Oct. 15, 2008
LAS VEGAS -
UNLV weekly soccer notes
Following a tough weekend in which they lost road games at both BYU and Utah, the UNLV women's soccer team (9-5-1, 1-2 MWC) is looking to keep itself alive in the conference race when they play their first MWC home games of the year this weekend, against Wyoming on Friday at 5 pm and against Air Force on Sunday at 1 pm. Friday's game against the Cowgirls will also be Breast Cancer Awareness Night for UNLV, and will be part of a doubleheader with the men's team. All games will be played at Peter Johann Memorial Field.
Sophomore forward Ashleigh Shoughro, a transfer from San Diego and a Las Vegas native, leads the Rebels and is fourth in the Mountain West Conference with 20 points off eight goals (including two game-winners), and four assists. Junior midfielder Brianna Moore is next with 11 points (tied 11th), while sophomore midfielder Amanda Forrester and junior forward Niki Connolly both have 10 points each. Junior Alicia Lugo continues to shine in goal, as she is first in the conference with 4.43 saves per games, and also has five shutouts, which gives her 18 in her career, and a 0.93 GAA.
Though UNLV is 9-3 all-time against Wyoming, the Cowgirls have won the last two meetings in the regular season, including in 2006 in Las Vegas by a 1-0 score to ruin the Rebels' Senior Day, and a 1-0 win in Laramie in the final week of the 2007 season that kept the Rebels from clinching the regular season title (though they did win the title in the regular season finale). The Rebels will be facing a Cowgirl team that has won six of its last nine game, and has allowed more then two goals just once during that streak. Wyoming is paced by Amanda Lathrop with 22 points (seven goals, eight assists), while Emily Layton has 15 points (six goals, three assists). Jamie Scarcliff is boasting a 0.81 GAA with 44 saves in 1,338 minutes of action.
The Rebels have won seven straight against its opponent on Sunday, and in fact have not allowed an Air Force goal in over six years, since a 2-1 UNLV win in the 2001 MWC semifinals in Las Vegas. The Falcons will come in looking for both its first league win of the year, and first road victory as well after losing its first three of the season, including a 1-0 loss at Wyoming to begin the MWC schedule. Air Force is led by Bridgett Murphy with 12 points (six goals), while Roni Yadlin has four goals and an assist for nine points. Ashlee Curtis (1.29 GAA), Ariana Green (1.43 GAA) and Erin Wallace (1.79 GAA) have all played at least 300 minutes in goal for Air Force this year.
