Soccer Weekend Preview
10/22/2003 12:00:00 AM | Soccer
Oct. 22, 2003
Houston Hosts Southern Miss in Home Finale; Closes Out Season at Tulane
The Cougars host Southern Miss in their home finale on Friday night, before heading out to New Orleans to face Tulane in the final match of the 2003 regular season.
The Cougars look to extend their five-game winning streak and improve to 6-0 lifetime against the Golden Eagles . . . The last time the two schools met at Robertson Stadium the Cougars won, 2-1 . . . Southern Miss rests right above Houston in the C-USA with a 1-6-1 mark in C-USA, and is 8-6-2 overall on the year . . . They are 0-3-0 on the road this season, including 0-2-0 in road C-USA matches.
Houston carries a 3-1-1 lifetime mark against the Green Wave heading into this weekend's match-up in New Orleans . . . While in a head-to-head battle for a berth innlast year's C-USA Tourney, Houston and Tulane tied 1-1 in double-overtime . . . Tulane is currently fifth in C-USA with a 5-3-0 mark against league opponents, and 9-5-1 overall . . . In addition, the Green Wave remain undefeated at home this season at 7-0-1, including 4-0-0 in C-USA . . . Tulane fell to TCU, 2-0, on Oct. 19, and face William Carey College on Friday (Oct. 24) night.
Senior Day
In the home finale Friday night, the Cougar soccer team will honor seniors Emily Allwardt and Nicole Aubuchon before they both take the field in the final home match of their four-year careers at Houston. Emily Allwardt: Since her freshman year in 2000, the team captain has carved her name among Houston's best on defense . . . A strong leader in the backfield who is known for her ability to read the field, communicate, tackle and organize the back line and track opponents, the Germantown, Wisconsin, native has started virtually every match during her four years as a Cougar . . . In 2000, she registered a career-high 13 shots en route to receiving Conference USA All-Freshman Team honors . . . During her sophomore season in 2001, Allwardt was a force as Houston tied its school record with five shutouts throughout the year. Nicole Aubuchon: Fellow team captain Nicole Aubuchon has been a staple on the offense at the forward position in her four years in Cougar red . . . The Eureka, Missouri native has started every match and will finish her collegiate career among Houston's all-time leaders in points, goals, assists, game-winning goals and games played . . . During her freshman campaign in 2000, Aubuchon was named C-USA Offensive Player of the Week, led the Cougars with 12 goals, 24 points, shooting percentage and with four game-winning goals en route to being named to the C-USA All-Freshman Team . . . Over the last two seasons, Aubuchon has been a team leader both on and off the field and this year she is second on the team with 26 shots, including 11 on-goal, and ranks among C-USA leaders with two assists and assist-per-game average.
Against Conference USA
The Cougars posted an above-.500 record (4-3-3) against opponents in 2002 and in the 2003 season are 1-7-0 against the conference after picking up a 1-0 shutout victory over the visiting Memphis Tigers on Oct. 12 . . . Houston is 36-24-6 (.546) lifetime against league foes since joining C-USA in 1998 . . . This season's annual C-USA Tournament is slated for Nov. 5-8 in Charlotte, N.C., with the top eight finishers during the regular season earning a spot . . . The Cougars have participated in the annual tourney each of their five seasons.
Saving the Day
Sophomore goalkeeper Sarah Webster recorded 12 saves in Houston's 1-0 shutout win over Memphis on Oct. 12, the most saves by a Cougar goalie since Susan Barra had 13 against UTEP on Sept. 1, 2000 . . . In 11 games played this season, including nine starts, Webster has recorded a team-leading 53 saves en route to three shutouts (each of Houston's wins) . . . In addition, she ranks among C-USA leaders in various catergories: seventh in saves, fifth in save percentage (.803),third in saves per game (5.30), tied for eighth in shutouts (3) and tenth in shutouts per game (0.30) . . . With the combination of Erin Ferguson, Houston ranks third among C-USA with 88 saves overall, a 5.87 per-game average . . . In C-USA games only, Webster leads league goalies with a 6.25 saves-per-game and is tied for second in save percentage with (.833).
Last Time Out: Late Goal Lifts USF Over Houston
Freshman Jessica Zabel scored her first goal of the year with just 12-minutes remaining in the game as the USF women's soccer team handed Houston its seventh 1-0 shutout loss of the year on Sunday (Oct. 19) afternoon at the USF Soccer Stadium in Tampa, Fla. . . . Zabel broke free about the 40-yard mark of the field on an assist by Jenny Mulvihill for a one-on-one opportunity with Cougar goalie Sarah Webster, who had five saves on the day . . . Zabel slid her shot to the back left corner of the net just out of the reach of a diving Webster . . . Midfielder Nikki Hawkins and freshman Sarah Fisher led the Cougars with three shots on the day, while sophomore Beth Outlaw registered two . . . USF out-shot the Cougars 13-9 in the match and held a 4-1 advantage in corner kicks.
Hawkins Named Co-Offensive Player of the Week
Junior midfielder Nikki Hawkins was named Conference USA Co-Offensive Player of the Week for the week of September 15, sharing the honor with Tulane's Lindsay Morris . . . Hawkins scored the Cougars' lone goal on a penalty kick in a 4-1 loss to SEC foe Georgia on Sept. 12 in the Women's College Cup Classic at Meyer Park in Houston . . . Then on Sept. 14 at Robertson Stadium, she registered Houston's lone goal in the 1-1 double-overtime tie with South Carolina . . . For the weekend, Hawkins tallied a total of nine shots, including four on-goal . . . The award is the first such honor for Hawkins, who was named to the Second Team All-Conference in 2002.
On Home Turf
The Cougars have posted a 10-7-3 run over their last 20 home games, including a 1-5-0 mark this season . . . The Cougars' 1-0 shutout loss to UAB on Oct. 11, 2002, at Robertson Stadium halted the Cougars' home win streak at eight games dating back to the 2001 season . . . That loss to UAB was Houston's first on home turf since a 1-0 defeat by UL Lafayette on Oct. 9, 2001 . . . Houston won its final four home contests of 2001, including victories over Memphis, Southwest Texas, Southern Miss and Tulane . . . The Cougars posted 11 straight home wins from 1998-99, beginning with the final six of 1998 and the first five of 1999 . . . The streak was halted by the Saint Louis Billikens on Oct. 29, 1999.S?hen they defeated Houston, 2-1, in double-overtime.
Struggling Cougar Offense
While the defense has been solid, the Cougars have struggled on offensive this season and have been shut out nine times this season, including seven matches 1-0 . . In 16 games in 2003, Houston has been outscored 24-9.
Hawkins Leads the Offense
This season junior midfielder Nikki Hawkins, who was named to the Second Team All-Conference USA last season and picked up C-USA Co-Offensive Player of the Week honors the week of Sept. 15, is Houston's leader on offense and currently leads the squad with 31 shots so far on the year, including 13 shots on goal . . . She also finds herself moving up Houston's all-time top ten in points (32, 4th), goals (14, T3rd), assists (4, T7th) and game-winning goals (6, T1st) . . . Overall, she appears in the top 10 in all eight offensive categories for Houston and leads the Cougars in every offensive category this season . . . She recorded the Cougars' lone score on a penalty kick in their 1-0 shutout victory over Eastern Washington on Aug. 31 in the Baylor Classic, assisted in Houston's first goal and netted the second on Sept. 28 and netted the game-winning goal over Memphis on Oct. 12 . . . She led the 2002 Cougar squad in total points (13) and goals (6) and tied with teammate Kelly Golden with two game-winning goals in all games, while in C-USA games alone she led the team with six points and three goals . . . Her 13 points on the 2002 campaign are the most by a Cougar player since the 2000 season.
On the Airwaves Local soccer fans can follow the Cougars and collegiate soccer every week . . . The Houston Chronicle's Glenn Davis hosts "Soccer Hour with Glenn Davis" every Sunday from 5-6pm on 90.1 FM (KPFT) radio in Houston, and his weekly soccer column appears in the "Sports 2" section of the Chronicle every Sunday.
