, a
Catholic nun who devoted her life to helping the poor, died at the
age of 87 (1997)... Apple launched the iTouch, a crossover between
the iPod and the iPhone (2007)... Notable birthdays include:
Stand-up comedian and actor Bob Newhart (1929)... Freddie Mercury,
lead singer of the band Queen (1946).
On this day in Spartan history, freshman Gilbert Kemboi becomes the
first-ever Upstate male cross country runner to claim the top spot
at the Eye Opener Invitational, with a meet-record of 25:00.
Meanwhile, Carolyne Chelulei wins the women's race and
becomes the second straight Spartan to win the annual meet for the
women's team.
