Nov. 6, 2001
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Baylor Soccer at the 2001 Big 12 Tournament
Blossom Soccer Stadium * San Antonio, Texas
First Round * vs. No. 9 Nebraska * Thursday, Nov. 8 * 5 p.m.
Semifinal Game (If advance) * Friday, Nov. 9 * 7:30 p.m.
Championship Game (If advance) * Sunday, Nov. 11 * 1 p.m.
The Baylor soccer team will look to snap two streaks as the Bears begin play at the Big 12 Tournament Thursday in San Antonio, Texas. Baylor will be looking to snap a three-game losing streak, while at the same time hoping to avoid being knocked out of the Big 12 Tournament by Nebraska for the third year in a row.
The Bears face ninth-ranked Nebraska (the No. 2 seed) in the first round of the tournament Thursday at 5 p.m. at Blossom Soccer Stadium in San Antonio, Texas. Tickets cost $5 a day and are available at Ticketmaster throughout Texas or at Blossom Soccer Stadium.
Baylor at the Big 12 Tournament: History
Baylor is 4-5 all-time in Big 12 Tournament play. Four times (1996, 1997, 1999 and 2000), the Bears have advanced as far as the tournament semifinals.
Nebraska has proved to be Baylor's biggest obstacle, the Huskers eliminated Baylor in the semifinals in 1997, 1999 and 2000. Nebraska has won each of the Big 12's five conference tournaments.
2000 Big 12 Tournament Recap
In the first round of the 2000 Big 12 Tournament, the Bears won perhaps their most exciting game of the season, beating Missouri 4-3 in overtime. The Tigers led 1-0 at the half, but Baylor bounced back to tie the game at 1-1 just 13 seconds into the second period. Missouri then took a 2-1 lead, but Baylor again quickly responded, scoring a mere 19 seconds afterwards to tie the game. The Tigers once more took a lead at 3-2, and once more, the Bears responded. Senior Gina Castellano's goal with 25 seconds remaining in regulation tied the game at 3-3 and forced overtime. In the extra period, Molly Cameron's goal gave Baylor the win.
Play the next evening was postponed due to severe thunderstorms, so Baylor tackled third-ranked Nebraska on Friday afternoon. Nebraska triumped over Baylor, 4-0, and went on to win the Big 12 Tournament.
Last Time Out
Baylor concluded the 2001 regular season with a 3-1 loss at Colorado College. The Bears took an early lead when Kristin Ruef scored her second goal of the year just five minutes into the game. That lead held through halftime, but the Tigers responded in the final 45 minutes, scoring three goals to take the win and hand Baylor its third straight loss.
All-Big 12 Teams Announced
Junior Tamura Crawley and sophomore Candace Reilly were each named to the 2001 All-Big 12 Conference Soccer Team, as voted on by the league's head coaches. Both Crawley, a defender from Dallas, Texas, and Reilly, a midfielder from Keller, Texas, were named to the conference's second team.
For Crawley, the all-conference selection was her third in three years at Baylor. She was named to the all-Big 12 first team as a freshman in 1999 and to the conference second team last season. She is also a two-time preseason all-Big 12 selection (2000 and 2001).
The all-Big 12 selection was the first of Reilly's career. The sophomore leads the team in shots entering the Big 12 Tournament and ranks sixth on the squad in points.
Seniors Rachel Kacsmaryk and Alyson Miles, junior Whitney Barrett, and sophomores Erin Freeman, Emily Fukuchi, Melissa Humke and Candace Reilly were all named to the 2001 Academic All-Big 12 first team.
For Kacsmaryk and Miles, the selection was each player's third-straight academic all-conference honor, Miles has been named to the Academic All-Big 12 first team in each of the three seasons she has been eligible, while Kacsmaryk has garnered back-to-back first team selections.
Barrett earned her second-straight academic all-conference first team honor. The selection was a first for each of the four sophomores.
Working Their Way Up The Charts
Senior co-captains Rachel Kacsmaryk and Alyson Miles each rank among the team's all-time leaders in several statistical categories.
The two seniors are tied for fifth in career goals (9) and tied for sixth in career game-winning assists (3). Kacsmaryk also ranks seventh in career points (27), while Miles ranks sixth in career points (28) and holds the fifth-longest consecutive-games-played streak in school history (66) (see later note).
For a complete listing of updated school records, see page 10 of these notes.
Home is Where the Wins Are
Since the program's inception in 1996, the Bears are a sparkling 42-9-4 at home. The Bears lost four times at home in 1999 and twice in 2001, in the team's other four seasons, Baylor lost only one game a year at home.
Fountain of Youth Secret to Baylor Success
Of the 30 players on the Baylor roster, only five are upperclassmen (two seniors, three juniors). The team features 12 sophomores and 13 freshmen, and with the youth movement has come an influx of speed and energy.
Of those freshmen, 10 have seen action: Hilary Aylesworth, Rachel Barnier, Sarah Dearing, Mel Pannell, Katie Peterson, Janae Potter, April Robertson, Ginny Rosario-Tull, Kristin Ruef and Lori Viggiano.
Seven freshmen (Dearing, Pannell, Peterson, Robertson, Rosario-Tull, Ruef and Viggiano) have each started at least one game. Rosario-Tull leads the freshmen, having started 16 of Baylor's 17 games this season. Four freshmen (Robertson, Rosario-Tull, Ruef and Viggiano) have appeared in all 17 games.
Aside from the freshmen, junior transfer Barbara Torres, sophomore Hillary Jacobson, and sophomore goalie Amber Watkins have each seen their first action as Bears this fall. Torres sat out the 2000 season after transferring from Georgetown. Jacobson is a sophomore transfer from William Jewell College in Oklahoma, while Watkins served as valuable insurance behind goalkeeper Dawn Greathouse last season.
A Fresh Attack
Nineteen of Baylor's 34 goals and 45 of the team's 95 points have come from players who were not on the active roster last season. Leading the way are freshmen Ginny Rosario-Tull (seven goals, 17 points) and April Robertson (seven goals, 14 points).
Five different freshman have scored at least one goal for the Bears this year (Sarah Dearing, Janae Potter, Robertson, Rosario-Tull and Kristin Ruef). For more freshman records, see page 10 of these notes.
I'll Take Hyphenated Names for $100, Alex
Entering the Big 12 Tournament, freshman Ginny Rosario-Tull is tied for the team lead with seven goals and leads the Bears with 17 points this season.
The last freshman to lead the team in either category was Molly Cameron, who set school records with 32 goals and 75 points in the program's first year (1996). Rosario-Tull's 17 points are the most by a Baylor freshman since four Bears scored 17 or more in 1996, the program's inaugural season.
Rosario-Tull has played in each of Baylor's 17 games, starting 16 of those matches. She notched her first collegiate multi-goal game Oct. 14 against Oklahoma State, scoring twice to power a 3-2 Baylor extra-time win. For her efforts, Rosario-Tull was named Big 12 Newcomer of the Week for games played Oct. 8-14.
One week later (Oct. 21 vs. Texas Tech), Rosario-Tull recorded a second multi-goal game, making her just the fourth player in Baylor history to record more than one multiple-goal game in a career and earning her a second straight Big 12 Newcomer of the Week award (Oct. 15-21).
April Showering Goals On Opposition
Freshman April Robertson is tied for tops on the team in scoring with seven goals and is tied for second with 14 points this season.
The true freshman has a pair of multi-goal games to her credit, making her just the fifth player in school history to record more than one multiple-goal game in her career.
For the year, Robertson's .583 shot percentage (seven goals, 12 shots) easily leads the team.
Earlier this season, Robertson scored goals in four straight games (9/7-9/21), tying for third in school history.
That put her in territory that only Baylor greats Molly Cameron and Courtney Saunders had previously reached. Saunders and Cameron each compiled five-game scoring streaks, Saunders scored a total of seven goals in her five-game streak during the 1999 season, while Cameron recorded one goal in each of Baylor's first five games in 2000.
Saunders and Cameron (twice) each recorded four-game scoring streaks in 1996. Robertson had five goals in her four-game streak.
Lee Leading Attack
Two of the Bears' top individual game efforts this season have come from sophomore midfielder Ryan Lee.
On Sept. 17 against TCU, Lee scored her second career goal (first of the season) and assisted on two other goals as the Bears beat the Horned Frogs, 3-1.
Almost exactly a month later, on Sept. 16 vs. Oklahoma, Lee recorded her first collegiate multi-goal game in Baylor's 3-1 win over the Sooners. Lee scored twice in the second half as the Bears came from behind to claim the victory.
Lee was named to the Soccer America Team of the Week and to SoccerBuzz's National Elite Team of the Week (Oct. 15-21) after recording three goals and two assists during the week.
The sophomore leads the team with six assists and is tied for second on the team in points with 14. Her six assists are the most by a Baylor player since Nikki Hales and Courtney Saunders each had eight assists in 1999.
Entering the Big 12 Tournament, Lee was tied for 10th in the Big 12 in assists with six. For conference games only, Lee was tied for 11th in the league in points (9).
Long Line at the Training Table
Baylor lost goalkeeper Mel Pannell for the season when the freshman suffered a shoulder injury in the Bears' season opener Aug. 31. Pannell had surgery Oct. 8 that will keep her out of action for six months.
After playing through pain all season while replacing Pannell, sophomore Emily Koch finally succumbed to back problems and left at the half against Texas (Oct. 5). She did not play Oct. 7 against Texas A&M and is questionable for the rest of the season. Koch, who was unable to practice all fall due to her injury, was cleared for play the day after Pannell went down and started Sept. 2. She recorded her first collegiate shutout in that game despite playing with a bad back and has played through severe pain that often left her without feeling in her legs after games.
Tiffany Boshers, Sarah Dearing, Sarah Gardner and Katie Peterson are all out for the season with torn ACLs.
An infected toe cost senior co-captain Alyson Miles a chance at the school record for consecutive games played. Miles had played in all 66 of Baylor's games since she arrived at Baylor, but saw her streak end Sept. 17 when she sat out against Rice. Miles' streak ranks as the fifth-longest in school history.
In the Net
Injury problems have forced the Bears to employ four different goalies this season, a team record. Sophomore Emily Koch was projected to be the team's starter, but a bad back held her out of the season opener. Freshman Mel Pannell started in her place, but suffered a shoulder injury in Baylor's first game that put her out of action. That allowed sophomore Amber Watkins to get her first action as a Bear, finishing out Baylor's 3-0 loss to Arizona State.
Head coach Nick Cowell quickly activated Koch for the team's second game of the season. The sophomore played through pain for several weeks that often left her without feeling in her legs after games, despite being being unable to practice at all. Koch is unlikely to play again this season.
With Koch unavailable, Stephanie Dempsey will be Baylor's starting keeper. Dempsey, Baylor's fourth different goalkeeper this season, made her first appearance as keeper in the second half Sept. 21 against Rice. A sophomore who played in 18 games last season as a defender, Dempsey was converted to goalkeeper after Pannell's injury and is playing the position for the first time at any level. She made her first career start Oct. 7 at Texas A&M.
Crawley Named Preseason All-Big 12
Junior defender Tamura Crawley was named to the 2001 All-Big 12 Soccer Preseason Team by the league's coaches. Crawley earned second-team all-conference honors in 2000 after being named to the Big 12's first team in 1999. Crawley is also a two-time all-region selection, as named by Soccer Buzz magazine. She was named to the preseason all-conference team last season, as well.
Baylor Picked Sixth in Big 12 in Preseason Poll
In a poll of the league's coaches, Baylor was picked to finish sixth in the Big 12 Conference. Defending national champion Nebraska is the preseason favorite to win the Big 12, followed by Texas A&M, Texas, Missouri and Oklahoma (tied for fourth) and Baylor. Kansas, Colorado, Iowa State, Texas Tech and Oklahoma State round out the bottom half of the league.
The Bears finished the 2000 season in fourth place in the Big 12. Baylor lost to third-ranked Nebraska in the semifinals of the Big 12 Tournament and narrowly missed the program's third-straight selection to the NCAA Tournament.
2001 Recruiting Class Brings Honors for Bears
The Baylor soccer team's 2001 recruiting class ranked eighth regionally and 35th in the nation, according to Soccer Buzz magazine.
Since head coach Nick Cowell's arrival, the Bears have ranked among the nation's best at recruiting. In 1999, Baylor did not receive national or regional recognition, in 2000, the team improved to 26th in the nation and fifth in the region. The 2001 season marks the Bears' second straight season among the nation's elite.
Exhibition Season
In April, the Baylor soccer team was one of six schools to face the Mexico Women's National Team as it toured the United States. The Bears beat Mexico 3-1 at Betty Lou Mays Soccer Field in front of 1,810 fans, a school record.
Whitney Barrett scored in the 15th minute, assisted by Ryan Lee, to put Baylor up 1-0. The Bears scored again 12 minutes later when Candace Reilly recorded Baylor's second goal of the night. After Mexico cut the lead to 2-1 six minutes into the second half, Emily Fukuchi powered the ball into the net from 60 feet out to make the final score Baylor 3, Mexico 1.
Baylor kicked off the fall with a preseason scrimmage against SMU, blanking the Mustangs 3-0 in Waco on Aug. 24. The Bears' large freshman class shone brightly in the exhibition, as two of Baylor's three goals were scored and assisted on by freshmen. Ginny Rosario-Tull, Candace Reilly and Rachel Barnier each pushed across goals, while Kristin Ruef and Sarah Dearing contributed assists. Freshman goalie Mel Pannell recorded seven saves in picking up the shutout.
Bears in the Pros
Three athletes with Baylor connections participated in the inaugural season of the Women's United Soccer Association (WUSA), the world's premier women's professional soccer league. Goalkeeper Dawn Greathouse, an all-American for Baylor in 1998, spent the 2000 season with the Washington Freedom, while fellow all-American Courtney Saunders is a member of the Philadelphia Charge. Former assistant coach Rebecca Hornbacher joined the Boston Breakers.
Betty Lou Mays Soccer Field
The 2001 season marks the third year for the Bears at the newly renamed Betty Lou Mays Soccer Field. The former Baylor Soccer Stadium was renamed during the 2000 season in honor of the late Betty Lou Mays of Amarillo, Texas. Mrs. Mays was the wife of Troy Mays, a 1945 graduate of Baylor, the two were longtime supporters of Baylor athletics.
Head Coach Nick Cowell
Head coach Nick Cowell, now in his third year at the helm of the Baylor soccer team, has steadily built a program that consistently rates as one of the best in the Big 12 Conference. In 2001, his challenge is take things one step further, the Bears are shooting for a spot in the NCAA field of 64, from whence they can challenge for the national title.
In Cowell's first year at Baylor, the team finished 14-7-1 overall and placed fourth in the conference with a 6-3-1 mark. Last season, the Bears again finshed fourth in the Big 12 and compiled an overall record of 10-6-3. Under Cowell, the team has made one NCAA appearance (1999) and barely missed out on another (2000).
Prior to coming to Baylor, Cowell spent eight years as head coach at Trinity University in San Antonio. During that time, he led his team to seven straight conference titles, including 49-straight conference victories and six trips to the NCAA Division III Tournament.
At Trinity, Cowell's success resulted in him being named the SCAC Coach of the Year five times. In 1992, he garnered Regional Coach of the Year honors. Prior to his work at Trinity, Cowell was at The College of Wooster where he had a 22-11-4 record in two seasons. He led the Lady Scots to the North Coast Athletic Conference title in 1990. Following that season he was named the NCAC and Ohio Collegiate Soccer Association Coach of the Year. Cowell began the 2001 season ranked 24th in career wins among active coaches at four-year colleges, with a career record of 163-54-16.
Cowell Adds Pair of New Assistant Coaches
The 2001 season brings two new assistant coaches to the Baylor fold. Assistant coach Rj. Anderson and graduate assistant coach Becca Lief joined the Bears prior to the season, each bringing new talents to the program.
Anderson comes to Baylor from the University of Toledo, where he was women's head soccer coach from 1995-2000. Anderson brings over 35 years of soccer experience as a player, coach and official at both the national and international level.
Lief joins the Baylor staff from nearby SMU, where she started in goal for two seasons for the Mustangs. As goalkeeper coach, Lief's duties focus on helping the Bears' stable of goalies throughout the season.
