Oct. 8, 2001

LOGAN, Utah -

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QUICKLY--The Aggies suffered losses to Long Beach State and UC Irvine over their weekend road trip to California. USU was defeated 3-1 by the 49ers and were shut out by the Highlanders 7-0.

UP NEXT--USU will look to halt its three-game losing streak as it hosts UC-Riverside and Cal State Fullerton this weekend, returning home for the first time in two weeks. The Aggies face UCR on Friday at 3 p.m., and take on CSF Sunday at noon.

USU NOTABLES--This is the first time since the 1998 campaign that the Aggies have lost their first two conference games of the season...USU's 3-6-1 record is the team's second best start after the first 10 games, as Utah State held a 4-6 record in 1999... The Aggies suffered their third shutout of the season Sunday afternoon... Six of the remaining eight games are at home... The last time the Aggies had a winning record at home was in 1999 (4-2)...The tie with Weber State was the first time in the soccer program's five-year history that the Aggies recorded a tie.

SCOUTING UC RIVERSIDE--The Highlanders hold a 3-5-0 record, 0-2-0 in Big West Conference action. Freshman forward Jessica Armel leads UCR with four goals for total of nine points. The Highlanders have posted wins against Wyoming, Southern Utah and Nevada and have been most recently defeated by CS Northridge and Pacific. UC Riverside has yet to win a game on the road.

SCOUTING CAL STATE FULLERTON--The Titans boast a 7-4-0 record and have won both of their first BWC games. CSF is currently on a six-game winning streak, but have not won a match on the road. Kellie Cox and Michelle Bannister lead the Titans with 18 points each. Cal State Fullerton is a big second-half team, as 23 of its 32 goals this season have come in the final 90 minutes of the game.

BIG WEST CONFERENCE--Big West Conference play continues this week. Utah State is currently in last place in league play, while this week's opponents, UC Riverside and Cal State Fullerton, are ranked eighth and first in the conference standings, respectively.

AGGIE HOT SHOTS--Sophomore Amber Tracy continues to pace the Aggie offense, as she scored two goals within one minute of each other against Idaho State, and knocked in another goal against Northern Arizona Sept. 28. Tracy leads USU with five goals and 11 points. The Hyrum, Utah, native has a total of 14 career points. She has already scored four more goals this year than she did during the entire 2000 season. Tracy has started each of the Aggies' first 10 games.

AGGIE FIRSTS--Three Aggies have posted their first career goals this season. Senior Becky Ward has knocked in three this year, one of which was the game-winning goal in the match against Nevada. Freshman Claire Schend scored her first career goal against Washington. Junior Michelle Eversman is off to her best career start. Eversman scored her first career goal in the game against Idaho State this year. The Eden Praire, Minn., native has already posted three points, which is more than she recorded in her previous two years at USU. Eversman has also posted one assist and three shots.

2001 AGGIE RECORD BREAKERS... SCORING--Sophomore Amber Tracy has found her way into the record books. With her goals in the game against Idaho State, Tracy became the eighth Aggie in the history of USU soccer to knock in two goals in the course of a single match. She is also tied with former Aggie Jayme Gordy in fifth place for goals in a season with five. Tracy has eight more matches to surpass this mark.

DEFENSE--Aggie goalkeeper Tracy Brady currently sits in third place for all-time career minutes with 1,218. Brady's 79 career saves also secures her spot at third place in the record books.

TEAM--With its 4-1 win over Idaho State, this year's team tied with the 1999 and 2000 teams for fourth place for most goals in a match with four. The Aggies have won consecutive games once this year, Sept. 3 and Sept. 7, marking just the seventh time in the program's six-year history USU won back-to-back games.