WOMEN’S NEWS … Of the nine NCAA Division I women’s teams who are still unbeaten and untied after Week 4, three have never made the NCAA Tournament:
— Louisiana Tech (7-0-0) set a school record for goals and shots (52) in its 12-0 win over Delta State on Sunday. It was 6-0 at the half, and even after Kevin Sherry pulled his starters, it was all Lady Techsters. Sub Brittany Coffinbargar needed only 17 minutes to record her first three goals of the season. Sherry has turned things around in three seasons at the WAC school. The Lady Techsters were 2-14-1 in 2007 and improved to 10-5-5 in 2008, tying Minnesota, Texas State and Washington for the biggest improvement.
— Mississippi State (6-0-0) is off to its best start ever. The Bulldogs defeated East Tennessee State, 2-0, on Sunday afternoon thanks to a pair of goals by Kat Walsh. “She has really been playing excellent soccer the last two weekends,” Coach Neil Macdonald said. One of the top freshmen for MSU is Monica Alvarado, who played for MLS club FC Dallas’ girls program and has played at the U-17, U-20 and now senior levels for Mexico.
— Marshall (6-0-0) has been a model of efficiency, parlaying nine goals into six wins, the most recent being a 1-0 victory over Ohio on Sunday. Then again, the Herd hasn’t needed much offense. It has yet to allow a goal. Erika Duncan‘s goal in the 87th minute ended Ohio dominance in the series (seven wins and a tie in eight previous games). “We really wanted this win,” Marshall coach Kevin Long said. “We wanted to break the spell that Ohio had over us.”
* TUESDAY TOP 25 ACTION:
No. 11 Michigan State vs. Detroit
This week’s Soccer America Women’s Team of the Week
This week’s Soccer America Women’s Top 25