Mountain West Conference Women's Soccer Season Begins

BYU and San Diego State favored to battle for the title.

Air Force's Jennie Schoeck is one of seven first-team all-conference performers returning this year in the league.
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Aug. 27, 1999

Inaugural Game
The first-ever Mountain West Conference intra-conference women's soccer matchup will feature New Mexico and Utah in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, October 6. Seven institutions (Colorado State excluded) will field teams in 1999 in hopes of capturing the inaugural crown. The Mountain West Conference postseason tournament will be hosted by San Diego State, Nov. 3-6. All seven teams will participate in the tournament with the top seed receiving a first-round bye.

BYU and San Diego State Ranked in Preseason Polls Picking up where they left off in '98, San Diego State and BYU are ranked 13th and 14th in the nation, respectively, in the 1999 Preseason National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) poll. The Aztecs and Cougars finished 12th and 13th, respectively, in last year¹s final rankings. BYU is also rated 16th in the preseason Soccer Buzz rankings.

1998 Year in Review
1998 proved to be one of the most exciting in the brief history of women's soccer at Mountain West institutions. San Diego State and BYU advanced to the NCAA Tournament and finished the season ranked 12th and 13th in the final NSCAA poll, respectively. The Aztecs captured the WAC Pacific Division title with a record of 6-0-0, one game ahead of the Cougars in the final standings. San Diego State defeated BYU 1-0 in Provo, Utah, during the regular season.

In the championship game of the WAC postseason tournament, the two rivals met again and staged an epic battle. San Diego State's Sufia Wali netted the gamewinner in the 140th minute of the fourth sudden-death overtime to give the Aztecs a 2-1 victory over the host Cougars.

Despite the loss, the Cougars joined San Diego State in the NCAA Tournament and each team reached the Round of 16. BYU defeated Stanford and UCLA before being ousted by eventual Final Four participant Santa Clara. The Aztecs received a first-round bye and defeated Southern Cal before also being defeated by an eventual Final Four participant, Portland.

All-Conference Performers Return in 1999
While it may be the nation's newest Division I Conference, the Mountain West Conference will feature many familiar faces. Seven first-team all-conference performers as well as seven second-team selections will return for the '99 season.

BYU welcomes back four student-athletes who received all-conference recognition in '98, highlighted by WAC Pacific Division Player of the Year and third-team All-American Maren Hendershot. Hendershot finished second in the league with 19 goals and six assists for 44 points. Also returning for the Cougars are second-team choices Athelia Graham, Sara Reading and Staci Reynolds.

San Diego State returns three first-team all-conference selections in Lori LaCoursiere, Elicia Petre and goalkeeper Katherine Judkins. Judkins led the WAC last season with a 0.61 goals-against-average.

Air Force boasts a pair of first-team all-conference returnees in Jenny Schoeck and Becky Wyfells.

Utah's Staci Burt also earned first-team honors after finishing fifth in the league with 13 goals and five assists.

UNLV's Anita Pedford, a second-team all-conference selection, was named the WAC Pacific Division Freshman of the Year after tallying five goals and six assists in the Rebels' inaugural season.

Homefield Advantage
The schools in the Mountain West Conference will look to continue an important tradition ­ defending their homefield. In '98, the seven teams collectively posted a 41-21-4 record (.652) in home contests. BYU led the way with an impressive 11-3 mark (.786), while San Diego State and UNLV matched that percentage with identical 5-1-1 records. Ute Field in Salt Lake City also proved to be a treacherous place as Utah posted a 7-2 record (.778).

Returning Statistical Leaders
While the WAC's top six leading scorers hailed from Mountain West institutions in '98, four will be returning for the 1999 season. BYU's Maren Hendershot and SDSU's Lori LaCoursiere finished second and third in the conference with 44 and 36 points, respectively. Utah's Staci Burt was fifth in the league with 31 points while the Cougars' Sara Reading ranked sixth with 22 points.

Utah's Lorrie Tipton is the top returning playmaker after finishing second in the league with 0.47 assists per game (nine in 19 games), while LaCoursiere ranked third with 0.43 (10 in 23 games)

LaCoursiere is the only returning player to finish in the top four in all three scoring categories (points, goals and assists), while Hendershot is the top returning goal scorer with a total of 19.

Back in Goal
Several squads will be bolstered by the return of their goalkeepers. San Diego State's Katherine Judkins is back for her senior season after leading the WAC with a stellar 0.61 goals against average. She allowed just 13 goals in 23 games with eight solo shutouts and shared on five other shutouts.

BYU's Jennifer Waldron was also solid in goal in just her second year at the collegiate level. She was second in the league with a 1.17 goals-against-average.

Air Force's Kristy Kuhlman, Wyoming's Amanda Vandervort and New Mexico's Shelly Hammock all ranked in the league¹s top-15 in goals against average as underclassmen.

Non-Conference Opponents
Mountain West Conference institutions will once again compete against the top teams in the nation during the non-conference season. BYU has the most ambitious non-conference schedule with five opponents that appeared in last year's NCAA Tournament, while San Diego State has four.

Last year, Mountain West Conference institutions posted a 60-48-4 (.554) mark outside of the league. The Cougars led the way with a 17-3 (.850) non-conference record, including wins over tournament qualifiers Michigan, Stanford, California and UCLA.

San Diego State was 15-3-1 (.816) outside of the WAC with victories against UCLA, California, UNC-Greensboro and USC. Utah also claimed its share of non-conference victims with an 11-5 (.688) mark including a win over tournament-qualifier Washington.

Mountain West Conference institutions held a 15-13-1 (.534) edge over their WAC counterparts, as well as an impressive 11-3-1 (.767) edge against the Pac-10.

Roster Facts
* Nearly a quarter of all the soccer student-athletes in the conference hail from the state of California. In addition to the 20 athletes found on the San Diego State roster, six will play for the UNLV Rebels this season.

* The state of Utah will also be well represented with 32 student-athletes in the conference. All but two will suit up for BYU or the University of Utah.

* Air Force's roster features the most diversity with 15 states represented. The Cadets roster boasts players from places such as Pennsylvania, Minnesota, Georgia and Tennessee.

UNLV Back for More
1999 will mark the second year of women's soccer at UNLV. Under the leadership of Head Coach Staci Hendershott, the Rebels got out of the gates quickly in '98 with seven wins in their first 10 games. Despite a late-season slide, UNLV did make an impression nationally and was named the third-best new program in the nation by Soccer Buzz magazine.

Looking to Make Their Move
Several teams in the Mountain West Conference will field almost identical squads as last year as they try to unseat league powers, BYU and San Diego State. Air Force returns all 11 starters and 17 of 19 letterwinners from a year ago, including first-team all-conference selections Jennie Schoeck and Becky Wyfells.

UNLV will have 10 starters from '98 in the fold and 16 of 18 letterwinners. The Rebels will build around WAC Pacific Division Freshman of the Year Anita Pedford.

New Mexico welcomes back nine starters and 16 of 18 letterwinners, including second-team all-conference selection Jayme Dieringer.