Tuesday, August 25, 2009

MACON, Ga. - ESTU hosts Liberty in the Atlantic Sun women's soccer game of the week on Saturday live on ASunTV. The Bucs look to rebound after 2-0 loss at No. 23 Tennessee in week one. The match up Sunday against Liberty will be the second game of the weekend for both teams as ETSU opens the weekend with a 7 p.m. kickoff at Western Carolina.

Liberty opens its season on Friday in a match up against Virginia in Charlottesville, Va. The Flames are picked fifth in the Big South Preseason Coaches Poll. Liberty leading returning scorer, sophomore Silvia Betancourt netted four goals in 2008 and earned Big South All-Freshman team honors.

Key Match up
ETSU forward Jordan Monty vs Liberty goal keeper Karen Blocker

Monty earned A-Sun Preseason All-Conference team honors and Blocker returns as the starting keeper for the Flames after postiing a 2.41 GAA in 2008 

What to Watch
* Jordan Monty led ETSU in goals (4) and points (11) in 2008. All four of her goals a season ago were game winners. Monty also posted a hat trick in the Bucs exhibition match with King College. 

* Tennessee outshot ETSU 21-5. A-Sun teams own a 4-0 this season when they out shoot their opponents.   

A-Sun Player of the Week - Emily Longden, Lipscomb
In her first collegiate game Longden, an elementary education major from Jacksonville Fla., scored the lone goal in the Lady Bisons’ 1-0 home victory against Austin Peay. The win marked just their third season-opening win ever, and first under fourth-year head coach John Ireland. The last such victory came on the road at South Carolina State in 2004. The last time the Lady Bisons won their home opener occurred in 2002, with a 2-1 victory against Martin Methodist.

A-Sun Defensive Player of the Week - Kaili Terry, Campbell
Terry, a native of Carrollton, Texas, made her first collegiate start in the central defense and led Campbell to a 2-1 victory against Francis Marion, on Friday, for the Camels’ first season-opening win since 2005. After starting her first two years as a forward for the Camels, the exercise science major shifted to the back line and helped marshall a unit that allowed only seven shots on the game -- and just two on goal. Terry, who played the full 90 minutes, and the Camel defense did not allow a shot on goal for the final 44:43 of the contest to protect the one-goal margin.

Belmont
* Picked as the preseason conference champion by TopDrawerSoccer.com.

* Is the defending conference tournament champion. The Bruins claimed the conference crown with a win over Stetson followed by shoot out wins against Kennesaw State and Mercer.

* Junior Jessica Rix was one of three unanimous selections to the A-Sun Pre-Season All-Conference team. Rix was a first team all-league performer a season ago.

Campbell
* The Camels opened the season with a 2-1 win over Francis Marion (Aug. 21) but followed the win with a 2-0 loss to North Carolina State.

* Kaili Terry earned A-Sun Defensive Player of the Week honors on Monday as she and the Camel defense held Francis Marion without a shot on goal for the final 44:43.

* Terry has an A-Sun family as her older brother played for Lipscomb and her younger brother is a freshman on Campbell’s men’s soccer team.

ETSU
* “All four of our defenders played the entire match and did an outstanding job shutting down Tennessee’s offensive lanes. This forced them to take long shots over our defense.” -ETSU head coach Heather Henson on her team’s game against Tennessee

* ETSU game against Liberty is the A-Sun game of the week and can be seen on A-SunTV.

* The Bucs goalie, Megan Masch, only allowed two goals against Tennessee on 21 shots by the defending SEC Champs.

FGCU
* The FGCU fell to the UCF Knights in its season-opener on Aug. 21 by a 2-0 score.

* The Eagles come into their match with Miami holding a 5-6 record against in-state opponents.

* Goalkeeper Stephanie Powers recorded a career and FGCU single game record eight saves on the night.

Jacksonville
* “We played against one of the top teams in the country tonight and it’s always going to be a challenge ... but it’s good for our younger players to experience a game against a top-tier team like this.” Jacksonville head coach Brian Copham on JU’s game against No. 7 Florida State on Aug. 21

* The Dolphins started five freshmen, with Alexa Rooney starting in goal after 19 starts last season.

* Jacksonville travels to Jacksonville this weekend for a match up with Coastal Carolina and Georgia State in the Osprey Classic.

Kennesaw State
* The Kennesaw State will look for its first win of the season on Friday evening as they battle former Peach Belt conference rivals, Francis Marion, in the Owl’s home opener.

* “We’ve not enjoyed much of the ball in our opening matches. We need to tighten things up defensively and make better use of the ball when we have it” Owls head coach Rob King

* The Owls lead the all-time series with Francis Marion, 5-0, but the teams have not played since Kennesaw State beat the Patriots, 6-3, during the 2005 season.

Lipscomb
* Lipscomb travels to Martin, Tenn. this weekend for its first road game against UT-Martin.

* Freshman Emily Longden was the A-Sun player of the week after posting a game-winning goal against Austin Peay.

* Bison goal keepers Erin Zerio and Ally Maler each played 45 minutes in the shutout.

Mercer
* Preseason All-Atlantic Sun goalkeeper Jean Worts shutout Jacksonville State until being replaced in the 84th minute.

* Due to renovations at Bear Field, the game against Jacksonville State was played at Stratford Academy.

* Defender Jessie Kupstas provided the insurance goal in Mercer’s 2-0 victory over Jacksonville State on Aug. 21. Kupstas recorded three shots on net and led the way on defense for the Bears, who limited the Gamecocks to just five shots in the contest.

UNF
* UNF dropped its season opener to the Florida Institute of Technology, 1-0 in a rain soaked match on Aug. 21.

* The Lady Osprey will host the Osprey Classic this week featuring UNF, Jacksonville, Georgia State and Coastal Carolina.

* “Everything we asked them (our players) to do they did it was a tough game with the weather.” UNF assistant coach Morgan Church.  

USC Upstate
* Upstate will face Gardner-Webb and Charleston Southern in their next two matches.  The Spartans are 0-3 all-time against Gardner-Webb and are 1-1 all-time against Charleston Southern.

* With the start against Navy, junior defender Catherine Nolff started her 37th career game and is now the Spartans all-time leader for games started (Division I era).  She recorded start number 38 on Monday night at Furman.

* In her first collegiate start, freshman goalkeeper Sian Jenkins recorded five saves.

* Goalkeeper Brittany Daughtry recorded a career high 14 saves in the loss to Furman on Monday.  Her 14 saves also tied the school’s individual game record.

Stetson
* Stetson started last week off slow with a 3-0 loss to Florida International in its season-opener, and then finished with a flourish as it defeated Florida Atlantic 2-0 on the road. It was the Hatters’ first win over the Owls in Boca Raton since 1996 and the team’s second win in eight games since Julie Orlowski took over the program in 2001.

* Junior Tessa Gavilsky, last year’s A-Sun Offensive Player of the Year, scored the winning goal and assisted on the insurance tally against FAU. Her offensive production was matched by fellow junior Katie Bitetto who assisted on the first goal and scored the second. Both players ended the week on top of the conference scoring chart with three points.

The Atlantic Sun Conference is an 11-member league committed to Building Winners for Life. The A-Sun stands for achievement with integrity in both the academic and athletic arenas, with a focus on the balance between the two for our student-athletes. Headquartered in Macon, Ga., the A-Sun boasts six of the top eight media markets in the Southeast. The A-Sun includes a blend of the most prestigious and dynamic private and public institutions in the region: Belmont University, Campbell University, East Tennessee State University, Florida Gulf Coast University, Jacksonville University, Kennesaw State University, Lipscomb University, Mercer University, University of North Florida, University of South Carolina Upstate and Stetson University.