Third Place Zags Wrap Up Home Slate Sunday
10/30/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Oct. 30, 2010
Complete Release in PDF Format 
Gonzaga Bulldogs (8-9-1, 3-2-0 WCC)
vs.
Saint Mary's Gaels (7-7-3, 1-4-0 WCC)
Gonzaga Soccer Field, Spokane, Wash. - Sunday, Oct. 31, 1 p.m. PDT
THIS WEEK: The Gonzaga University women's soccer team will play its final home match of the 2010 season Sunday against Saint Mary's College at 1 p.m. Prior to kickoff, the Bulldogs will honor their senior class. The Bulldogs have won three of its last four and four of the last six.
SENIOR FAREWELL: Seven members of the Gonzaga University women's soccer team will play their final match at Gonzaga Soccer Field Sunday. Goalkeeper Lauren Ames, defender Lindsay Hood, forward Ashley Riley, midfielder Catherine Cullen, midfielder Sheridan Jones, defender Elle Sweeney and defender Ashley Railey will suit up for their final home match of their Gonzaga career.
WHERE THE BULLDOGS STAND: After defeating the University of San Diego 1-0 last Sunday, Gonzaga University matched its all-time high of three West Coast Conference wins, which has been set five times since joining the conference in 1993. The Bulldogs have two WCC matches remaining to set a record of four wins. In addition to the win over the Toreros, the Bulldogs took sole possession of third place in the WCC. The Bulldogs can secure at least a third place finish with a win over Saint Mary's College Sunday or a San Diego loss. The Zags have finished third in the WCC once which was back in 2005.
CHASING 10 WINS: With eight wins this season and two matches remaining in the 2010 schedule, Gonzaga University has a chance reach 10 wins for the sixth time in eight years.
FOLLOW THE BULLDOGS LIVE: All Gonzaga University home matches will be video streamed and available via Gametracker on the internet at http://www.gozags.com. Check the Gonzaga website to sign up for live video streaming.
FOLLOW THE BULLDOGS ON TWITTER: Follow every step of the Gonzaga University's women's soccer season at www.twitter.com/zagswsoccer. You can also get instant game scores and updates at the official Bulldog athletic twitter site at www.twitter.com/GonzagaBulldogs. COMING UP: Following the match against Saint Mary's College Sunday, Gonzaga University will travel back to California to wrap up the 2010 regular season against the University of San Francisco Saturday at 2 p.m.
ABOUT THE BULLDOGS: Gonzaga University split its two matches in California last weekend. The Bulldogs lost 5-0 Friday to Santa Clara University, who are now ranked No. 10 in the NSCAA-Hendrickcars.com and No. 14 in the Soccer America rankings. But the Zags bounced back two days later and shutout the University of San Diego 1-0. Redshirt junior goalkeeper Lauren Ames recorded her 13th career shutout, which now moves her to second in the program's all-time list. Senior midfielder Catherine Cullen scored her second goal of the season on the same play she scored her first - a corner kick served by junior forward Sarah Rhodes. Rhodes earned her fourth assist of the year and extended her team-leading points to 14.
ABOUT HEAD COACH Amy Edwards: The 2010 season marks the second year for Amy Edwards at the helm of the Gonzaga University women's soccer team. Edwards is in her sixth year as a NCAA Division I head coach and has a career record of 63-46-7. After getting to know Edwards' style of play, the Bulldogs have developed a mindset of being aggressive on attacking opponents.
ZAGS ON THE ASSIST: With a combined total of 23 assists recorded this season, Gonzaga University is tied with the University of San Diego for third in the West Coast Conference. Senior midfielder Sheridan Jones, freshman forward Cassie Geerdts and junior forward Sarah Rhodes both lead the Bulldogs in that category with four each.
BULLDOGS ON THE ATTACK: Gonzaga University has been very aggressive attacking its opponents this season. The Bulldogs are second-best in the West Coast Conference in shots with 249, an average 13.83 per match. In their match against Eastern Washington University, Gonzaga had 32 shots to set a conference high.
ABOUT SAINT MARY'S COLLEGE: Entering his second year at the helm of Saint Mary's College, Kai Edwards began the 2010 season with nine players returning and 19 freshmen. Despite being a young team, the Gaels are 7-7-3 overall. The Gaels, who are wrapping up a three-match road trip Sunday against Gonzaga University, have lost four straight matches - most recently on the road at Loyola Marymount University and Pepperdine University last weekend. The Gaels lead the all-time series against the Bulldogs 10-6-1.
SCHEDULE ONCE AGAIN PROVIDING CHALLENGES: Similar to the 2009 season, Gonzaga University is facing another challenging schedule this season. On this year's schedule, seven of 20 opponents were participants in the 2009 NCAA Tournament and four opponents were ranked in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America-Hendrickcars.com and Soccer America preseason polls. In last year's NCAA Tournament, No. 5/3 University of Portland and No. 6/9 Florida State University reached the quarterfinals; No. 9/10 Santa Clara University reached the third round; No. 21 (NSCAA only) Washington State University and San Diego State University reached the second round, and University of Denver and No. 19/20 University of Southern California appeared in the first round.
JONES RANKED IN TOPDRAWERSOCCER.COM: Since its first weekly release on Sept. 2, TopDrawersoccer.com, an online college soccer website, has ranked senior midfielder Sheridan Jones every week in the Top 100 players to watch in the nation. She is currently ranked No. 39. In addition, TopDrawersoccer.com has Jones ranked No. 7 on the player watch list for the West Coast Conference.
JONES, RILEY CHASING HISTORY: As they enter their final season in their collegiate careers, seniors Sheridan Jones and Ashley Riley will look to exit holding the career record for assists. After notching a pair of assists on Oct. 17 against Loyola Marymount University, Jones now sits second on the program's all-time list with 13. Riley sits in a five-way tie for fourth with nine. Sara Streufert (1997-00) holds the record with 15.
ZAGS PICKED TO FINISH SEVENTH IN WCC: The Gonzaga University women's soccer team has been selected to finish seventh in the West Coast Conference 2010 preseason poll voted by the coaches. The Zags received 12 points to finish ahead of the University of San Francisco's 11. Gonzaga finished the 2009 season 8-12-0 overall and 2-5-0 in the WCC. Three-time defending WCC champion University of Portland has been favored to successfully repeat as champions. The Pilots garnered seven-of-eight first place votes while receiving 49 points. Santa Clara University received the other first place vote and 41.5 points as the Broncos were selected to finish second.
