The shock waves emanating throughout the world of Western Athletic Conference women's soccer are coming from West Texas, where the Texas-El Paso Miners are off to an 11-0-0 start. WAC success would
The opponents
salvage Wahine’s seasonBy Al Chase
achase@starbulletin.comThe Miners, picked to finished eighth in the WAC coaches preseason poll, are averaging 5.91 goals per game and opened conference play by smashing Nevada 6-0 and Boise State 10-1 last weekend.
Southern Methodist, picked to win the WAC title by the coaches, defeated Boise State 4-0 and Nevada 5-0. The Lady Mustangs have played the more demanding schedule and don't meet UTEP until Nov. 1, the final day of the regular season.
It will be interesting to see what happens between now and then. And, where does that leave the Wahine, who travel to UTEP and SMU next week, and Rice, UH's opponent Sunday? Hawaii and the Owls tied for second in the preseason poll.
The Wahine (3-5-2 overall) begin the WAC campaign against Tulsa tonight and need a much better second half if their season is to be deemed a success. The Golden Hurricane tied San Jose State 2-2 and beat Fresno State 2-1 at home last week.
"Tulsa is an intriguing team. They have some kids I've rated highly over the years and, at times, they start six freshmen," UH coach Pinsoom Tenzing said. "They have the Canadian (Danielle Fauteux) who takes a lot of shots, has a couple of hat tricks this year and is extremely fast."
The Wahine will have freshman striker Natasha Kai available. She sat out the past two weeks with a slight case of mononucleosis, but was cleared to practice Wednesday.
"She was running around like a lunatic in practice trying to make a statement that she wanted to be in there," said Tenzing.
WAC teams are limited to 18 players for conference matches and the Wahine still have several women battling injuries.
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Here is a capsule look at the conference teams in the order they play Hawaii with overall and league record in parentheses. The Opponents
Tulsa (4-5-2, 1-0-1)
Coach: Damon Gore, fourth year (34-30-5).
2001 WAC record: 4-4-0.
Players to watch: Danielle Fauteux, a freshman striker and Canadian National Team pool member; Jamie German, freshman midfielder; Julie Twellman, senior midfielder/striker; senior defender Liz Benoist.
Outlook: The Golden Hurricane have high expectations with eight returning starters and 13 letterwinners, but have yet to win consecutive matches. Four of the five losses have been by shutout. Fauteux (8), German (3) and Twellman (4) have accounted for 15 of Tulsa's 18 goals.
Rice (1-7-2, 1-1-0)
Coach: Chris Huston fourth year (30-32-4)
2001 WAC record: 5-3-0.
Players to watch: Sarah Yoder, sophomore midfielder/striker; Kelly Potysman, sophomore midfielder/defender; Becky MacAllister, sophomore defender.
Outlook: Following a solid initial season that saw Rice tie for second place and reach the semifinal round of the WAC tournament, the Owls have struggled this year despite returning 16 letterwinners and 11 starters. Lack of offense, one goal or none in seven matches, has hurt.
Texas-El Paso (11-0-0, 2-0-0)
Coach: Kevin Cross, fourth year (40-25-2).
2001 WAC record: 1-6-1.
Players to watch: Holly Cohen, senior striker; Kelly Parker, senior midfielder; Miranda Cuthbertson, senior defender. Cohen and Parker were 2001 all-WAC selections.
Outlook: The Miners have surpassed all preseason expectations and are ranked No. 8 in the Central Region by Soccer Buzz Magazine. This is a veteran team with eight seniors and nine juniors. Cohen has set UTEP's single-season record for goals and points, but will be challenged to keep those marks the rest of the season by Cuthbertson, the league's offensive player of the week last week.
SMU (6-4-2, 2-0-0)
Coach: George Van Linder, seventh year (86-49-4).
2001 WAC record: 8-0-0.
Players to watch: Kim Harvey, junior midfielder/striker; Tara Comfort, senior striker; Erin McLeod, sophomore goalkeeper; Jill Heinemann, sophomore midfielder.
Outlook: The Lady Mustangs are the coaches' pick to win the WAC for the third consecutive season. They have the talent to repeat and should be used to having everyone else trying to knock them off. Comfort, McLeod and senior midfielder Diana Kelm were preseason all-WAC picks. Interestingly, half of their 12 matches have gone to overtime.
Boise State (4-6-1, 0-2-0)
Coach: Steve Lucas, third year (18-24-4).
2001 WAC record: 5-3-0.
Players to watch: Brittany Zoellner, junior midfielder who holds the career record for goals scored and points; BreeAnn Milligan, sophomore midfielder; Lindsay Vandenberg, senior goalkeeper.
Outlook: The Broncos, who qualified for postseason play last year for the first time in their four-year history, expected to build on that success this year, but have stumbled while playing just two of 11 matches at home. They host Nevada today and hope to forget last weekend when they were outscored 14-1.
Nevada (3-9-0, 0-2-0)
Coach: Dang Pibulvech, 19th year (193-136-22).
2001 WAC record: 0-7-1.
Players to watch: Megan Tarpenning, freshman goalkeeper; Leisha Makinano (Iolani), junior defender; Kaula Rowe (Kamehameha), junior striker.
Outlook: Pibulvech had a reputation of building winning programs (Central Methodist, Colorado College, Washington, Texas) when he became Nevada's first coach three years ago. He has had difficulty repeating the magic, going 7-39-1 to date. Tarpenning is the only Wolf Pack player listed in the league statistics with eight saves per match. Eight of Nevada's nine defeats have been shutouts.
San Jose State (2-7-3, 0-1-1)
Coach: Tamie Grimes, third year (17-32-5).
2001 WAC record: 3-5-0.
Players to watch: Mariko Yoshihara, junior midfielder; Emily New, senior striker; Jessica Korpela, sophomore midfielder; Erin Lavey, freshman goalkeeper.
Outlook: Grimes is trying to mold a young although relatively experienced team into the kind of squad that was the WAC title two year ago, but has yet to create a consistent offense. The Spartans average slightly more than a goal per match while surrendering 2.42.
Fresno State (2-10-0, 1-1-0)
Coach: Stacy Welp, second year (10-20).
2001 WAC record: 4-4-0.
Players to watch: Kortney Lewis, freshman midfielder/striker; Katri Nokso-Koivisto, freshman striker; Erin Sayegusa (Kaiser), junior midfielder/striker; Virginia Jenkins, senior defender.
Outlook: The Bulldogs returned players responsible for 14 of their 20 goals in 2001, but have struggled to find the back of the net against a demanding nonconference schedule. Road matches at SMU and UTEP this week will tell if playing tough competition paid off.
When: Today, 7 p.m. Hawaii vs. Tulsa
Where: Waipio Peninsula Soccer Park Stadium
TV: Live on KFVE (Channel 5).
Radio: None.
Admission/parking: Free.
Series record: Hawaii leads 2-1.
Last meeting: The Wahine prevailed 2-1 at Tulsa, Oct. 12, 2001, on goals by Jennifer Starsiak and Carmel Hurley.
Notes: UH freshman striker Carmen Calpo needs one assist to set a freshman record. She shares the mark of five with teammates Joelle Sugai and Krystalynn Ontai, who did it last year. ... Pinsoom Tenzing is 60-86-11 in his ninth season coaching the Wahine.
