|
Big Ten Women's Soccer Tournament Kicks Off Thursday
Nov. 1, 2005
The Big Ten women's soccer teams are gearing up for the 2005 Big Ten Women's Soccer Tournament, which will kick off on Thursday, November 3 at 10:30 a.m. at the University of Michigan's Varsity Soccer field. Four quarterfinal games on Thursday will determine Friday's semifinal matchups, with the championship game to be played on Sunday at noon. The winner of Sunday's game will receive the Big Ten's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament, with at-large bids also up for grabs all weekend.
Forward Tiffany Weimer assaulted the record books with 25 goals in 2005, including a run of 17 straight games with a score. The MAC Hermann Award candidate scored in 18 of 19 games for the Lions en route to scoring her 84th career goal, which is a new conference record. Defensively for the Blue and White, goalkeeper Erin McLeod is among the best in the nation, and has posted a measly 0.73 goals against average and seven shutouts. Aiding in the effort was 2004 Defensive Player of the Year Natalie Jacobs. By earning the highest seed, the Lions have earned a match-up with host Michigan, who was one of just four teams to score twice against them in the regular season. The two teams will battle in the last quarterfinal game on Thursday at 7:30, with the winner advancing to Friday's semifinal to face the winner of the Illinois
When Purdue battled Wisconsin in the regular season, it was sophomore Parrissa Eyorokon who provided the late-game heroics in the 1-0 victory. However, the scoring duties for the Boilermakers during most of the regular season have fallen on Lauren Sesselsman and Jess Okoroafo, who have combined for 19 goals and a total of 45 points to form one of the most dynamic pairs in the Big Ten. Okoroafo has twice been named Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week this season, and the duo will be counted on to lead the Boilermaker offense throughout the tournament. In the 2004 tournament, midfielder Jayme-Lee Biamonte was named to the All-Tournament team for her efforts, as Purdue, the seventh seed, was knocked out by eventual champion Ohio State in the quarterfinals. The team has set the bar high this fall with an impressive 11-6-1 overall record, and will hope that this year's success in the regular season will translate into a successful run towards the NCAA Tournament.
Sophomore Nicole Galas took over the starting goalkeeping job this season. In doing so, she has posted eight shutouts and is holding onto a goals against average of only 0.91. Galas is the backline of a defense that includes three sophomores and just one senior in Nina Mastracci, who is also the team's dead-ball specialist. Sophomores Erin Doan, Taryn Lee and Kelly Hannon are young, but talented, and have held some powerful Big Ten offenses to a low output all season. Head Coach Tom Saxton is in his 15th year on the sidelines for the Spartans, and has twice won Coach of the Year honors. With 148 wins heading into this weekend, Saxton hopes that his 150th career win will coincide with a berth in the Big Ten Championship game. Michigan State will battle sixth-seeded Indiana in the opening game of the tournament on Thursday morning at 10:30 a.m. ET.
Head Coach Janet Rayfield, in her fourth season at the helm, recently picked up her 50th career win to improve her record to an impressive 51-27-8. She led the orange and blue to a Big Ten Tournament Championship in 2003, and to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament in 2004 after bowing out of the Big Ten Championship to the No. 1 seeded Nittany Lions and receiving an at-large bid. With seven seniors on the roster, they will hope to build on that success as they enter the 2005 postseason. The Illini will face the fifth seed, Minnesota, in the quarterfinals on Thursday.
The turnaround is due in large part to the defensive improvements made by head coach Mikki Denney-Wright. A combination of youth and experience held Gopher opponents to just seven goals in ten Big Ten games, and senior goalkeeper Molly Schneider had a breakout season with the best goals against average in the conference, just 0.65. Seniors Laura Hoppe and Nicki Burnie along with sophomore Hailey McCarthy and freshman Claire Grimwood formed a formidable backline in front of Scheider to stifle opposing offenses. Offensively, goals were spread among 10 different players in the regular season, with Lindsay Schwartz leading the way with six goals and five assists. Not far behind Schwartz was Becky Dellaria with 10 total points. Minnesota enters the weekend after a double-overtime loss to No. 1 Penn State in front of over 1,600 home faithful. In regular season action, Minnesota overcame a 1-0 deficit to beat Illinois 2-1. The Gophers will hope that recent history will repeat itself in quarterfinal play.
Indiana has two goalkeepers in Stacey Van Boxmeer and Lauren Fabbro, and each has started nine games thus far and kept a goals against average of under two. The pair takes turns marshalling a defense that returned sophomore Beverly Markwort, a member of the 2004 Big Ten All-Freshman team. She and fellow classmate Lindsay McCarthy, who was a member of the Big Ten All-Tournament team in 2004, are young but experienced, and will lead Indiana as it makes its seventh all-time tournament appearance. Coach Mick Lyon and his sixth-seeded Indiana will battle third-seeded Michigan State in game one of the tournament at 10:30 a.m. on Thursday. The winner will go on to face the winner of Purdue versus Wisconsin in Friday's semifinals.
The Badgers have been on a roll of late, and have won each of their last four games by a combined score of 12-2. One of the most powerful offenses in the conference, Wisconsin has scored 38 goals and 110 points this season, which ranks second behind Penn State. The points are mostly spread among four attackers, with the quartet of Kara Kabellis, Amy Vermeulen, Katy Lindermuth and Allison Priess accounting for a combined 24 goals and 23 assists. Defensively, the Badgers are marshaled by sophomore goalkeeper Lynn Murray, who is the reigning Defensive Player of the Week after posting two consecutive shutouts last weekend. In front of Murray is a defensive line made up of Natalie Horner, Ann Eshun, Jessica Ring and Marisa Brown, who was named to the 2004 Big Ten All-Tournament team. The winner of Thursday's quarterfinal will continue to face the winner of the Michigan State-Indiana quarterfinal, in a Friday afternoon semifinal matchup.
Behind the ball, junior goalkeeper Megan Tuura has started 14 games for the Maize and Blue this season and posted a goals against average of 1.77 while recording her 200th career save mid-season. Anchoring the midfield all season has been 2004 All-Big Ten second team member Jamie Artsis, who like Dobbyn, started 21 of 22 games in 2004, including two in the Big Ten tournament. Michigan was tied for sixth with Indiana and Wisconsin with a 3-6-1 record in league, but tiebreakers slid the Wolverines to the eighth seed. The team with home field advantage will put their 4-1-1 record under the lights at home on the line and look for three more wins this weekend. They will attempt to upset No. 1 ranked Penn State, something that hasn't been done all season, on Thursday night and kick off their run through the Big Ten tournament toward a ninth-straight bid to the NCAA Tournament.
|
|
