Category: Story

WOMEN’S NEWS … The 2009 women’s season begins Friday. The weekend play is highlighted by four matches in which both teams are ranked in the Soccer America Women’s Preseason Top 25.

FRIDAY: #11 Virginia at #6 Penn State: The Nittany Lions are looking to break the Jeffrey Field record crowd for a women’s game set in 2006 (3,206 for Penn State-UCLA on opening day).

IN THE SPOTLIGHT: The game will mark the collegiate debut of Christine Nairn, who delayed her enrollment at Penn State to represent the USA at the 2008 U-20 World Cup. She has since become the first member of the U.S. world champion team to earn a cap at the senior level.

SATURDAY: #3 UCLA at #1 North Carolina: The game is a rematch of last year’s College Cup semifinal the Tar Heels won, 1-0, to send the Bruins home from the College Cup without a trophy for the sixth straight year.

IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Junior Kylie Wright will have to play a bigger role in the UCLA midfield following the departure of playmaker Tina DiMartino.

SATURDAY: #12 USC at #9 Texas A&M: The Trojans return to College Station, where they won the NCAA title two years ago. This will be the first-ever meeting between USC and Texas A&M.

IN THE SPOTLIGHT: With Olympic gold-medalist Amy Rodriguez having departed, junior Megan Ohai will be counted upon to spark the USC attack. She spent the summer with the U.S. U-23s, playing with USC goalie Kristin Olsen and Aggies Kristin Arnold and Bri Young.

SATURDAY: #24 Oklahoma State at #17 Colorado (Radio: KSBI, 780 AM). The match is a rare conference match to open the season. Both teams are expected to challenge for the Big 12 title with co-favorites Missouri and Texas A&M.

IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Shaye Marshall joins older sister Nikki Marshall, who was named to the Soccer America Women’s Preseason All-American team, in the Colorado lineup. Shaye, a freshman, made her presence felt in the Buffs’ final tuneup, earning an assist on the winning goal in the 2-1 exhibition victory over Northern Colorado.

* All but Boston College, Michigan State, Connecticut and Rutgers kick off their regular-season schedules this weekend:

Soccer America Top 25 Schedule

(BC and UConn meet Saturday in an exhibition. Rutgers scrimmages the University of Montreal Friday. MSU is idle.)

MEN’S NEWS … The 2009 men’s season doesn’t officially kick off until Sept. 1, but many teams will tune up with exhibitions over the next two weekends. Here are some top games on tap for this weekend:

Friday: Akron-South Florida, Virginia-George Mason, North Carolina-Georgetown, Duke-VCU, Tulsa-New Mexico.
Saturday: American-Maryland, SMU-Denver, Wake Forest-Liberty.
Sunday: West Virginia-Michigan, North Carolina-VCU.

* UC Santa Barbara, which faces Santa Barbara neighbor Westmont on Saturday, has lost one of its top scoring threats, Bongomin Otii, out for the 2009 season due to knee injury.

* The Soccer America Men’s Preseason Top 25 will appear in Tuesday’s Soccer America Daily, and the Soccer America Men’s Preseason All-Americans will be released a day later.

THIS WEEK’S NEWS … Due to technical difficulties, service of our e-newsletters has been intermittent this week. Here is all the major college news this week:

Women’s Preseason Top 25
Women’s Preseason All-Americans
Men’s Preseason Top 25: coming Tuesday
Men’s Preseason All-Americans: coming Wednesday

College Soccer Reporter:
Wednesday
Tuesday
Monday

MEN’S NEWS … Preston Hirten, a junior at Division III Mary Washington, collapse during practice and later died on Tuesday. He collapsed during a water break, was taken by ambulance with what was described as respiratory arrest to Mary Washington Hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.

Temperatures were hot during the late afternoon practice at the Virginia school, but a cause of death was not yet determined.

Hirten had transferred from Hobart, another Division III school, last year. He starred at Staples High School in Westport, Conn.

“Preston epitomized Staples soccer,” said Staples head coach Dan Woog. “Anyone who watched him play – who saw his combination of speed, skill, and above all determination – knew he loved the game, and loved being on the field with his friends.”

Hirten is survived by his parents, Marc and Lisa Hirten, and two sisters Ella and Justine.

A memorial service will be held this Saturday at the Unitarian Church, 10 Lyons Plains Road, Westport. The service begins at 2 p.m.

The family also notes that, in lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Preston Hirten Memorial Scholarship, being organized by the Westport Soccer Association. The address is: PO Box 2561, Westport, CT 06880.

WOMEN’S NEWS … There’s one day to go before the start of the 2009 women’s season. Here are the remainder of favorites in women’s conference preseason polls:

America East Boston Univ. (unanimous selection of conference coaches)
Atlantic Sun Kennesaw State (Owl Maylee Attin-Johnson is Preseason POY)
Atlantic-10 Dayton (Flyers are led by Mandi Baeck, three-time All-Atlantic-10 pick)
Big South Radford (Highlander keeper Lisa Lubke is Preseason POY)
Big Sky Weber State (Wildcats edged defending champion Northern Arizona)
Big West UC Santa Barbara (defending champs return eight starters)
CAA James Madison (Dukes received 10 of 11 first-place votes)
Horizon Wisconsin-Milwaukee (Sophomore Sarah Hagen will lead Panthers)
Ivy no poll.
MAAC Fairfield (Nicole Cavallaro repeats as Preseason POY)
Mid-American Toledo (Midnight Blue seeks fourth MAC title in a row)
Missouri Valley Illinois State (Redbirds face five ’08 NCAA Tournament teams)
Mountain West BYU (all-MWC picks Lauren Anderson and Andrea Willis return)
Northeast Central Conn. State (Leah Blayney and Clio Tregear anchor midfield)
Ohio Valley Murray State (Racers return OVC’s top goalie, Tara Isbell)
Patriot Navy (Middie Shelly Moeller is again Preseason Defensive POY)
Southern UNC Greensboro (Spartans return three all-conference selections)
Southland Texas State (Bobcats led by conference tournament MVP Lauren Lewis)
Summit Oakland (South Dakota State and IUPUI follow in tight poll)
Sun Belt Denver (Pioneers Lizzy Carlson, Mariah Johnston and Jessie Rogers on preseason team)
SWAC Mississippi Valley State (Eastern) and Grambling State (Western)
WAC Utah State (Aggies return eight of their top 10 goal scorers)

* No. 5 Notre Dame will open Friday against Wisconsin at old home Alumni Field while construction is completed on the state-of-the-art Alumni Stadium. The Irish will host Loyola (Ill.) a week later at Alumni Field before opening at its new facility on Sept. 4 against No. 1 North Carolina in a rematch of last year’s NCAA national championship game. The game will be part of the 2009 Inn at Saint Mary’s Classic.