Women's Soccer Weekly Release #8

Oct. 15, 2007

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Horizon League Player of the Week

Amber Kasmer, Wright State
Freshman * Forward * Euclid, Ohio
Kasmer continued her impressive scoring run, adding three goals in the Raiders' two contests last week. She logged the tying goal with 8:56 left in regulation Friday at Detroit and scored a pair of goals in WSU's 3-0 victory over Youngstown State on Sunday. She now has eight goals this season, including at least one in each of her last six outings.

Other Top Performances for the Week Ending October 14

Lindsey Fox, Butler
So. * F * Columbus, Ind.
Fox scored the tying goal and set up the match-winner to pace Butler to a 3-1 victory over Green Bay on Friday. Fox's ten-yarder in the ninth minute tied the contest and she later set up Jenny Southard for the winning tally.

Kelly Zinkiewich, Cleveland State
Fr. * GK * Oakville, Ontario
Zinkiewich stopped six shots at Youngstown State on Friday for her second shutout of the year, tying CSU's single-season record. Her effort helped Cleveland State to a 2-0 victory, the Vikings' first-ever League triumph.

Amanda Stinson, Green Bay
So. * D * Green Bay, Wis.
Stinson netted her third goal of the season to open the scoring in Sunday's 3-1 loss to Valparaiso. The sophomore defender now leads the team with those three tallies and six points this season.

Heather Lau, Loyola
Sr. * M * Hawhorn Woods, Ill.
Lau notched her first goal of the season, heading home a cross in the 13th minute to give Loyola a 1-0 victory over Butler on Sunday. Lau also played a key role in the Ramblers' defensive effort against the Bulldog attack.

Nicole Sperl, Milwaukee
Fr. * F * Wauwaosa, Wis.
Sperl scored the match-winner late in the first half of Friday's 2-0 victory at Valparaiso, the Panthers' only match of the week. The goal was her fourth of the season, with all four proving to be match-winners.

Kendall Brown, Valparaiso
Jr. * F * Lake Zurich, Ill.
Brown tied Sunday's match with Green Bay, hitting the net in the 22nd minute for her 17th career goal. She later assisted on the eventual match-winner when her shot was saved but created a tap-in rebound for the deciding tally.

Jordan Gapczynski, Youngstown State
So. * F * Wexford, Pa.
Gapczynski led the Penguin attack that outshot Cleveland State 18-12 Friday night, taking a match-high five attempts after entering the match in a reserve role.

Previous Player-of-the-Week Honorees:
Sept. 3 -- Amy Miller, Wright State
Sept. 10 -- Jennifer Wieand, Cleveland State
Sept. 17 -- Angie Muir, Butler
Sept. 24 -- Erin Kane, Milwaukee
Oct. 1 -- Katie Fortenberry, Detroit
Oct. 8 -- Cynthia Morote-Ariza, Loyola

News From Around the League

Panthers prepare for showdown week
Milwaukee starts the week at 8-3-3 overall following a 2-0 victory at Valparaiso on Friday. The Panthers were idle Sunday but face a challenging three-match schedule this week, including contests against both of the circuit's other undefeated teams.

Loyola (4-0-0) comes to Milwaukee on Tuesday with Wright State (3-0-1) at Engelmann Field on Sunday. Cleveland State rounds out the schedule on Friday.

Freshman forward Nicole Sperl scored the match-winner at Valpo, hitting the net in the 35th minute. Sperl leads the team and ranks ninth in the Leauge with four goals and ten assists. All four of her goals this season have been match-winners.

Sophomore midfielder Erin Kreuser also has ten points in 2007, collecting two goals and a League-best six assists. She is tied with Loyola's Cynthia Morote-Ariza for the top spot on the loop assist charts.

Junior goalkeeper Erin Kane added to her career résumé with her League-leading eighth shutout of the year and loop-record 34th of her career. Kane also leads the circuit with a 0.40 goals-against average, allowing only six goals in 14 contests this year.

Milwaukee is unbeaten (25-0-2) in its last 27 League matches, dating to 2003. UWM is 45-1-3 in League play since 2000.

Ramblers set stage for Tuesday battle
Loyola carries a perfect (4-0-0) League ledger, improving to 9-6-0 overall with a 1-0 victory over Butler on Sunday. The Ramblers saw their program-record six-match winning streak snapped Thursday with a 3-0 loss at Wisconsin.

The Ramblers scored at least two goals in each contest during the run, outscoring the opposition 16-4. On Sunday, however, it was the Rambler defense that took the spotlight. Freshman netminder Colleen Dougherty posted two saves for the shutout victory, dropping her goals-against average to 1.13. Loyola has allowed only one goal in its last six home matches.

Senior forward Heather Lau picked an opportune time for her first goal of the season, heading home the eventual match-winner in the 13th minute against Butler. She became the 11th different Rambler to hit the net this season.

Sophomore forward Cynthia Morote-Ariza leads the way offensively, topping the circuit charts with nine goals, six assists and 24 points. Morote-Ariza already has matched the school single-season record for goals, a mark she tied last fall, and is three points away from the one-year standard she established in 2006.

Loyola opens the week with Tuesday's showdown at Milwaukee, but has two other contests on the docket this week. The Ramblers host Detroit on Friday before traveling to Youngstown State on Sunday.

Raiders waiting in the wings
Wright State is the first League team to double figures in the victory column, improving to 10-3-1 overall with a 3-0 triumph at Youngstown State on Sunday. The Raiders' 3-0-1 League mark also includes a 1-1 draw at Detroit on Friday. WSU is now 7-1-1 in its last nine outings overall.

Wright State hit the ten-win mark for the third consecutive year, marking only the second such three-peat in program history. The Raiders also accomplished the feat in 1999-2001, a run that featured a pair of League titles (1999, 2000).

Freshman forward Amber Kasmer continues to lead the Raider attack, scoring the tying goal at UDM and adding two markers in Sunday's victory. Kasmer has scored in each of her last six matches (including all four League outings) and now ranks second in the League with eight goals and 19 points this season.

Freshman goalkeeper Meghan Hackerson moved into a tie for sixth place on WSU's single-season shutouts list with her sixth of the year Sunday. She needs three more to match the school's one-year mark and carries a 0.76 goals-against average this fall, having yielded only one marker in her last four appearances.

Senior defender Megan Mattioda added two assists Sunday, giving her 15 in her career.

WSU makes a two-match swing through Wisconsin this week, visiting Green Bay on Friday before Sunday's showdown at Milwaukee.

Bulldogs post another split
Butler starts the week at 5-8-1 overall (3-2-0 in League play) after splitting two matches last week. The Bulldogs started the weekend with a 3-1 victory over Green Bay on Friday but fell 1-0 at Loyola on Sunday.

Sophomore forward Lindsey Fox led the way against the Phoenix, scoring the tying goal in the eighth minute and setting up junior Jenny Southard's eventual match-winner five minutes later. Fox ranks second on the team with nine points this year, collecting three goals and three assists.

Junior midfielder Angie Muir assisted on Fox's strike for her fifth helper of the season. Muir ranks among the League leaders in all three major offensive categories, standing fourth in goals (seven), third in assists (five) and tied for second in points (19). Muir finished each of her first two seasons with six goals and five helpers.

Senior goalkeeper Annalise Larkin recorded three saves Sunday while lowering her goals-against average to 1.25 (fifth-best in the League). Larkin and the Bulldog defense have allowed only three goals in their last five outings while Butler's attack has posted six.

Butler ventures outside the League this week, visiting Oklahoma on Sunday in the Bulldogs' lone match. BU also meets intra-city foe IUPUI on Oct. 23 before returning to League play Oct. 26 at Youngstown State.

Crusaders experience highs, lows
Valparaiso stands at 8-7-0 overall, moving to 2-3-0 in League play after splitting two contests last week. The Crusaders dropped a 2-0 decision to Milwaukee on Friday but rallied for three first-half goals in a come-from-behind, 3-1 victory over Green Bay in Valpo's regular-season home finale on Sunday.

Junior forward Kendall Brown started the flurry with the tying goal Sunday, hitting the net for the second time this season in the 21st minute. She then combined with junior forward Lori Johnson to set up the eventual match-winner six minutes later, when freshman midfielder Lynnea Pappas knocked in a rebound for her second goal of the year.

Brown's goal was the 17th of her career, puttig her alone in fourth place on Valpo's all-time list. She is also third in Valpo annals with 42 career points.

Seven different Crusaders have scored at least two goals this year, led by junior defender Jackie Thomas (four). Pappas and sophomore forward Sarah Jewell share team honors with three assists apiece.

Senior goalkeeper Erin Murray stopped eight shots in the two matches. She carries a 1.25 goals-against average for the season.

Valpo heads east for two matches this weekend, visiting Cleveland State on Friday before a Sunday stop at Youngstown State.

Phoenix lose twice in Indiana
Green Bay fell to 2-12-0 overall (2-5-0 in the League) following a pair of 3-1 losses last week. The Phoenix took early 1-0 leads each time but let those advantages slip away at Butler on Friday and at Valparaiso on Sunday.

Sophomore defender Amanda Stinson staked Green Bay to the early lead Sunday, scoring her team-high third goal of the year in the 16th minute. Freshman forward Chelsea Lyons provided the early advantage with her second goal of 2007 on Friday, hitting the net just 2:27 after the opening kickoff. Lyons also has two assists, tying Stinson for team honors with a total of six points.

The Phoenix was outshot 34-16 in the two matches but senior goalkeeper Brooke Wikgren kept the Phoenix in contention with 18 saves in the two matches, including ten at Valparaiso. It marked her second double-digit save total of the season, following a 12-stop effort against Detroit on Sept. 28.

Wikgren's 92 saves are second-most in the League this season. She also has a 2.19 goals-against average.

Green Bay closes the League schedule Friday when Wright State comes to town. The Phoenix wraps up the regular season with two non-League contests prior to the start of the 2007 Horizon League Women's Soccer Championship, presented by the U.S. Army.

Titans return home but fall short of victory
Detroit starts the week at 3-9-3 overall (1-2-2 in the League). UDM played Wright State to a 1-1 draw in the debut of the renovated Titan Field on Friday but could not keep up with Oakland in a 3-1 loss on Sunday.

Detroit is winless (0-3-3) in its last six contests, the longest such streak in program history.

The Titans took a lead Friday on sophomore Trina Kochanski's fifth goal of the year midway through the second half but let that lead get away in the waning minutes as Wright State netted the tying tally with 8:56 to play. It marked the third consecutive match in which UDM yielded a goal in the final 15 minutes. Detroit has been outscored 16-5 in the second half this year.

Kochanski leads the Titans with 11 points, scoring nearly half of the team's 11 goals this year. Fellow sophomore Emily Kiely has three goals, including the lone Detroit marker on Sunday. Among League teams, only Green Bay (ten) has scored fewer goals than Detroit.

Junior goalkeeper Katie Fortenberry has managed to keep the Titans in contention, stopping four shots against WSU and seven more in the loss to Oakland. Fortenberry has 76 saves this year (fourth-best in the League) while compiling a 1.53 goals-against average and five shutouts.

Detroit tries to stop its skid Friday when the Titans host Loyola.

Vikings continue to make history
Cleveland State improved to 4-10-0 overall and 1-3-0 in the League with a 2-0 victory at Youngstown State on Friday. The triumph was CSU's first League victory in the program's four-year history, ending an 0-26-1 run in loop play.

The Vikings also won on the road for the third time this season. CSU is now 3-5-0 away from home this year after going 0-31-1 on the road in its first three seasons.

Junior forward Jennifer Wieand set two individual records when she opened the scoring Friday. Wieand broke the Viking single-season marks for goals and points with her seventh marker of the year. Wieand ranks fourth on the League charts with those seven goals and is tied for fifth in the circuit with 16 points.

Three newcomers each recorded their first collegiate points in Friday's victory as freshman Emily Arpidone set up Wieand's match-winner and fellow freshman Marley Greiner recorded an assist on sophomore Jessica McCloy's header in the second half.

Freshman goalkeeper Kelly Zinkiewich notched her second shutout of the year with six saves, tying the program's one-year record set by Erin Withrow in 2006. Zinkiewich has 84 stops this season.

CSU travels to Milwaukee on Friday before returning home for a Sunday contest against Valparaiso.

Penguins' woes continue
Youngstown State has lost five consecutive matches, falling to 1-13-1 overall (0-4-0 in the League with a 2-0 loss to Cleveland State on Friday and a 3-0 setback to Wright State on Sunday. YSU has been outscored 14-3 during its current skid.

The Penguins outshot Cleveland State 18-12 as sophomore forward Jordan Gapczynski took a match-high five shots, but could not hit the net. The 18 shots matched Youngstown State's single-match high for the season.

Sophomore goalkeeper Caitiln Bodzioney stopped 11 shots in the two matches last week, giving her a League-high 121 saves for the year. Bodzioney owns a 1.96 goals-against average and ranks among the national leaders with her pace of 8.64 saves per outing. She has logged 12 or more stops three times this year, including a League-season-high 15 versus Milwaukee on Oct. 8.

Freshman forward Lauren Brennan continues to lead the Penguins in scoring. She is tied for second in the League with eight goals and ranks fourth with her 18 points. Brennan has played a role in ten of YSU's 13 goals this year.

Youngstown State continues an extended five-match homestand this week, hosting Valparaiso on Friday and Loyola on Sunday.