No. 13 Women's Soccer Plays First Conference Home Game
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Oct. 9, 2001
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MEET THE COACH: Steve Swanson is in his second season as the head coach of the Virginia women’s soccer team. He took over the position from current United States National Team Head Coach April Heinrichs in the spring of 2000. In his second season, Swanson holds a 18-10-2 record at the helm of the Cavaliers. Swanson finished the 2000 campaign, his first in Charlottesville, with a 11-8-1 overall record and led the Cavaliers to their second consecutive appearance in the third round of the NCAA Tournament. before falling to eventual champion North Carolina, 2-1. Three Virginia players received postseason accolades, including midfielder Lori Lindsey, who was named Virginia’s first-ever Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Year. Swanson came to Virginia after two highly successful stops at Stanford and Dartmouth. At Dartmouth, Swanson guided the Big Green in to national prominence. He did an equally impressive job at Stanford, helping to maintain the Cardinal’s standing as one of the premier teams in the country. Swanson left after four years at Stanford. During his four seasons with the Cardinal, Swanson guided his team to a record of 48-27-4, two Pac-10 championships and three NCAA Tournament appearances. His 1999 squad finished with an impressive 14-4-1 record, captured a Pac-10 title and advanced to the third round of the NCAA tournament. Three of Swanson’s players were named to the 1998 All-Pac-10 team and four earned Pac-10 All-Academic recognition. Swanson also coached the 1998 Pac-10 Co-Player of the Year.
LAST WEEK: The Cavaliers have won three in a row, and are winners of five of their last seven. Both victories last week came over nationally-ranked teams William & Mary and Brigham Young. Freshman Lindsay Gusick scored her fourth goal of the year, her second game-winner in as many games, in a 1-0 victory over William & Mary. Lori Lindsey knocked in another overtime goal, giving the Cavaliers a 3-2 win over Brigham Young. Earlier this week, Virginia defeated George Mason, which improved their record against in-state opponents to 3-0 with a 1-0 shutout victory over George Mason. Laura Gaworecki scored her second goal of the season in the victory.
THIS WEEK: The Cavaliers play their first home ACC match of the season with a Wednesday night game against Maryland. Looking ahead, the Cavaliers play three consecutive road games before closing out the regular season with three consecutive ACC games at home. Two of those next three road games are in-state road trips at James Madison and Richmond.
IN THE ACC: The Cavaliers are currently in fourth place in the ACC with a 1-1 conference record, behind Florida State who is 3-0, followed by North Carolina and Wake Forest at 2-0, and Clemson at 2-1. The Cavaliers look to go 2-1 in the conference with first conference game on Oct. 10 against Maryland.
NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK: The Class of 2001 is one of the finest recruiting classes in the history of the program. Soccerbuzz.com ranked the class number one in the nation, but most importantly this year’s first-year group will get a chance to contribute early and add depth to the team. All seven freshman come from seven different states, while five of them were NSCAA All-America selections at one point of their career. Katie Bunch (St. Louis, Mo.), Jamie Fabrizio (Carmel, Ind.)and Lindsey Gusick (Livonia, Mich.) are two-time NSCAA All-Americans. Gusick is a three-time member. Bunch was also a three-time all-state selction and four-time U.S. National team member. Fabrizio was named 2000 NSCAA player-of-the-year as a senior, and helped her team to consecutive state championships. Fabrizio and Bunch were teammates on the U-19 team. Gusick was also a Parade All-American and a member of the U-16 and U-17 National teams. Gillian Hatch was named to the Parade All-American team and was a two-time all-state selection. Erin Lycan, a goalkeeper from Hixson, Tenn., was a two-time all-state selection as well. The last two members of the first-year class represent both coasts of the country. Jessica Trainor (Sparta, N.J.) was an NSCAA All-America selection as a senior while Taylor Wood (San Ramon, Calif.) was a two-time NSCAA All-America selection.
FIRE AWAY: First-year Lindsay Gusick has been on a tear as of late. Gus did not start the first five games and had 11 shots with no goals up to that point. She has started the last five games and over that span has 31 shots, five goals and one assist and is second on the team in scoring with 11 points. In addition to Gusick’s success, Jessica Trainor has been a valuable midfielder so far and proving to be very durable. She has logged 873 minutes in her first year, third best on the team, and she has one assist. Katie Bunch also has one assist on the season, and has started in nine of the Cavaliers’ ten games, proving to be strong on defense. Jamie Fabrizio and Gillian Hatch have also proved to be valuable on defense, each starting in seven contests.
MOVIN’ ON UP: Seniors Darci Borski and Lori Lindsey look to move up on the all-time lists. Borski, who is patiently awaiting her return to the Virginia lineup after a stress fracture in her right leg during the preseason, has 52 career points, and needs seven points this season to crack the top 10. Lori Lindsey, with her seven goals this season, two shy of equalling her previous career high of nine set in both her first and third years, has now moved into eighth place on the career goal list. With 15 points this season, she has 65 for her career.
MORE ON LORI: Lindsey, the 2000 ACC Player-of-the-Year, is currently tied for fourth among ACC scorers with 15 points. Her seven goals are second in the conference and is fourth in goals per game.
AND BEFORE WE FORGET: Look for Gusick to make a move into the conference’s elite scorers, as she sits tied for fourth in the ACC with four other players with five goals scored.
PROTECTING THE NAME: The Cavaliers have scheduled five games with opponents from around the state, playing their first in-state opponent, Liberty, on Sept. 26. So far, they’re 3-0 against in-state opponents, with road games at James Madison (10/13 and Richmond (10/17). In the three meetings this season with in-state opponents, the Cavaliers have not yielded any goals, outscoring Liberty, William & Mary and George Mason by a combined score of 9-0. Here is a look at how the Cavaliers have fared against other schools from the state.
OH CAPTAIN, MY CAPTAIN: The 2001 captains are seniors Laura Gaworecki, Lori Lindsey and Tammy Westinghouse. Lindsey enjoyed a true breakout year, leading the team in scoring Other seniors include Borski, Lindsey Grubbs, Megan Leo, Ashley Meeker, Ashley Mowery and Heather Terry. Meeker was a valuable asset to the team last year, starting and playing in 18 games last season after being forced to the defender spot after injuries. She still came through with seven points, while playing out of position. Leo played in one game last season, and will also provide leadership to thie year’s team. Mowery will provide depth to the goalkeeping corps while Grubbs and Terry are coming off injuries. Gaworecki started all 20 games a year ago, adding one goal and four assists. Gaworecki has already equalled her point production from last year, tallying two goals and two assists this year, including a game-winner against George Mason. Westinghouse is back after missing last season with a knee injury, and is one of the more versatile athletes on the team. She currently leads the team with three assists, tied with sophomore Erin Engelhardt.
AMERICA SALUTES YOU: On September 4th, Lori Lindsey was named to Soccer America’s Team of the Week, following her two-goal performance in a 3-0 win in the opening game of the season over Mississippi. Three weeks later, Ashley Meeker was called upon, following her five point scoring barrage in a victory over N.C. State (2-0), which she scored both Cavalier goals and an assist which helped the Cavaliers to a tie with No. 10 Florida. Lindsey and Meeker are two of nine ACC players to achieve the distinction this season.
SENSATIONAL SOPHOMORES: The Cavaliers have a solid class of five sophomores who got valuable experience as first-years and definitely played a role in last year’s success. With one year under their belt, thesophomore class looks to have an even bigger role on how far the 2001 team goes. Sarah Lane, who scored three goals and one assist through two exhibition games, and was a member of the ACC All-Freshman team last season while playing in all 20 games and starting 17. Lane has started every game this season and has one goal this year. Opposite Lane on the Cavalier midfield is Erin Engelhardt, who played in all 20 games and started in 19 of them. This year, Engelhardt has started in eight games and is tied for the team lead in assists with three. She is fourth on the team in scoring, all five of her points coming in the last five games. Melissa Somadelis also started in 17 games a year ago, playing in 20 last season. Somadelis continues to be a valuable defender, and has played in all ten games, starting in three, and contributing one assist thus far.
LIKE A ROCK: Jodi Clugston, another talented sophomore, in just her second season has become one of the top goaltenders in the country. She has appeared in 16 games, starting in 12 of those. Of those 12 starts, five of them have been shutouts, including the season opener against Mississippi. She needs two more shutouts to break into the school’s top-five list for career shutouts. Currently with a 0.48 goals against average this season, Clugston contributed to a shutout victory over William & Mary and a 3-2 overtime win over BYU.
THERE’S SOMETHING ABOUT ANNE: Sophomore Anne Abernethy, playing in her first collegiate experience these last three games, has done a remarkable job filling in for Jodi Clugston. She picked up a win in her first start, over West Virginia, made six saves in a losing effort against Auburn, and in just her third collegiate game, shutout N.C. State in the Cavaliers’ ACC opener. She made a career-high four saves agains Florida, and has made 31 saves in nine games and has three shutouts already this season, with a goals against average of 1.02.
DOUBLE TROUBLE: In just ten games this season, UVa already has four multiple-goal games by three different players. Lori Lindsey scored two goals in the first game of the season, a 3-0 win over Mississippi. Fellow senior Ashley Meeker, who had scored two goals in her previous three years, scored two unassisted goals in a 2-0 win at N.C. State. Lindsay Gusick broke onto the scene two games after Meeker with a hat trick, sparking a 7-0 whitewashing of Liberty. Lindsey came out with another two-goal performance, including the game-winner, in a 3-2 victory over BYU.