Women's Soccer Ranked 21st in Latest NSCAA Poll

Sept. 26, 2001

Complete Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader

Marquette, now ranked 21st, has responded to an opening match setback to Oakland by rattling off six consecutive victories. The Golden Eagles will attempt to extend their winning streak to seven and eight and their conference unbeaten streak to 16 and 17 when they visit TCU and Houston.

Marquette and TCU kickoff at 3 p.m. on Sept. 28 at Garvey-Rosenthal Soccer Stadium in Fort Worth. The Golden Eagles visit Houston for a 7 p.m. kickoff at Roberston Stadium on Sept. 30.

The Golden Eagles sit atop the Conference USA standings, having won their first two C-USA contests of the season. TCU is 1-1 in conference play, while Houston is still awaiting their first C-USA win of the year at 0-2.

Scouting TCU

TCU comes into its contest with Marquette after performing one of the bigger upsets in recent Conference USA history. The Horned Frogs upset Saint Louis on Sept. 23, 3-2 in double overtime. Senior forward Jenn Coulson scored her first goal of the season as the game winner.

TCU comes into the match at 3-4 and 1-1 in C-USA play. TCU is led by freshman Laura Greenburg, who has been on a goal scoring run. She scored two against Saint Louis and also scored a goal against East Carolina in a 2-1 loss. Jenny Swanson has also factored into the mix for TCU, with a goal and two assists. Defensively, Shannon Wagner is TCU's force in net. She has a 1.73 goals against average in 570 minutes of play.

Scouting Houston

Houston enters its week with a matchup against Saint Louis before meeting Marquette on Sunday. The Cougars dropped C-USA matches last week and are 1-4-1 overall and 0-2 in C-USA play.

No Houston player has more than one goal. Nicole Aubuchon, Lindsay Beiriger and Laura Repp each have one of Houston's three goals on the season. In contrast, Houston is allowing 11 goals, 10 of which have come in the second half. Goalkeeper Robin Cate is pulling her weight with 45 saves, but has faced 85 shots.

In The Polls

Marquette returns to the NSCAA/adidas top 25 after a two poll absence. The Golden Eagles started the season ranked 24th, and dropped after losing their season opener. A six match winning streak has the Golden Eagles back in the poll, this time at no. 21. In the Soccer Buzz top 25, Marquette is in the also receiving votes category.

In the NSCAA Great Lakes Regional poll, Marquette shoots up six spots after a pair of victories over the weekend. The Golden Eagles are up to third from ninth. Notre Dame and Kentucky are ahead of Marquette. Indiana and Oakland round out the top five.

C-USA Unbeaten Streak

With a 2-0 record in 2001 and a 10-0-1 record in 2000, Marquette has not lost a Conference USA match in over two seasons. Marquette has won five straight C-USA matches and has not lost in 15 conference tilts. The last time Marquette lost a C-USA contest was in 1999 when it lost to Charlotte, 1-0, on Oct. 15.

In the Record Books

Marquette set an NCAA record in fastest time to retaliate to an opponent's goal. Against Illinois, Hollie Schurr scored for the Fighting Illini at 85:14. Six seconds later at 85:20, junior forward Kate Gordon (Sioux City, Iowa) scored off the kickoff from sophomore midfielder Laura Culhane (Brookfield, Wis.). The previous record was 10 seconds each by Ida Hakansson of Eastern Illinois and Holly Toth of Dayton, both in 1999.

Gordon Rising in MU Career Categories

Despite being held scoreless in the first two matches of the season, junior Kate Gordon (Sioux City, Iowa) has found the scoring touch in 2001 and has risen in the record book. With three goals and two assists on the year, Gordon has 68 points and has moved into second all time in career points at Marquette. Kelly Roethe, the career leader, is at a distant 123 points. With the three goals this season, Gordon also has upped her career total to 29, moving her into second. Roethe is the career leader at 49 goals.

Detrie Makes The Most of Her Shot

Junior defender Diana Detrie (Green Bay, Wis.) had only taken three career shots and had not launched a scoring since her freshman season, but she made the most of her attempts in the match with Iowa.

Detrie took a pair of shots on Sept. 2 against Iowa and scored on one of them. Both of her efforts were right-footed blasts from well over 30 yards away. Both attempts were struck with good velocity and were accurate.

Marquette Pair Named Preseason All-Conference

Receiving preseason accolades for Marquette are junior forward Kate Gordon (Sioux City, Iowa) and sophomore midfielder Kristen Jensen (Shorewood, Ill.). Both were named to the preseason All-Conference USA squad.

Gordon, a first team All-Conference and second team All-American in 2000, set a school record for points (40) and goals (17) a year ago as she earned several postseason honors. Jensen scored 12 points on three goals and six assists as she earned first team All-Conference honors in her first collegiate season.

Golden Eagles Tabbed as Preseason Favorites

Marquette has been chosen to repeat as the Conference USA regular season champion in a vote by the league's head coaches. Marquette is predicted to win its third straight C-USA crown.

Marquette ran through the C-USA schedule undefeated in 2000 going 10-0-1, finishing the year at 20-3-1. The Golden Eagles also won the C-USA Tournament for the second straight time to advance to the NCAAs.

Rounding out the top five are Saint Louis, Charlotte, Cincinnati and Houston. C-USA newcomers TCU and East Carolina are picked sixth and seventh respectively.

2001 Statistical Leaders

Goals Kate Gordon 3 Jenny Strachota 3 Laura Culhane 2 Five players 1

Assists Kristen Jensen 3 Laura Culhane 2 Kate Gordon 2 Two players 1

Points Kate Gordon 8 Laura Culhane 6 Jenny Strachota 6 Kristen Jensen 5

Shots Kate Gordon 22 Erin Maysent 16 Laura Culhane 14 Three players 13

Game Winning Goals Laura Culhane 1 Diana Detrie 1 Kate Gordon 1 Kristen Jensen 1 Erin Maysent 1 Jill Vendetti 1

Saves Ashleigh Koenig 29 Katie Bissen 3