Dons Host San Jose State To Open 2010
8/19/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
THIS WEEK: The University of San Francisco
women's soccer team will kick off the 2010 season Friday as it
hosts Bay Area rival San Jose State at Negoesco Stadium at 4
p.m.
NEXT WEEK: USF will host two matches on the
Hilltop next week as it wraps up the month of August. The Dons will
play host to Northern Florida Friday, Aug. 27 before welcoming UC
Santa Barbara Sunday, Aug. 29.
DONS IMPROVE GREATLY IN 2009: According to Sopis
Sports – a sports information company that covers collegiate
sports, the USF women's soccer program was one of the most improved
Division I women's soccer programs in 2009. USF finished 23rd in
the ranking, with a 1.08 improvement rating. San Francisco posted a
5-13-2 record in 2008, before improving to 7-7-5 in 2009.
USF WELCOMES IMPRESSIVE RECRUITING CLASS: The
Dons welcome 10 newcomers to the Hilltop this season. The class
begin their USF careers as one of the most highly touted recruiting
classes in program history. The group includes two international
students and five that hail from the state of California.
MARIS, ROBERTS, O'BRIEN RETURN FOR FINAL HURRAH:
San Francisco welcomes back three seniors in 2010 – Lauren Maris,
Afyia Roberts and Ashley O'Brien.
Maris, a midfielder, has appeared in all 57 matches of her
collegiate career and enters the season as the Dons' top returning
scorer from a year ago. For her career, she has amassed five goals
and three assists for 13 total points. Roberts transferred to USF
from UC Davis in 2008 as a sophomore. Since her arrival, she has
started 39 matches and helped the defense record eight shutouts.
O'Brien joined the Dons a year ago from UConn. As a junior, she
made an immediate impact earning All-Region second team honors. She
was also tabbed with West Coast Conference Honorable Mention
honors.
25th ANNIVERSARY OF WOMEN'S SOCCER: The 2010
season marks the 25th Anniversary of women's soccer on the Hilltop.
In 1985, Erik Visser became the first head coach of the program,
recruiting essentially a team of walk-ons. Since the programs
founding, Visser has moved on to become the head coach of the men's
program and the women's soccer program has amassed a 170-254-32
all-time record. The 1985 team is pictured below.
VETERANS LOOK TO HOLD ON, FILL VOID: The San
Francisco offense will be missing a big component from 2009, but
still has its self planted for the upcoming season. Missing from
the line-up will be last year's leading scorer, Kristina Hall, but
on the upside, a majority of the Dons' offensive efforts will
return to the pitch. The 15 veterans on the USF roster accounted
for 14 of the Dons' 24 goals last season and 42 of the total 64
points.
DONS FACE TOUGH CHALLENGE AHEAD: Ten home matches
and seven NCAA postseason teams highlight the Dons' 2010 slate. San
Francisco will spilt the season evenly between Negoesco Stadium and
the road, playing 10 as the home team and 10 as the visitors.
Despite the even schedule, USF will not spend a night away from
home until they head to the State of Arizona the first weekend of
October. Included in the schedule are seven contests against teams
that advanced to the postseason last year, including West Coast
Conference Champion Portland. In 2009, the perennial powerhouse
Pilots advanced to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Championship.
CARR BEGINS FOURTH YEAR ON THE HILLTOP: Head
coach Mark Carr is entering his fourth year at the helm of the
Dons. Last season, Carr led USF to an eight-match unbeaten streak
en route to its 7-7-5 final record. Under his guidance, the Dons
have landed six All-WCC honorees, two All-Region selections, three
WCC All-Academic nods and one USF Class Valedictorian.
DONS LAND TWO 2009 ALL-REGION ACCOLADES: Former
Don Kristina Hall and 2010 senior Ashley O'Brien were named to the
National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) All-West
Region Second Team last season. Hall led the Dons with four goals,
one assist for nine total points last year. O'Brien, who
transferred to USF from Connecticut, added a goal and two assists
last season for the Green and Gold. The duo was the first Dons to
be named to an All-Region Team since Annika Schmidt in 2001.
TWO NORWEGIANS ARRIVE ON THE HILLTOP: Christina Moberg and Hanna
Haanes, both natives of Norway, will begin their collegiate
careers at USF Friday. Hannes comes to San Francisco with a
plethora of international experience under her belt. The freshman
has competed for the U16, U17, U19, U20 and U23 Norwegian National
Teams. She was named Player of the Match in two European
Championship contests. Moberg joins to USF after leading First
Division Asker FK to a 2007 Norwegian Cup Championship. While
playing for Asker, Moberg tallied an impressive 30 goals.
NEGOESCO UNVEILS NEW LOOK: Negoesco Stadium is
sporting a new look this season. Over the summer, new ProTurf
Solutions was installed at the Dons' home facility. Friday's
contest against the Spartans will mark the first match played on
the turf.
FORMER DON NAMED TO HAITIAN NATIONAL TEAM: Former
Don Samantha Brand, who graduated from USF in May, has been named
to the Haitian National Women's Soccer Team. Brand, whose
grandparents were born in Haiti, played for the Dons from 2006 to
2009. Brand joins Fiona O'Sullivan (2004-07) as a former San
Francisco standout currently playing for a National Team. O'
Sullivan currently plays for her native Ireland.
SCOUTING THE SPARTANS: San Jose State enters the 2010 season looking to continue its success from a year ago. Last season, the Spartans won the regular season Western Athletic Conference championship with a 11-6-3 overall record. Sophomore defender Jessica Ingram, who was recently selected as the 2010 Preseason WAC Defender of the Year, leads the Spartans as they look to defend their conference title. San Jose State is coached by Jeff Leightman, who is in his third year at SJSU, was named the WAC Coach of the Year in 2009.
