LAS VEGAS -- Aleisha Cramer scored twice to help No. 21 BYU defeat UNLV 3-1 in their first Mountain West Conference game of the season, Thursday. The win improved the Cougars to 7-4-1 and 1-0 in conference play while the loss drops UNLV to 6-4-2.

Even though the Cougars out shot the Rebels 11-5 in the first half, the scored remained tied at 0-0 until Cramer scored her first goal 38 minutes into the game on a penalty kick. UNLV scored less than two minutes later with a penalty kick of their own to tie the game 1-1 heading into the half.

Strong defense by both teams kept the scored tied until the final 12 minutes of play. Hoping to avoid their third consecutive overtime game, Cramer notched her second goal of the night with a nice header off a corner kick from Kelly Hunsberger to put the Cougars up 2-1. Nominated for the Herman Trophy earlier this year, Cramer now has five goals this season and leads the team with 13 points.

Jeni WIlliardson Viernes scored her fourth goal of the season to seal the victory with only five minutes left in regulation off an assist from Jennie Christianson.

BYU will conclude it's west coast road trip on Saturday at San Diego State in a 1:00 PT scheduled kickoff.

Scoring: 
BYU-Aleisha Cramer, 37:45 (penalty kick) 
UNLV-Cristyn Enea, 39:20 (penalty kick) 
BYU-Aleisha Cramer, 78:33 (Kelly Hunsberger, assist) 
BYU-Jeni W. Viernes, 84:40 (Jennie Christianson, assist) 
Shots: 
BYU-20, UNLV-7 
Saves: 
BYU-Jennifer Waldron-4, UNLV-Alice Gleason-10

After two straight losses to ACC teams on the road, the Cougar women look to rebound this week as they open MWC action on the road. BYU's 21st ranked women's soccer team travels to Las Vegas to take on UNLV on Oct. 11 and SDSU on Sat. Oct . 13. Kick offs are at 7:30 p.m., and 1 p.m., PT, respectively.

Last Game Recap

On their first trip to battle teams from the powerful ACC, the Cougar women played tough and had opportunities to win both contests. Unfortunately, in the overtime periods of the games, the Cougars came up short on each game with the 2-3 losses to Virginia and Wake Forest. Kim Devine led the BYU effort in both contests scoring both goals against Virginia and one against Wake Forest. All-American Aleisha Cramer had the second in the match up against the Demon Deacons. The Cougars were outshot in both contests.

Cougars in National Polls This Week

No. 21 by Soccer Times Top 25 Coaches Poll

No. 8 in West Region of NSCAA Coaches Poll

BYU & U.S. Women's National Team Connections

• Aleisha Cramer played on the U.S. Under-21 National Team this summer and the U.S. Women's National Team while competing in the U.S. Women's Cup in Sept. 2001

• Cramer is also one of 13 college players to be nominated for the Hermann Trophy

• Kim Devine played on the U.S. Under-19 National Team this summer

Returning Starters To Watch

• 17 Aleisha Cramer - MF, So (3G, 3A, 9PTS, 22SH)

• 11 Sarah Higham Yee - MF, Sr (3G, 1A, 7PTS, 19SH)

• 18 Jeni W. Viernes - F, JR (3G, 2A, 8PTS, 22SH)

• 00 Jennifer Waldron - GK, Sr (11GA, 1.01 GAA, 6SHO)

Newcomers To Watch

• 15 Kim Devine - 5-5 F/Fr, Laguna Niguel, CA (Started in 10 of 11 games, tallying 4G, 3A, 11PTS, 16SH)

• 9 Krissa Campbell - MF/F, Fr, Folsom, CA (Played in all games, starting in two, 1G, 2PTS, 7SH)

• 2 Kimmie Davis - MF/F, Fr, Torrance, CA (Played in all games, starting in one, 2G, 1A, 5PTS, 5SH)

Cougar '01 Quickie Stats

• Averaging 16.3 shots on goal per game

• Averaging 1.8 goals per game

• Average1.55 assists per game

• Average 5.2 corner kicks per game

BYU Picked To Win MWC Crown

The MWC Coaches picked BYU to win its third consecutive title. The Cougars received five first-place votes and collected a total of 36 points to capture the top spot in the poll. BYU won the 2000 regular-season MWC crown with a perfect 6-0 league record and captured the conference tournament title with a 6-1 victory over Utah.

Cougar Notes

One of BYU's main team goals for the 2001 season was to win the MWC regular season and championship title and that quest starts this week. The Cougar team opens MWC play with a 6-4-1, 0-0 record Thursday. Freshman Kim Devine tops the scoring chart for BYU with four goals and three assists. She's followed by All-American Aleisha Cramer who's tallied three goals and three assists for her nine points.

Injury Report

Returning defender Farrah Hofheins is out for the season after suffering a torn ACL in practice prior to the start of the season. Megan Dickerson has been cleared for practice and may be on the team's lineup within the next two weeks. She's being evaluated on a day to day basis. Dickerson tore her ACL during spring practice this year.

UNLV Notes

UNLV opens MWC this week hosting the Cougars Thursday night. The Rebels have compiled a 6-3-2 record to date. Anita Pedford leads the scoring effort for UNLV with five goals and one assist. Teammate Cristyn Enea follows with her four goals and three assists. The Rebels are averaging 15.3 shots and 1.5 goals per game and are currently on a four game winning streak. In 2001, UNLV has a 4-2-1 record at Peter Johann Memorial Field. This year's MWC Women's Soccer Championship will be played on the UNLV campus.

Series Record: 3-0, favoring the visiting Cougar team. In 2000, BYU defeated UNLV 3-0 in Provo on Oct. 14. All of the Cougar victories over the Rebels have been shutouts.

SDSU Notes

The Aztecs also open MWC this week hosting Utah on Thursday and BYU on Saturday. To date, SDSU has compiled a 4-7-0 record. They have not won a game since Sept. 18, a 2-0 shutout over UC Riverside. The Aztecs have lost to Cal, Stanford, Santa Clara and most recently USC. Sophomore forward Kim Castellanos leads SDSU in scoring with 15 points from seven goals and one assist. Senior midfielder Fay deLeon is next with three goals and three assists for nine points. As a team, the Aztecs are getting 13.1 shots to opponents 13.2 shots per game and they are averaging 1.5 goals per game.

Series Record: 4-5 in favor of SDSU. During the 2000 season, the two teams met once in Provo with the Cougars getting the 4-0 victory. BYU's only win in San Diego was in 1999, a 2-1 overtime victory in the MWC tourney hosted by the Aztecs.

The Rockwood File

Jennifer Rockwood begins her seventh season at the helm of BYU's women's soccer program. In six years she has guided her team to three conference championships and four straight appearances in the NCAA Championships beginning with the 1997 season. The Cougars have had two "Sweet Sixteen" finishes in 1998 and in 2000. Her many honors include two Coach of the Year honors, by the WAC in 1996 and in 2000 by the MWC.

Last season, she became the first MWC coach to eclipse the 100-win total on Sept. 23 with a 2-0 victory over Milwaukee-Wisconsin. Entering the 2001 season coach Rockwood ranked fifth among active coaches by winning percentage. She has averaged 18.6 wins per season over the past five years, which ranks second behind only Anson Dorrance of North Carolina for wins per season. Dorrance has won an average of 22.2 matches per season.

Rockwood has also coached in the Utah ODP , the youth club's and high school levels.

Rockwood's Record (13 Years at BYU, 7 with club team)

Division I/years: 118-30-3/6 (.781)

1995 Record: 11-8-1

1996 Record: 22-1-0

1997 Record: 19-4-0

1998 Record: 20-5-0

1999 Record: 21-4-0

2000 Record: 19-4-1

2001 Record: 6-4-1

Rockwood Quotes

We're coming off a very tough weekend road trip. We were able to stay with them the whole game but we just couldn't finish some of our scoring opportunities. Our schedule this year has been a difficult one which we hope has made us better and stronger as the season progresses.

We've been working all season to get to this point now as our MWC schedule begins. As a team we've got to be able to finish those scoring opportunities and we need to have some of our players step up and pick it up offensively. Kim Devine has done a great job and she's improving with each game. We are looking forward to playing both of these games. These teams are solid and they'll be ready to play especially on their home fields so we need to be prepared to play our best.

Travel Itinerary

This week BYU travels to Las Vegas and San Diego for MWC action. The team departs for Las Vegas on Wed., OCt. 10 on a Delta flight leaving at 5:50 p.m., from the Salt Lake International Airport, arriving at 6:10 in Las Vegas. They will stay at the Fairfield Inn, 3550 Paradise Road, 702-791-0899, 702-791-0899, fax. On Oct. 12 BYU departs from Las Vegas to San Diego on a Southwest flight that arrives in San Diego at 1:15 p.m. While there the team will be staying at the San Diego Marina Marriott, 333 W. Harbor Drive, 619-234-1500, 619-234-8678, fax. The Cougar team returns on Sat., Oct. 13 on a Delta Flight that arrives in Salt Lake City at 8:53 p.m.

BYU Media Information For Home Games

At home, the Cougars practice daily from 2:15 to 5 p.m. Player and/or coach Rockwood interviews may be done in advance by contacting Norma Collett at 801-378-4908 or via e-mail at norma_collett@byu.edu

There are no player interviews 24 hours prior to games. The Cougars practice at Haws Field, just west of the Smith Fieldhouse.

Up Next For The Cougars

Next week it's Nebraska on the road on Oct. 17 and then back home for more MWC action. BYU will host conference foe New Mexico on Friday, Oct. 19 in a 7 p.m. kick off at South Field.