Cougars Set For First Road Trip Of Season

On their first road trip of the year, the No. 13 ranked BYU women's soccer team travels to Chicago for two games, against Minnesota on Sept. 8 and at Northwestern on Sept. 10.

Last Game Recap

In the Cougars home opener against USC, goals by Sarah Higham and Kelly Hunsberger lifted BYU to a 2-0 shutout over the 19th ranked Trojans. The next night the Cougars weren't so lucky as the visiting Volunteers from Tennessee handed BYU their first loss of the year, a 2-1 victory for the visitors. FReshman Kim Devine scored the lone Cougar goal late in the game.

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

• Aleisha Cramer played on the U.S. Under-21 National Team this summer and is one of only five college players to be invited to the U.S. National Training Camp this Sept., to play on the U.S. Cup.

• 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 (After 2 Games in 2001)

• 17 Aleisha Cramer - MF, So (1A, 1PT, 6SH)

• 23 Sarah Higham Yee - MF, Sr (1G, 0A, 2PTS, 3SH)

• 00 Jennifer Waldron - GK, Sr (2 GA, 1.00 Average GA, 1 SHO)

Newcomers To Watch (After 2 Games in 2001)

• 15 Kim Devine - 5-5 F/Fr, Laguna Niguel, CA (Played in both games, 1G, 1A, 3PTS)

• 9 Krissa Campbell - MF/F, Fr, Folsom, CA (Played in both games, 2 shots)

• 9 Kimmie Davies - MF/F, Fr, Torrance, CA (Started in one game, 1 Shot)

Cougar '01 Quickie Stats - After 2 Games

• Averaging 13.5 shots on goal per game

• Averaging 1.5 goals per game

• Average1.5 assists per game

• Average 3.0 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

After two home games to date, the BYU team has compiled a 1-1-0 record with a 2-0 win over USC and a 1-2 loss to Tennessee. The 2001 Cougar team is comprised of five returning starters and an experienced roster of letterwinners headlined by All-American Aleisha Cramer. She and senior midfielders Sarah Higham Yee and Jennie Christianson will assume key roles along with returning starters Jeni Willardson Viernes, Aurelin Weidner and Jennifer Waldron. The explosive BYU offense will remain intact with Cramer, Yee and Viernes who will be assisted by a highly touted freshman class of scoring threats in Kim Devine, Krissa Campbell, Twaink Krainik and Erin Stock.

Injury Report

Returning defender Farrah Hofheins is out for the season after suffering a torn ACL in practice last week. Amber Anderson Johnson is questionable for this week's games due to back muscle spasms.

Minnesota Notes

The Golden Gophers opened their 2001 season this past weekend and tallied a similar record to BYU's with one win a loss. The win was against Xavier 1-0, with the Minnesota goal coming with just five minutes remaining in the contest. Then on Sept. 2, Minnesota lost to Cincinnati 2-0 with both goals coming in the second half. The Golden Gophers return eight starters from last year's 8-10-1 team.

Series Record: 1-0 in favor of BYU. The Cougars and Golden Gophers played each other last season on a neutral field and picked up the 2-0 shutout.

Northwestern Notes

First Year head coach Jenny Haigh opens the 2001 season at Northwestern with sight returning starters from last year's 3-12-2 team the finished ninth in the Big Ten Conference. Senior forward Katie Hertz tops the scoring list for the Wildcats with four goals and two assists for her 10 points in 2000. Northwestern has already played two games to date with a x-x record. They host St. Mary's on Sept. 8 before playing BYU on the 10th.

Series Record: 1-0 for BYU. The two teams met during the 1999 season with the Cougars grabbing the 8-1 victory.

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: 113-27-2/6 (.796)

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: 1-1-0

Coach Jennifer Rockwood Quotes

(On the Cougars) We're looking forward to playing again especially after we had some mixed results in our first two games. We've had a full week to practice and get some things worked out. We're a young team and this weekend we'll have eight new starters in our lineup because of not having Aleisha in the lineup.

(On Minnesota) We played them last year and had a good game. It will be difficult to match up with them because we're a young team this season.

(On Northwestern) This is a team we haven't played in a while. But we're certain they'll give us a battle on their home field.

Travel Schedule

While on the road this week, The Cougars will stay at the Doubletree Hotel in Skokie, Illinois at 9599 Skokie Blvd, 847-679-7000, 847-679-9841, fax. The team departs on Friday, Sept. 7 on Delta Airlines at 10:10 a.m., arriving at Chicago O'Hare Airport at 2:24 p.m. On the return flight on Monday, Sept. 10, the departure is also on Delta Airlines leaving at 6:50 p.m., and arriving in Salt Lake City at 9:20 p.m.

BYU Media Information

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

After their first road trip of the 2001 season, the team returns to South Field hosting Montana on Sept. 14 and Marquette on Sept. 15. Both games are set to kick off at 7 p.m.