Aug. 29, 2001
Complete Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader
The Baylor soccer team begins the 2001 season by hosting the Baylor Labor Day Classic, a four-team tournament featuring Arizona State, Furman and LaSalle. The Bears face the 21st-ranked Sun Devils Friday at 7:30 p.m., then take on Furman Sunday at 7:30 p.m.
The other games of the tournament are LaSalle vs. Furman (5 p.m. Friday) and Arizona State vs. LaSalle (1 p.m. Sunday). All games will be played at Betty Lou Mays Soccer Field.
The Sun Devils are led by new head coach Ray Leone, formerly head coach at Clemson. Last season, Arizona State went 14-7-1 (4-5, 7th in Pac-10) and reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Seven starters return from a year ago, led by all-American midfielder Stacey Tullock and three all-Pac 10 players (midfielder Antoinette Marjanovic, midfielder Haley van Blommestein and forward Patrice Feulner).
Furman, too, comes to Waco fresh off an NCAA appearance. The Lady Paladins have won back-to-back Southern Conference titles and lost to Duke in the first round of the 2000 NCAA Tournament. Nine of 11 starters return for Furman, including 2000 NCAA D-I points leader Emily Turgeon. Turgeon led the nation in points with 63 as a freshman last season, earning all-America and freshman all-America honors.
Baylor has never faced Arizona State or Furman.
For the third consecutive year, the Bears open their home season by hosting a tournament. In 1999, Baylor defeated San Diego (6-1) and TCU (2-0) in what was then called the Bear Invitational. Last season, Baylor tied Arkansas (1-1) and shut out North Texas (1-0) in the Baylor Tournament.
Last Time Out
Baylor blanked SMU 3-0 in a preseason scrimmage Friday night in Waco. 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 Ranked Among Region's and Nation's Best Yet Again
Soccer Buzz magazine ranked Baylor eighth in the Central Region in its preseason rankings. The Bears finished 2000 third in the region and receiving votes in the national polls.
The Bears received votes in SoccerTimes.com's preseason national poll.
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 48, 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 will focus on helping the Bears' stable of goalies prepare for the upcoming season.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Kacsmaryk enters her senior year ranked seventh in career points (23), tied for sixth in career goals (8) and sixth in career game-winning assists (3).
Miles begins the season ranked sixth in career points (24), tied for sixth in career goals (8), tied for seventh in career game-winning assists (2), and sixth in consecutive games played (62).
Home is Where the Wins Are
Since the program's inception in 1996, the Bears are a sparkling 35-7-4 (.804) at home. Four of those losses came in 1999, in the team's other four seasons, Baylor has never lost more than one game a year at home.
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.
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.
