Sept. 25, 2007

Complete Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader

WCC CO-PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
LMU's Jamie Bell and USD's Jen Mello Share WCC Weekly Honor Loyola Marymount senior forward Jamie Bell and San Diego junior forward Jen Mello share this week's WCC Player of the Week award after leading their respective teams to 2-0-0 records. Bell netted both game-winners for the Lions in their wins over Cal State Fullerton and Fresno State. The strike versus the Titans came in overtime, leading the Lions to a 2-1 win. She then scored the Lions first goal in their 2-0 win versus Fresno State. Mello helped lead the Toreros to a pair of wins over Big West opponents UC Irvine and UC Riverside. Like Bell, Mello netted both game winners for the Toreros, including the final tally in San Diego's 2-1 overtime win versus the Anteaters.

THE WCC'S 1-2 PUNCH
Santa Clara enters the week as the unanimous No. 1 team in the nation, topping all four major soccer polls. But right behind the Broncos are the Portland Pilots, who moved up to No. 2 in the Soccer America, NSCAA, and Soccer Times polls, giving the WCC the top two teams in the country. The WCC is the only conference in the country this season to boast teams ranked 1-2 in the same week.

SECOND TO NONE
The WCC is also the only conference in the country that can claim that it has had two different teams become unanimous No. 1 ranked teams this season. In the second week of the season, the Portland Pilots were a unanimous selection at No. 1, topping all four major soccer polls. On Sept. 25th, the Santa Clara Broncos, who reached No. 1 in the Soccer America poll on Sept. 9th, ascended to the top spot of all four polls. North Carolina and Stanford are the only other teams to earn a No. 1 ranking this season.

UPCOMING SCHEDULE

Sept. 28
Gonzaga vs. Idaho State - 3:00 PM
Pepperdine vs. Utah - 3:00 PM
Loyola Marymount vs. Idaho - 4:00 PM
Saint Mary's at Cal - 4:00 PM
San Francisco at Stanford - 5:00 PM
Portland at UCLA - 7:00 PM
San Diego vs. CS Northridge - 7:00 PM
Santa Clara at Cal Poly - 7:00 PM

Sept. 30
Gonzaga vs. UC Santa Barbara - 12:00 PM
Loyola Marymount vs. UC Riverside - 1:00 PM
Pepperdine vs. CS Northridge - 1:00 PM
Portland at USC - 1:00 PM
Saint Mary's at Stanford - 1:00 PM
San Diego at Pacific - 1:00 PM
San Francisco vs. CS Bakersfield - 1:00 PM
Santa Clara vs. Cal - 1:00 PM

WCC TEAM NOTES

Gonzaga Bulldogs (5-2-0 / 0-0-0 WCC)
- The Bulldogs defeated Utah State, 2-1, to earn their fourth straight win, and improved their overall record to 5-2-0.

- Freshman Ashley Riley scored her third goal in as many matches in the Zags win over Utah State. Riley, who was named to the Soccer Buzz National Team of the Week on Sept. 19th, leads the Zags with three goals.

- Senior midfielder Jamie Blanche scored the eventual game-winner in the 75th minute versus the Aggies. Blanche now ranks second on the Bulldogs with two goals.

- Senior Sarah Hall tallied her team-leading fourth assist in the win over Utah State. Hall enters the week tied for third in the WCC in assists.

- The Zags host Idaho State (9/28) and UC Santa Barbara (9/30) this week.

Loyola Marymount (4-3-1 / 0-0-0 WCC)
- The Lions ran their winning streak to four straight with a 2-1 overtime win over Cal State Fullerton and a 2-0 shutout of Fresno State.

- Senior Jamie Bell scored both game-winning goals in the two Lions wins, including the final tally in the eighth minute of the overtime period versus Cal State Fullerton. For her efforts, Bell earned her first career WCC Player of the Week honor.

- After her two winning strikes over the weekend, Bell is tied for the WCC lead with three game-winning goals.

- Senior goalkeeper Joslyn Slovek registered her third shutout in four games and fourth of the season in the win over Fresno State, making six saves.

- The Lions host Idaho (9/28) and UC Riverside (9/30) this weekend.

Pepperdine Waves (1-4-2 / 0-0-0 WCC)
- The Waves earned a 1-1 tie versus No. 6 UCLA in their lone match last week.

- Sophomore midfielder Sophia Medina's first goal of the season was the Waves' equalizing goal in the 44th minute versus the Bruins.

- Juniors Amanda Rupp and Emily Wynne tallied their first assist of the season on Medina's goal.

- Junior goalkeeper Kayla Stolte made four saves in the tie with the Waves. Stolte is averaging 3.29 saves per game on the season.

- Pepperdine looks to build on its tie with UCLA when the Waves host Utah (9/28) and Cal State Northridge (9/30) this weekend.

Portland Pilots (7-1-0 / 0-0-0 WCC)
- The Pilots improved to 7-1-0 on the season with a 1-0 win at Washington and a 7-0 rout of cross-town rival Portland State.

- Freshman Elli Reed scored the game-winner in the 81st minute versus the Huskies. Reed wasn't finished, tallying two scores in the Pilots' win over the Vikings. After her three goal weekend, Reed is tied for first in the WCC in goals with four and is also tied for the conference lead in game-winning goals with three.

- Sophomore Kendra Chandhoke scored two goals versus Portland State, while senior Angie Woznuk and sophomore Michelle Enyeart added a goal and two assists each. Enyeart now leads the WCC with eight assists, while Woznuk now has 31 career assists to rank seventh on the Pilots all-time list.

- The Pilots travel to Southern California to take on UCLA (9/28) and USC (9/30).

Saint Mary's Gaels (4-2-2 / 0-0-0 WCC)
- The Gaels captured their third straight win with victories over Sacramento State (2-0) and Valparaiso (1-0).

- Saint Mary's sophomore forward Tara Farrell's first career goal proved to be the game-winning goal in the Gaels' 2-0 win over Sacramento State.

- Sophomore goalkeeper Tara Larson collected her second career shutout in the win over the Hornets.

- Freshman forward Alex Ciliento scored the game-winning goal in the sixth minute of overtime in the Gaels' win over Valparaiso. The goal was Ciliento's fourth of the season, tying her with teammate Allie Weiner for the team and WCC lead.

- The Gaels take on Bay Area rivals Cal (9/28) and Stanford (9/30) this weekend.

San Diego Toreros (5-1-2 / 0-0-0 WCC)
- The Toreros ran their unbeaten stream to four as they posted back-to-back wins against UC Irvine (2-1 in overtime) and UC Riverside (3-1).

- After their 2-0-0 weekend, the Toreros moved up three spots in the latest Soccer America top-25 poll to No. 22.

- Junior forward Jen Mello notched both game-winning goals over the weekend, including the final strike in the Toreros' overtime win versus the Titans. Mello is now tied for third in the WCC in game-winning goals with two.

- Junior forward Amy Epsten tallied two goals last week and now leads the Toreros with three goals.

- San Diego hosts Cal State Northridge (9/28) before playing at Pacific (9/30) this weekend.

San Francisco Dons (0-5-2 / 0-0-0 WCC)
- San Francisco faced a challenging schedule last week, dropping a 4-0 decision at Duke and suffering a 2-0 setback versus No. 8 North Carolina at the Duke adidas Classic.

- Junior goalkeeper Katie Hodgson made nine saves in the match versus the Tar Heels and collected four saves against the Blue Devils. For her efforts, Hodgson and sophomore forward Kristina Hall were named to the all-tournament team.

- Freshman forward Lauren Maris has attempted at least one shot in five consecutive matches.

- Hodgson ranks fourth in the WCC with 27 overall saves.

- The Dons play at No. 3 Stanford (9/28) before hosting Cal State Bakersfield (9/30).

Santa Clara Broncos (6-0-1 / 0-0-0 WCC)
- Top ranked Santa Clara improved to 6-0-1 on the season with a 1-0 win at Arizona State and a 1-0 double-overtime win at Arizona.

- Senior Brittany Klein's team and WCC-leading fourth goal of the season lifted the Broncos to a 1-0 overtime win versus the Sun Devils.

- Junior goalkeeper Meagan McCray earned her second and third shutouts of the season and the 12th of her career over the weekend. The 12 clean sheets moves her into the SCU's top 10 career shutouts list and ties her with Kathy Long (1984-87) for ninth place.

- Freshman defender Lindsey Johnson was named to Top Drawer Soccer's Team of the Week for efforts in helping the Broncos to shutout wins versus Arizona State and Arizona.

- The Broncos play at Cal Poly (9/28) before hosting Bay Area rival Cal (9/30) this weekend.