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THIS WEEK IN TOROS SOCCER
Sept. 21 #8 CSUDH vs. UC San Diego Triton Stadium, 4:30 pm
Sept. 24 #8 CSUDH vs. Grand Canyon The Meadow, 5:30 pm
LOOKING AHEAD:
CSUDH begins a two-game CCAA road trip this week at UC San
Diego and Grand Canyon.
A LOOK BACK:
The Toros suffered their first blemishes of the 2001 campaign
with a 1-1 tie to Cal Poly Pomona in double overtime and a 2-1
setback to Cal State San Bernardino.
In the Pomona game, the Broncos got on
the board early at 11:29 to take a 1-0 lead. That was all the
scoring until the 78th minute when Sanoe Samatua (N. Torrance HS)
tallied the equalizer. Samatua gathered the ball from 15-yards
away on the left flank, and with her left foot chipped the ball to
the far post past Bronco goalie. Both defenses staved off furious
rallies to send the contest into overtime. CSUDH's best chance to
take the lead in regulation came from forward Tanya Wilson (Palm
Springs HS) who hit a shot from 25-yards out, but the ball hit the
top of the post and went over the net. Again, both defenses held
each other scoreless resulting in the draw. CSUDH did hit the post
twice in one possession, but the ball was finally cleared by a
Pomona defender saving the game. The Broncos outshot the Toros
17-15 in the game but Toros goalie Heather Williams (Canyon HS)
tied a career-high with 9 saves in goal.
On Sunday against CS San Bernardino,
the Coyotes took a 2-0 advantage into the 72nd minute of play
before Tanya Wilson trimmed the lead to 2-1 at the 72:13-minute
mark. Shannon Donnelly (LB Poly HS) flicked the ball over to
Wilson off a long throw-in from Sanoe Samatua. Wilson collected
then turned and shot a rocket to the upper far post for the Toros
first and only goal of the afternoon. The Toros were playing
shorthanded and a little banged up after their 1-1 double overtime
tie against Cal Poly Pomona two days earlier. Defender Erin Fieger
(Mira Costa HS) sat out due to a red card suspension while forward
Dianne Garza (Temple City HS), the CCAA's leading scorer, and
senior stopper Jill Toda (Gahr HS) hobbled most of the afternoon
with injuries after sitting out Friday's game. The Coyotes outshot
the Toros 9-7 in the game. Alba Garcia (Don Lugo HS) suffered the
loss allowing both goals while making four saves in the net.
SERIES NOTES:
Last year, the Toros provided defending NCAA National Champion
UC San Diego with one of their only two losses (3-0) on the
season. All-time, CSUDH holds a 9-2-1 series advantage and has won
the last three contests in a row dating back to the 1995 season.
Against Grand Canyon, the Toros own a perfect 9-0 series
advantage. The closest GCU, who started their program in 1996,
came to defeating CSUDH was a 2-1 overtime loss in 1999.
SPEARHEADING THE TRITON ATTACK:
UC San Diego, the defending NCAA National Champion, is ranked
No. 6 in the NSCAA polls. They held the No. 1 ranking until their
1-0 shocking loss at San Francisco State last week. They are 6-1
overall and 4-1 in CCAA play. They are also coming off a 2-1
overtime win at Sonoma State on Monday. The Tritons are led by
Erika Alfredson with 13 points (4g, 5a) and Julia Cuder with 9
points (3g, 3a). UCSD employs a balanced attack, with 14 of the 17
UCSD players having scored at least one point. As a team, the
Tritons are outscoring their opponents 61-7 and have a 23-3 goal
advantage. In goal, the team is led by Kamie Poma with a 0.53
goals against average. Poma is propelled by the defense in front
of her with only having to make 15 saves.
THE STRIDE OF THE ANTELOPES:
Grand Canyon comes in with a 4-4 overall record and an 0-4
mark in conference play. GCU is coming off 1-0 overtime defeat at
Sonoma State and a 2-0 loss at San Francisco State on Monday. The
Antelopes are led by Jenny Proctor with 13 points (5g, 3a). Goalie
Jolene Gagnon has compiled a 1.66 GAA and a 4-4 record in the net.
GO FIGURE:
The Toros began a national roller coaster ride two weeks ago.
After beginning the 2001 season unranked in the NSCAA preseason
polls, CSUDH soared to No. 8 nationally two weeks ago after racing
out to a 7-0 record. However, with a loss and a tie last week, the
Toros stock plummeted. The team is now off the national charts
without receiving any votes for national recognition. Go figure.
LEADING THE WAY:
Junior forward Dianne Garza not only leads the team in scoring
but the conference as well. Garza's 22 points on a CCAA-best 9
goals and 4 assists, easily lead the three divisional lineup in
scoring. The next closest player in Toros teammate Tanya Wilson
and UC Davis' Cynthia Rail with 14 points.
"MISSED IT BY THAT MUCH":
Sophomore goalie Alba Garcia leads the CCAA Central Division
with a 1.05 goals against average. Senior keeper Heather Williams
has compiled an impressive 0.44 mark in five games. However,
Williams does not qualify for conference statistics this week as
she has not played in 50% of the teams' total minutes played. The
team has played a total of 840 minutes with Williams playing in
411 of them, just nine minutes shy of what is needed. If eligible,
Williams would rank second in the CCAA behind San Francisco
State's Kelly Hoover (0.42).
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