Category: Story

WOMEN’S NEWS … The first major women’s conference kicked off play Thursday night when Marquette edged South Florida, 2-1, on Kerry McBride‘s late goal in the Big East opener, and a full slate of games is scheduled for Friday. Notre Dame and West Virginia were picked to win their respective divisions, but both teams head into conference play with .500 records.

The Big East is as deep as its ever been with all 16 teams beginning conference action with legitimate shots of claiming the divisional crowns. Five are ranked in the Soccer America Top 25: No. 13 Notre Dame, No. 18 St. John’s, No. 19 Connecticut, No. 23 Rutgers and No. 25 West Virginia. And only one team has a losing record in non-conference play. Here’s a look at the divisional races with the teams cited in order of their preseason ranking.

* AMERICAN
1. West Virginia, 2-2-3 (Mountaineers have scored only seven goals.)
2. Connecticut, 4-2-0 (Huskies have won four games in a row.)
3. Marquette, 6-2-0 (Golden Eagles are very tough at Valley Fields.)
4. St. John’s, 5-1-0 (C.J. Ludemann leads Red Storm with two goals and four assists.)
5. South Florida, 3-3-1 (Six of USF’s 10 goals came against Austin Peay.)
6. Pittsburgh, 4-2-0 (Panthers opened with four straight victories.)
7. Syracuse, 3-2-2 (Tina Romagnuolo has four of Orange’s six goals.)
8. Providence, 4-2-1 (Both Friar losses came in overtime.)

* NATIONAL
1. Notre Dame, 3-3-0 (Irish are unbeaten in last 52 Big East games — 50-0-2)
2. Rutgers, 5-1-1 (Erin Guthrie allowed her only two goals last Friday against San Diego.)
3. Georgetown, 6-1-0 (Ingrid Wells leads Big East with seven assists.)
4. Louisville, 2-3-0 (Cardinals have only scored four goals.)
5. Villanova, 6-0-1 (Katie Ryan leads Big East with seven goals and two assists.)
6. Cincinnati, 4-3-0 (Julie Morrissey had four goals last week in pair of wins.)
7. Seton Hall, 3-3-0 (Nicki Gross leads Pirates with four of their eight goals.)
 8. DePaul, 4-2-2 (Blue Demons have already equaled last year’s win total.)

Thursday’s Scoreboard

* WEEKEND TOP 25 MATCHUPS:
Friday, Sept. 18
No. 12 South Carolina vs. No. 17 UCF
No. 14 Florida vs. No. 6 Florida State
No. 25 Kansas vs. No. 21 San Diego (Jayhawk Invitational)

MEN’S NEWS … Freshman midfielder Matt Lodge, the former English prison guard, scored his second goal on a free kick from 30 or more yards away in the last two games to lead No. 25 Kentucky to a 1-0 win over Alabama A&M and improve its record to 5-0-0, equaling the best start to a season in the 19-year history of the program.

“Credit goes to Matt Lodge,” UK head coach Ian Collins said. “He was feeling awful today, battling a bit of sickness. He really showed some toughness and guts to play as hard as he did tonight.”

The goal was Lodge’s team-high fourth of the year.  In his last game, Lodge scored both of UK’s goals in a 2-1 comeback win over SIU-Edwardsville.

— UMBC sophomore forward Andrew Bulls scored ninth goal of the season — and his fifth game-winning goal — to lead the Retrievers to a 1-0 win over neighboring Towson. UMBC tied a school Division I record with the 6-0-0 start, equaling the 1999 squad, which produced the nation’s best record of 19-1-2.

Bulls was fouled 23 yards from the goal, and his ensuing free kick went to the right of the four-man wall and just inside the right post, keeping his streak intact of having scored in every game.

Wednesday’s Scoreboard

* INJURY REPORT: Saint Louis forward Jimmy Holmes was lost for the season after suffering a knee injury in the first half of Saturday’s 3-1 win against Loyola (Ill.). The senior will apply for a medical hardship.

WOMEN’S NEWS … When Notre Dame co-captain Courtney Rosen was sidelined with a broken foot last month, it was the fourth time she has broken her foot in five years. What made the injury different was that it was the first time she has broken her left foot. Because of stress fractures to her right foot, Rosen has a screw placed in that foot.

Rosen was walking from the locker room to the practice field when her left foot gave out. “It was like a death in the family when she broke her foot,” teammate Michele Weissenhofer, who has also battled injuries, told the Notre Dame Observer. “That just shows how big of a part of the team she is.”

Without Rosen, a second-team All-Big East selection in 2008, the Irish have struggled, losing three of their last four games.

* TOP 25 ACTION: No. 22 Indiana dominated play against state rival Butler, but all the Hoosiers could muster was a goal by Orianica Velasquez Herrera in the 79th minute for a 1-0 victory that improved IU’s record to 7-1-0. The Hoosiers were stymied by keeper Jessica Schein, who made five saves. They also had Carly Samp‘s shot glance off the far post.
 
Wednesday’s Scoreboard

* HAT TRICK HERO:
— Kirby Zak scored three goals for Sam Houston State in its 6-0 win over Texas Southern.