Soccer America Archives

SMALL COLLEGE NEWS … On a day when thick smoke from a wildfire hovered over the San Gabriel Mountains in the background and temperatures soared above 100 degrees, Cal Baptist and Azusa Pacific pulled off a pair of upsets in an interregional clash of women’s NAIA powers.

CBU ended defending champion and top-ranked Lee’s 19-game winning streak with a 1-0 victory on freshman Kitra Walters‘ goal. Defender Katie Rorabaugh had two goals and an assist for host Azusa Pacific in its 3-1 win over No. 3 Lindsey Wilson.

The first day of the Cougar classic had been moved from Azusa to Riverside because of the fires. Lee beat Azusa Pacific, 1-0, while Cal Baptist upset Lindsey Wilson, 3-1.

WOMEN’S NEWS … Georgetown set a school record with its fourth straight shutout to start the season, a 4-0 win over James Madison on Wednesday. “Our center backs, Michaela [Buonomo] and Gabby [Miller], have been outstanding,” Hoya coach Dave Nolan said. “Michaela is adopting more of a leadership role and Gabby is her silent counterpart in the middle.”

The Hoya should be very dangerous in the Big East with the return of playmaker Ingrid Wells, who red-shirted in 2008 to play for the USA at the Under-20 Women’s World Cup. “The two goals in the first half were set up by identical slotted passes from Ingrid,” Nolan said. “She moves so fast that it is hard for other teams to single-team and even double-team her defensively.”
 
* Roxanne Tebbs, who transferred from Utah to Weber State after her freshman year, returned to Salt Lake City and haunted the Utes scoring the only goal in a 1-0 victory that snapped No. 19 Utah’s four-game winning streak.

The Utes outshot the Wildcats 28-12, but were unable to finish their chances. Utah coach Rich Manning could not fault his players’ efforts.m “They defended with passion and heart and [Rebecca Ritchie] was great in goal,” he said. “They had a chance and scored on it, and we were not good enough in front of the net on ours.”

HAT TRICK HERO (Wednesday, Sept. 2):
— Louisiana Tech’s Rachel King scored three goals in the 7-1 win over Prairie View A&M.

* Soccer America’s Women’s College Scoreboard has all of Wednesday’s results and the rest of the week’s Top 25 matches.

MEN’S NEWS … It’s a long way from California to Storrs, Conn., but it’s a testament to Coach Ray Reid‘s power of persuasion that he’s convinced five Californians to play for the Huskies.

In his UConn debut, Alan Ponce, a JC transfer from Rio Honda Community College, scored the winning goal on a nifty header, and fellow California Kwame Siriboe-Watson scored the first goal, also a header, in his four years with the Huskies to lead them to a 2-0 win over St. Peter’s in Wednesday’s opener.

Also making his college debut was highly touted freshman Carlos Alvarez, who spent time in camps with both the U.S. and Mexican youth national teams. Like Siriboe-Watson, Shawn Nicklaw is a returning starter on the UConn backline. UConn’s fifth Golden Stater, Cruz Hernandez, came off the bench against St. Peter’s.

(Click here for extended highlights of UConn-St. Peter’s.)

* Overshadowed by the final of the U.S. Open Cup at RFK Stadium was the opening day of the D.C. College Cup on Wednesday evening at George Mason Stadium. Parker Walton knocked in the game-winning goal in the 86th minute to lift No. 19 George Mason past Howard, 2-1. American shut out George Washington, 2-0, on goals by David Menzie and Karsten Smith.

* South Carolina’s 3-1 win over Charlotte on Tuesday was costly. Senior defender Mark Wiltse, who had started 52 of 53 games at South Carolina, was lost for the season with a broken right leg. He will be eligible for a medical hardship.

* Soccer America’s Men’s College Scoreboard has all of Wednesday’s results and the rest of the week’s Top 25 matches.