Oct. 21, 2004
BAYLOR vs. NORTHERN COLORADO (Senior Night)
Oct. 22, 7:00 p.m.
Betty Lou Mays Field • Waco, Texas
Live Stats: www.baylorbears.com
BAYLOR vs. MISSOURI
Oct. 24, 1:00 p.m.
Betty Lou Mays Field • Waco, Texas
Live stats: www.baylorbears.com
NOTING THIS WEEKEND
• Baylor's meeting with Northern Colorado marks the first in the series against UNC. The Missouri-Baylor series is tied at 5-5; however, the Tigers have won the last three.
• Baylor's Ashley Holder leads the league in saves per game (5.57) and saves (78).
• Baylor's Tiffany Boshers is tied for fourth in the league with five goals in conference games. The junior ranks fifth in the league in conference points (11).
BEARS HOST FINAL HOME GAMES OF THE SEASON
WACO, Texas-The Baylor soccer team (5-8-2, 2-5-1) returns home after its upset of No. 22 Nebraska to face Northern Colorado (3-10-0) on Friday, Oct. 22, at 7:00 p.m. before facing Missouri (6-9-1, 3-5-0) at 1:00 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 24, as the Bears close out the home portion of the schedule.
"The win over the Huskers gives us a chance to control whether or not we qualify for the Big 12 Conference Tournament," head coach George Van Linder said. "We need to continue our strong play if we want to have a chance to beat a good Northern Colorado team before facing a must-win against Missouri."
Northern Colorado, a program new to Division I soccer, recently ended a seven-game losing streak and is riding a two-game win streak into its contest with the Bears. UNC is led by Chelsey Ekenberg who leads the team with three goals and eight points on the season.
Following Northern Colorado, the Bears will close out the home portion of the schedule when they face Missouri. The match serves as a sort of elimination game for the Bears as a loss against the Tigers would eliminate the team from the conference tournament.
Last season, Missouri defeated the Bears 2-1 and have won three straight in the series. Baylor's last win against the Tigers came in 2000, when Baylor defeated MU 4-3 in overtime.
The weekend will mark the final home games for seniors April Robertson, Ginny Rosario-Tull, Lori Viggiano and Kristin Ruef, as well as junior Katie Chicoine, who is graduating in the spring. Rosario-Tull is listed as doubtful, however, after suffering a hairline fracture in her lower right leg towards the end of the Nebraska contest.
Tickets to each contest can be purchased through the Baylor Ticket Office at 1-800-BAYLOR-U or by calling 254-710-1000.
BIG 12 CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT HOPES
With the win over Nebraska, Baylor improved to 2-5-1 in conference play and now has seven points to place them ninth in the conference. The top eight teams make the Big 12 Conference Tournament and the win over the Huskers gives the Bears a shot to qualify for post-season play after missing the tournament last season.
The easiest route for the Bears to the conference tournament would be for Baylor to win its final two conference games (Missouri, Texas Tech) and hope for one of the following two scenarios to play out: Oklahoma loses one of its last three (at Colorado,vs. Nebraska, vs. Oklahoma State) or Iowa State loses its final three conference games (at Texas, Texas A&M, at Kansas).
The Bears have the possibility to qualify for the tournament if the team goes 1-1-0 in its final two games; however, multiple scenarios would have to play out for the Bears to qualify. A loss to Missouri; however, would eliminate the Bears from the post-season tournament.
LAST TIME OUT - BAYLOR RALLIES TO DEFEAT NEBRASKA
WACO, Texas-Trailing 2-0 in the first half, the Baylor soccer team responded with three second half goals as the Bears rallied for a 4-3 victory over No. 22 Nebraska in action at the Abbott Sports Complex. With the win, Baylor improves to 5-8-2 overall as Nebraska drops to 11-5-0 and 5-2-0 in the conference.
The Huskers took a 1-0 lead at 15:38 when junior Sasha Andrews delivered a pass to sophomore Brittany Timko, who broke free from the defense and beat Baylor goalkeeper Ashley Holder to her left from eight yards out.
Timko added her second goal in the 28th minute when she beat Holder to a ball in the box and chipped it over her head and into the back of the net to put NU up 2-0.
Nebraska appeared to be in control; but, Baylor closed the gap to 2-1 before the half on a goal by Anna Schuch off an assist from Brittani Zonker in the 43rd minute. The goal was the fifth of the season for the transfer from St. Louis.
The Bears then tied the game seven minutes into the second half when Tiffany Boshers found a loose ball in front of the net and scored from point-blank range.
The Bears grabbed the lead five minutes later as Boshers scored her team leading seventh goal of the season when her shot from 10 yards out found the back of the net to give Baylor the lead.
Nebraska's Brooke Bredenberg; however, beat Holder to tie the game 3-3 in the 61st minute.
Baylor responded; however, and claimed its second straight victory over the Huskers. Gentry Sharp scored her first goal of the season to give Baylor the 4-3 advantage. Sharp's goal marked the first time this season that Nebraska has allowed more than three goals in a game.
For the game, Nebraska out-shot BU, 26-16 and put 11 shots on goal to Baylor's eight.
Holder recorded eight saves in goal for Baylor.
WORKING THEIR WAY UP THE CHARTS
Several Bears are aiming to continue making their way up the leaderboards in the Baylor recordbook in 2004. Most notably, senior Ginny Rosario-Tull begins the year ranked fourth in school history in career goals and tied for fifth in career points.
Notable records:
Career Points: Ginny Rosario-Tull (4th, 53), Tiffany Boshers (4th, 40)
Career Shots: Ginny Rosario-Tull (4th, 178), Kristin Ruef (8th, 92)
Career Goals: Ginny Rosario-Tull (4th, 22), April Robertson (t-7th, 9), Kristin Ruef (7th, 11), Tiffany Boshers (t-5th, 16)
Career Multi-Goal Games: Margaret Kaderli (t-7th, 1), April Robertson (t-5th, 2), Ginny Rosario-Tull (4th, 4), Tiffany Boshers (t-7th, 1)
Career Multi-Assist Games: Kristin Ruef (t-5th, 1), Tiffany Boshers (t-5th, 1), April Robertson (t-5th, 1), Ginny Rosario-Tull (t-5th, 1), Anna Schuch (t-5th, 1)
Career Assists: Ginny Rosario-Tull (t-8th, 9)
Career Game-Winning Goals: April Robertson (7th, 3), Ginny Rosario-Tull (7th, 3), Kristin Ruef (t-8th, 2), Anna Schuch (t-8th, 2), Tiffany Boshers (t-8th, 2)
Career Game-Winning Assists: Brittani Zonker (t-8th, 3)
Tiffany Boshers LEADING THE WAY
Since the start of conference play, junior midfielder Tiffany Boshers, an all-conference selection last season, has exploded for the Bears. The standout midfielder has scored five goals in conference play and currently leads the team with seven goals on the season. In addition, Boshers is now tied with Anna Schuch for the team lead in points (15).
Boshers' play has her ranked among the league leaders in several categories. The junior is tied for fourth in the league with five goals in conference games and ranks fifth in the league in conference points (11).
NEWCOMERS PROVIDING A SPARK
The 2004 season has seen newcomers play a prominent roll in the success of the Baylor soccer team. So far this year, six players new to the Baylor soccer team have seen action in every game, including four who have started in each contest. Two of the top three goal scorers on the season are new to the Bears, as Anna Schuch ranks second with five goals on the season as freshman Margaret Kaderli is third on the team with three. Transfer Jennifer Martin has also had an impact on the offensive side of the ball as the junior is first on the team with four assists.
Newcomers have had a tremendous impact on the defensive side of the ball as well. Baylor freshman Ashley Holder has started in all but one game for the Bears, establishing a school record with 15 saves in a single-game with her performance against Notre Dame and currently leads the conference in saves per game. In addition, freshman Megan Sherrell has started every game for Baylor at the defender position.
Ashley Holder EARNS NATIONAL HONOR
Following a weekend that saw her make twenty saves against a pair of nationally-ranked opponents, goalkeeper Ashley Holder was named to the Soccer Buzz National Elite Team of the Week the website announced. Holder, who also earned Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week honors, made 12 saves in a 1-0 loss to Texas A&M before making eight stops in a 2-1 Baylor win over No. 22 Texas.
The selection marks only the second time in school history a Baylor player has been named to the website's national elite team. Former Baylor player Ryan Lee was the first Bear to be selected to the national elite team of the week, earning the honor the week of Oct. 21, 2001.
NEXT TIME OUT
Baylor travels to Lubbock, Texas, to face Texas Tech for its final regular-season game. Kickoff with the Red Raiders is scheduled for Friday, Oct. 29, at 7:00 p.m.
