Zags Travel To Missoula For Season Opener
8/21/2000 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Aug. 21, 2000
SPOKANE, Wash. -
GONZAGA BULLDOGS (0-0)vs.
MONTANA GRIZZLIES (0-0)
Friday - August 25 - 4 p.m. @ UM South Campus Field (1,000)
EARLIEST SEASON OPENER: When the Gonzaga women's soccer team travels to Missoula to open the season on August 25, it will be the earliest start date for either team in the history of their programs. The Bulldogs previous earliest start was in 1997 when they opened on August 30 at Washington State. For Montana, their previous earliest start was also in 1997 when they opened on August 31 against Minnesota.
EXPERIENCED LADEN TEAM RETURNS: Gonzaga returns the nucleus of last season's team that had the second most successful season in Zags soccer history. Seniors Sara Streufert and Katie Carpenter return to lead the team in what could be a record setting year. Streufert set a single season school record with 12 goals while Carpenter finished second on the team with six goals. Sophomore Claire Whitfield was second on the team in points after setting a single season school record with seven assists. Returning on the defensive front will be senior defender Kellie Leaf and senior goalkeeper Gina Legaz.
VS. THE GRIZZLIES: This will be the tenth meeting between Gonzaga and Montana with the Grizzlies claiming victory in the previous nine meetings. Both teams are coming off successful seasons with Gonzaga winning seven games and Montana advancing to the first round of the NCAA tournament. In last years game in Spokane, Montana jumped out early and cruised to a 6-1 victory over Gonzaga. Jenny Harvey scored the lone goal for GU in the losing effort.
COACH STILES RETURNS FOR SECOND SEASON: Gonzaga head coach Shannon Stiles returns to guide the women's program for a second season. In her rookie campaign, Stiles coached the Bulldogs to their second most successful season in school history with a 7-13-0 record. Although the Zags finished 1-6 in the West Coast Conference, it marked only the second time the team has won a WCC game and first time Gonzaga has not finished last in the WCC. Stiles needs just one more conference victory and eight overall wins to become the school's leader in both categories. A former player in the WCC, Stiles was a member of three NCAA Final Four teams while at Santa Clara.
GONZAGA PICKED SEVENTH IN WCC: A year after its most successful season in the West Coast Conference, Gonzaga was selected to finish seventh in the WCC race based on a coaches pre-season poll. Santa Clara, which advanced to the NCAA Final Four last season, was selected to win their fifth title. Tied with GU in seventh place in the poll is San Francisco, the team that the Bulldogs defeated in 1999.
OFFENSIVE OUTBURST: Despite falling one win short of setting a school record in 1999, the Gonzaga women's soccer team did smash several other records on their way to a seven win season. Led by first team All-West Coast Conference selection Sara Streufert's 12 goals, Gonzaga set a school record with 34 goals averaging a new-school record of 1.70 goals per game. Led by sophomore Claire Whitfield's seven assists the team also shattered the school record for assists finishing the campaign with 26. The team finished with a season high 94 points.
YOUNG GUNS TO SEE ACTION: Although Gonzaga returns eleven players who contributed last season, coach Shannon Stiles has brought in one of the best recruiting classes in school history. Thirteen new faces will have the chance to see action during the 2000 season as eight scholarship and five walk-on freshmen will battle for playing time on a team that returns its top six point scorers from last season's team.
STREUFERT CLOSING IN ON RECORD: Already the single season and school record holder in almost every offensive category, senior Sara Streufert will have the chance to place her name in the WCC record book by seasons end. Streufert needs just 29 points during her senior season to become the tenth player in West Coast Conference history to tally a 100 or more points in a career. The WCC career leader in points is current U.S. National team member Shannon MacMillan with 219 points at Portland from 1992-95.
SCHROEDER OUT FOR SEASON: Sophomore Julie Schroeder will miss the 2000 season for Gonzaga after suffering a season ending knee injury this summer. In 1999, Schroeder appeared in 12 games scoring one goal.
HITTING THE ROAD IN 2000: After an unprecedented 12 home games during the 1999 season, Gonzaga must now take to the road for a majority of the 2000 season. After opening the season at Montana, the Bulldogs spend six games on the road during the month of September with games against PAC-10 members Oregon State, Washington State and Washington. Gonzaga also ventures just minutes outside of Spokane for a game against Eastern Washington before a weekend in Southern Idaho against Idaho State and Boise State. In October, Gonzaga spends consecutive conference weekends on the road against Santa Clara and San Francisco, followed by Saint Mary's and San Diego. The Zags do get to finish the 2000 season at home with three games against Loyola Marymount, Pepperdine and Idaho.
GETTING MORE IN GOAL: Despite setting a school record in every offensive category during the 1999 season, Gonzaga still struggled on the defensive end of the field. Senior Gina Legaz led the West Coast Conference in saves for the second consecutive year making a 113 stops in goal. However her 3.07 goals against average was the highest in her three-year career. To help improve things in the net, former men's all-conference goalkeeper Josh Fouts has been working with the GU keepers during the pre-season. The Bulldogs have also brought in two talented freshmen goalkeepers to challenge for the starting position. Courtney Haury was an All-State goalkeeper in New Mexico, while Tara Curtis was an All-State goalkeeper in Oregon.
