Aug. 26, 2004

USF GETTING READY FOR OPENING WEEKEND: USF women's soccer open their 2004 season with a pair of road matches in Southern California against two members of the Big West conference. The first game of the season is against Cal State Northridge on Friday at 5:00 pm at Matador Field. Last season the Dons defeated Cal State Northridge 4-0 at USF largely based on the efforts of forward Chelsea Hunt's first career hat trick. Two days later, the Dons will travel to Long Beach where they will play a 2:00 pm game against Long Beach State at George Allen Field. USF last played the Beach in 2000 taking a 2-1 victory.

THE SCHEDULE: To begin the season the USF Dons will play their first six matches on the road and will not be making their home debut until September 15 vs. Sacramento State. However, the Dons will enjoy a series of six straight home games starting on September 15 until October 8. Overall, the Dons will be playing 20 games, including 13 non-conference matches with their games being evenly divided between 10 at home and 10 away.

DONS BOAST TWO ALL-WCC SECOND TEAM SELECTIONS: Last season's success of individual members presents a bright spot for USF heading into the opening weekend of the season. Sophomore foward Shuree Hyatt led the Dons in scoring last year compiling eight goals and four assists for 20 total points. Her excellent season landed her a spot on the All-West Coast Conference Second Team, along with teammate, senior midfielder Annika Schmidt. Schmidt, a senior midfielder from Germany was the team leader in assists with eight, which was second best in the WCC and she was also able to score three goals for a total of 14 points. Entering the 2004 season, both will be relied upon heavily to push the Dons offense.

A REVIEW OF THE 2003 SEASON: After starting the 2003 season with two convincing victories over Rice, 1-0 (8/29) and Boise State 6-0 (8/31) the Dons seemed poised to make the 2003 season a banner year. However, optimism turned into frustration as three starters including two starting outside back suffered season ending ACL injuries by the third week of the season. With an injury-riddled line-up and rookies playing more minutes than expected, the once promising season never managed to materialize.

HEALTHY AND READY TO GO: USF begins the season battle tested and hungry for victories as nine of last year's starters are returning to the team. Fifth-year senior defender Alana Healy, a team captain is fully recovered after two ACL injuries and her presence on the backline will be greatly needed. Senior goalkeeper Stephanie Beall red-shirted last season and is returning to the fold looking to make a serious contribution to the team from a goalkeeping standpoint. During her career on the Hilltop, Beall owns a 11-9 overall record, a 1.66 GAA, seven shutouts and 121 saves.

NEW RECRUITS ADD FIRE: There are nine new recruits joining the Dons for the 2004 season. Some of the new faces to look out for include freshman defenders Katie Hoban and Kara Breithaupt. Both will be expected to add more stability to the defense. At the midfield position, freshmen's Lindsay Swisher and Lauren Tweet will be looked upon for immediate contributions, while Fiona O'Sullivan a forward from San Jeronimo, CA is known as a fluid player who is unselfish with the ball. As the season gets underway, how the new recruits adapt to the collegiate level will go a long way in determing what kind of success the Dons will have this season.

SCOUTING CAL STATE NORTHRIDGE: Won their only preseason match, 4-0 over visiting Cal Poly Pomona on Saturday August 21... goalkeepers Karen Comstock and Natalie Cendejas combined to make five saves en route to the shutout... are ranked eighth out of ten teams in the Big West Women's Soccer Coaches Poll... Cal Poly is number one and Idaho is last at number 10... last years leading scorer, Leila Pate who recorded six goals and one assist for 13 points will be returning for her Junior year... 36 players on the team, 16 returning players and 20 newcomers including four transfers... Terry Davila was named head coach of the Cal State Northridge's women's team in December of 2003... is coaching in a dual role, as he is also the head coach for the men's soccer team for the last six years.

LAST MEETINGS: vs. Cal State Northridge 0, USF 4 (09/26/04); at Cal State Northridge 2, USF 3 (09/27/02).

SERIES RECORD: USF l eads 2-0 (since 1985). Have defeated Cal State Northridge once at NegoescoStadium and once at Matador Field.

THE LAST TIME... Freshman forwardChelsea Hunt erupted for a hat trick as San Francisco shut out visiting Cal State Northridge 4-0 in non-conference women's soccer at Negoesco Stadium. Senior goalkeeper Jen Orantes (4-6-0) recorded her fourth shutout of the season and collected her 10th career win between the pipes for San Francisco. Orantes made four saves on four shots.

SCOUTING LONG BEACH STATE: Will open their season on Friday night with a home game against Sacramento State... Mauricio Ingrassia will be entering his first season, as head coach of the 49er's... 18 players will be returning from last year including nine starters... Long Beach State is coming off their most successful Big West season in school-history, tying their programs record for most wins since 1998 with nine... the 49er's boast four ALL-Big West players including two-time first team

LAST MEETING: at Long Beach State 1, USF 2 (09/10/00)

SERIES RECORD: USF leads the all-time series 1-0 (since 1985). The Dons only victory over the 49er's occured during the Fresno State Tour.

BEFORE USF: Long Beach will host Sacramento State on Friday, August 27.

THE LAST TIME... USF scored two goals in less than seven minutes in the second half and downed Long Beach State 2-1 behind a goal and an assist from tournament MVP, senior forward Heidi Prestegard. The Lady Dons went 2-0 at the Fresno State Invitational to earn the title. Freshman goalkeeper Stephanie Beall played a solid 90 minutes and recorded 11 saves, but had the shutout spoiled at the 87:59 mark on an unassisted goal from Long Beachs Jennifer Reott. Long Beach State pressured the USF defense and out-shot USF 19-18.

COACHING WITH EXPERIENCE: Pamela Kalinoski enters her fourth season as head coach at the University of San Francisco after two years apprenticing for the role in the assistant head coach position. In her first three seasons as coach, Kalinoski has compiled a record 22-34-2. Kalinoski enjoyed a tremendous playing career at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, competing on a Tar Heel's team that won four consecutive NCAA women's soccer titles without losing a single match. Advising Pam will be fourth-year assistant coach Allison Gibson, who graduated in 1995 from Sonoma State and third-year goalkeeper coach Jason Werner who graduated from USF in 1996.

A LOOK AHEAD: Next week, USF will continue their opening portion of the schedule with their first tournament of the season. On September 3rd and 4th, the Dons will travel to Utah to play in the Nike Invitational Tournament. The Dons two opponents that weekend will be the host Utes in game one, followed by the Weber State Cougars on Saturday.

HELPING THE COMMUNITY: The USF Women's Soccer team prides itself on its commitment to being a positive influence on the community within San Francisco and beyond. Team members Alana Healy and MacKenzie Kerr are prime examples of this commitment, having dedicated their summers to improving the lives of individuals in need. Alana, a national recipient of the Coca-Cola Community All-American award, spent a summer in South Africa working with street children; she also pioneered a program called Blitz Build for Habitat for Humanity and spent several semesters teaching art at the Hospitality House in the Tenderloin district in San Francisco. Mackenzie just returned from El Salvador, helping the locals there.