Miami Clinches Spot In BIG EAST Championships
Oct. 19, 1999
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – By way of Syracuse’ 0-0 tie with St. John’s on Oct. 17, the Hurricanes locked up fourth place in the BIG EAST Northeast Division and qualified for the BIG EAST Championship in their first season of league play. Miami will travel to BIG EAST Mid-Atlantic Division Champion Notre Dame for its first round match. UM recorded wins over Providence (2-0) and St. John’s (1-0) to secure fourth place.
1999 BIG EAST Standings
(as of 10/17)
Northeast Division BIG EAST Points Overall1. @$Connecticut 5-0-0 15 11-4-02. $Syracuse 3-1-1 10 9-5-23. $Boston College 2-2-0 6 9-5-04. $Miami 2-3-0 6 9-6-05. Providence 1-4-0 3 5-8-06. St. John's 0-3-1 1 8-4-2
Mid-Atlantic BIG EAST Points Overall1. @$Notre Dame 6-0-0 18 11-3-02. $Villanova 4-2-0 12 11-6-03. $Seton Hall 3-3-0 9 8-7-04. $Georgetown 2-3-1 7 8-6-15. West Virginia 2-4-0 6 8-8-16. Rutgers 2-4-0 6 7-8-07. Pittsburgh 1-4-1 4 5-9-1
$ – Clinched BIG EAST Championship berth
@ – Clinched Division Title
GOMEZ MOVES CLOSER TO WATHNE’S SINGLE SEASON ASSIST RECORD: With her assist on Nina Wathne’s game-winning goal against West Virginia, freshman defender Lisa Gomez (Boca Raton, FL/Spanish River) pushed her 1999 assists total to seven. The seven assists moves her into second place on the UM single season assiss list. Wathne holds the single season record with 11 assists during 1998.
Earlier in the season Gomez tallied a school record for consecutive games with an assist with four. Her second game winning assist on the season also tied her with fellow freshman Allison McWhinney for the team lead.
BASS ENJOYS OFFENSIVE SEASON: Sophomore Deidre Bass, one of two team captains on the 1999 season, is enjoying her best year as a Hurricane. Bass, from Coral Springs (Stoneman-Douglass), is currently second on the team with 14 points off of five goals and four assists in 15 starts in the UM defense. As a freshman in ’98, Bass tallied just one assist, while starting all 19 matches.
Against No. 17 Connecticut, Bass assisted on Alexis MacKenzie’s lone UM score. Prior to UConn, Bass scored the game’s lone goal to defeat St. John’s on Oct. 8. In addition, she scored the game-winning goal for the Hurricanes in the season opening victory over Florida State (3-0) and the game-winning assist against Lynn (3-0).
Among the 10 players who were on UM’s inaugural women’s soccer roster last season, Bass is the lone member to have started in the program’s all-time 32 matches.
McWHINNEY MOVES CLOSER TO WATHNE’S SINGLE SEASON SCORING MARK: Freshman Allison McWhinney has recorded 21 points through 15 games of the season. The 21-point total has already landed her at No. 3 in the all-time single season scoring column. The team-record for scoring is 27 points, set by Jenny Sanchez last season. Nina Wathne has the second-highest single-season total with 23 points scored in ’98.
Her eight goals this season also places her behind Sanchez in the single-season goals scored column. Last year, Sanchez led the team with 11 goals. Not only does McWhinney (Danvers, MA/Danvers) lead the rest of the team by at least seven points, she also has a team-high eight goals and places second in assists with five. She scored game-winning goals in UM’s home opener against Long Island and on the road at Providence in the Hurricanes first-ever BIG EAST match. Her game-winning assists occurred in UM’s 4-0 win over Central Florida and 1-0 over St. John’s.
WATHNE DELIVERS A CLUTCH GOAL IN SHUT OUT NO. 8 OVER WEST VIRGINIA: Lone senior Nina Wathne (Haudesund, Norway), one of two team captains on the 1999 season, scored the Hurricanes lone goal in UM’s 1-0 shut out of West Virginia at the Miami Invitational. The game winning goal gives her a team leading three on the season and five for her career. In addition to her game winning score against the Mountaineers, Wathne tallied the game winner in UM’s 3-0 win over Division II No. Lynn and in UM’s 4-0 victory over Central Florida. With her goal, Wathne moves into fourth place with 10 points off of four goals and two assists.
HURRICANES HAVE FAIRED WELL ON THE ROAD: So far this season, the Hurricanes have gone 3-1 in away games and 0-1 in neutral site games outside of Cobb Stadium. The Hurricanes began the season with a 3-0 win over FSU. Next up, the Hurricanes split games at the Black Bear Invitational, defeating host-Maine, 2-0 and losing to New Hampshire, 2-1. UM’s last road win came at Providence, 2-0. UM’s last road loss came at No. 18 Boston College, 3-0. In its inaugural season, UM forged a 3-2 mark with wins at Stetson, FIU and FAU.
HURRICANES BEAT WEST VIRGINIA, FALL TO NO. 17 HARVARD AT MIAMI INVITATIONAL: To start play at the Miami Invitational, the Hurricanes defeated BIG EAST Mid-Atlantic member West Virginia, 1-0. Senior captain Nina Wathne scored the game winning goal off a double assist from Lisa Gomez and Deirdre Foster. The shut out marked the Hurricanes eighth on the season, double the 1998 total. UM keeper Elizabeth Swinson recorded her fourth shut out in goal.
For the third time on the 1999 season, the Hurricanes fell to a ranked opponent – No. 17 Harvard, 2-0. UM held Harvard to a scoreless tie until the 63rd minute of play. The Crimson quickly tacked on another goal one minute later to defeat UM 2-0 on the final day of the Miami Invitational.
MacKENZIE RETURNS TO STARTING LINE-UP AGAINST NO. 17 CONNECTICUT: After sitting out six matches due to an MCL injury to her right knee, sophomore forward Alexis MacKenzie (Plantation/St. Thomas Aquinas) returned to the UM starting line-up for the first time against No. 17 Connecticut on Oct. 10. MacKenzie was able to see action as a reserve on Oct. 8 in UM’s 1-0 win over St. John’s. Against UConn, MacKenzie scored the Hurricanes lone goal.
SWINSON RETURNS, SANCHEZ GOES DOWN – UM RECORDS SHUT OUT NO. 7 OVER ST. JOHN’S 1-0: After sitting out two matches, sophomore goalkeeper Elizabeth Swinson (Boca Raton H.S.) returned to the line-up and recorded a 1-0 shut out of St. John’s.
In the 18th minute, sophomore forward Jenny Sanchez (Ft. Lauderdale/MAST Academy) was lost for the season when she went down with an ACL injury to her right knee. Sanchez had started in every match she appeared in (30).
The Hurricanes lone score came from Deidre Bass in the 23rd minute of play off an assist from Allison McWhinney. McWhinney stole the ball from the Red Storm defense and passed the ball to Bass on 2-on-1 break away. Bass scored from 10 yards out, beating St. John’s goalkeeper Kristina Fogg down the center of the net.
UM RECORDS SHUTOUT NO. 6 OVER DIVISION II NO. 1 LYNN, 3-0: The Hurricanes doubled its assist total from a year ago with six, following a 3-0 shutout of Division II No. 1-ranked Lynn. Nina Wathne recorded the game-winner, while Deidre Bass had the assist. Six of UM’s first 10 games resulted in a shutout victory for the ‘Canes.
With the win, Head Coach Jim Blankenship defeated the team he left to take the head post at Miami a year and a half ago. Blankenship was head coach at Lynn for 12 seasons earning three national titles, finishing runner-up four times and was named National Coach of the Year five times.
UM WINS FIRST-EVER BIG EAST MATCH AND PLAYS AGAINST FIRST NATIONALLY RANKED OPPONENT: Miami traveled to the Northeast to face Providence and No. 18 Boston College to open up BIG EAST play. The Hurricanes defeated the Friars, 2-0, at Glay Field for their first conference win ever. The match with BC marked the first time Miami had faced a nationally ranked opponent. BC was ranked No. 18 in the NSCAA and Soccer America rankings at the time of the match.
UM, SWINSON RECORD FOURTH SHUTOUT OVER UCF: UM recorded its fourth shutout of the season, 4-0, over visiting Central Florida. Nina Wathne, last year’s No. 2 scorer, scored her first points of the season with the eventual game winning goal in the 10th minute. Allison McWhinney had the game winning assist. In her Hurricane debut as a starter, Elizabeth Swinson (Boca Raton, FL/Boca Raton) recorded six saves in goals while the UM defense allowed UCF nine shots.
MIAMI, SANCHEZ SCORE GOALS AGAINST FLORIDA ATLANTIC: The Hurricanes recorded a new team-record with six goals scored against Florida Atlantic, all in the first half. Of those six goals, sophomore forward Jenny Sanchez added a new school-best four. In the game Sanchez recorded another team-best nine points.
HURRICANES SHUT OUT MAINE 2-0, SPLIT MATCHES AT BLACK BEAR INVITATIONAL: The Hurricanes won their third consecutive match to start the season with a 2-0 shut out of Maine in the first match of the Black Bear Invitational in Orono. UM outshot the Black Bears 26-13, including goals from Jordan Sims (Bradenton,, FL/Bradenton Academy) and Allison McWhinney. Sims, a transfer from FSU, scored her first collegiate goal off an assist from Florida transfer Alexis MacKenzie. Goalkeeper Rachel Elsby (Boca Raton, FL/Spanish River) recorded three saves in the win. In the second game, UM fell to New Hampshire, 2-1. The goals were the first given up by UM on the season. McWhinney scored UM’s lone goal.
UM, ELSBY RECORD SHUTOUT NO. 2 AGAINST LONG ISLAND: The Hurricane defense was in full force against Long Island, as the UM ?D? held LIU without a shot the entire first half en route to a 2-0 win. Miami, which scored both of its goals in the first half, outshot the Blackbirds 6-0 in the first half and 14-7 for the game. Rachel Elsby recorded three saves in the game.
UM MATCH WITH FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL RESCHEDULED DUE TO HURRICANE FLOYD THREAT: Miami’s Sept. 14 scheduled match with cross-town Florida International was postponed till Oct. 27 at 7 p.m. due to the threat of Hurricane Floyd to the South Florida coast.
UM KEEPS EDGE IN ALL-TIME SERIES AGAINST FLORIDA STATE: Miami defeated Florida State, 3-0, to open the season on Aug. 29. It marked the Hurricanes second win over the Seminoles in as many seasons, moving the short-lived team’s all-time mark to 2-0 against FSU. UM defeated FSU, 4-2, at Gulliver Prep in its inaugural 1998 season.
SIMS ENJOYS RETURN TO TALLAHASSEE: Sophomore midfielder Jordan Sims played her first season at Florida State, appearing in eight games. As a starter for the Hurricanes in 1999, Sims had the game winning assist against the Seminoles in UM’s season opening, 3-0, win in Tallahassee on Aug. 29.
ELSBY SHUTS OUT SEMINOLES IN 3-0 WIN: Goalkeeper Rachel Elsby recorded 10 saves in the Hurricanes 3-0 win over FSU, while also defending the Seminoles 23 overall shots on goal. The 10 saves tied her career-best, from last season’s win at Jacksonville.
UM PICKED FOURTH IN THE BIG EAST NORTHEAST DIVISION: In its first season of competition in the BIG EAST, the Hurricanes were picked to finish fourth in the Northeast Division behind Connecticut, Syracuse and Boston College. UConn and Syracuse both qualified for last season’s NCAA Tournament. Miami was picked ahead of St. John’s and Providence. Notre Dame was picked to win the BIG EAST’s Mid-Atlantic division.
HURRICANES RETURN MAJORITY OF 1998 OFFENSE: Despite returning 10 players who saw action in the Hurricanes inaugural 1998 season, UM returns the majority of its offensive production. The players returning were responsible for 84 percent of last season’s offense (104 of 124 overall points). Those same players were also responsible for 86 percent of the goals scored (36 of 42) and 80 percent of the assists made (32 of 40).
HURRICANES SECOND-YEAR ROSTER BOASTS 13 NEW FACES: Of the 24 rostered players on the Miami women’s soccer roster, just 11 remain from the 1998 Inaugural squad. Thirteen newcomers grace the UM roster in ’99, including four sophomore transfers.
In addition, inaugural squad member Jana Escribano (Valrico, FL/Bloomingdale) will be making her collegiate debut in ’99 after redshirting last season with an ankle injury.
SOCCER BUZZ RECOGNIZES THE MIAMI SOCCER PROGRAM
Of the 18 division I programs eligible for Soccer Buzz’ first-year programs poll, the University of Miami finished No. 5 nationally in 1998. In addition, UM recorded the second-highest total of wins amongst first-year programs.
Prior to the 1999 season, Soccer Buzz listed Miami’s second-ever recruit signing class as No. 10 nationally and No. 3 in the Southeast region, behind 15-time national champion North Carolina and 1998 National Champion Florida.
1998 Final Poll for
First-Year Programs
Rk Team '98 Record 1. Houston 11-8-0 2. Denver 10-5-2 3. UNLV 8-10-1 4. Long Beach St. 9-11-0 5. Miami 11-7-1 6. Portland St. 7-12-1 7. Drury 12-6-1 8. Purdue 4-14-0 9. Quinnipiac 9-7-210. C. Michigan 6-10-111. Boise St. 5-11-112. Marshall 4-13-113. Idaho 4-13-114. Idaho St. 2-14-115. IUPUI 6-11-016. Tennessee-Martin 2-15-017. Morehead St. 2-15-018. Nicholls St. 0-12-0
TRANSFERS ON THE UM ROSTER: Six players on the UM roster began their respective careers in another schools’ jersey, including:
Kazmeen Moolchan (Jacksonville,’97) – Started all 18 games as a freshman for the Dolphins.
Nina Wathne (Mobile, 96-97) – Over a two season period Wathne stood out for NAIA National Champion Mobile. Wathne was the NAIA National Player of the Year as a sophomore in ’97, as well as First Team All-American in ’96 and ’97.
Alexis MacKenzie (Florida, ’98) – As the Gatorade/Florida Player of the Year at state champion St. Thomas Aquinas as a senior, initially signed with eventual NCAA National Champion Florida. Appeared in 11 matches with one goal and assist.
Jordan Sims (Florida State, ’97) – Initially signed with Florida State after training at the Bolletieri/Adidas Sports Academy in ’97. Saw action in eight matches for the Seminoles.
Anna Gmeinder (Hawaii Pacific, ’97) – Began her career with Sea Warriors last season after a stand out high school career at Sauk City in Wisconsin. Saw 112 minutes of action in four matches.
Elizabeth Swinson (Louisiana State, ’97) – A 15-game starter in the Tiger’s net in ’97. Swinson recorded 122 saves in nearly 1,200 minutes of play. She had a 2.13 GAA and .802 GS% with a record of 5-8-2.
1999 Top 25
Recruiting Classes
1. No. Carolina
2. Stanford
3. Florida
4. Notre Dame
5. Portland
6. Connecticut
7. Harvard
8. Texas A&M
9. California
10. Miami
11. Nebraska
12. Michigan
13. Virginia
14. Washington
15. Penn State
16. Duke
17. Rutgers
18. William & Mary
19. Richmond
20. Indiana
21. Ohio State
22. Northwestern
23. Dartmouth
24. Kansas
25. Princeton
1998 First-Year Program Honors
Nina Wathne*
National Player of the Year
All National First Team
Jenny Sanchez
All National First Team
Deidre Bass
All National Second Team
Lene Ostergard-Hansen
All National Second Team
* Wathne was also selected to Soccer Buzz’ All-Southeast Third Team.
MOOLCHAN GETS HER NAME IN THE NCAA RECORD BOOK WITH A QUICK STRIKE IN ’98: With her goal at the 20-second mark of Miami’s 2-1 win over Kansas, Kazmeen Moolchan earned a place in the NCAA record books. The mark is tied for the 10th fastest in NCAA history. Kristi Cummings of UNC-Asheville scored the fastest goal in NCAA history six seconds from the start of the game vs. Furman on September 18, 1995.
Time Player, Team Opponent Date:06 Kristi Cummings, UNC Asheville Furman 9-18-95:08 Monica Holschauer, UCF No. Illinois 10-6-96:10 Jill Cook, Texas Vanderbilt 10-15-95:11 Simone Ferrara, UC Irvine Central Florida 10-27-97:12 Justi Baumgart, Portland San Diego St. 9-3-95:13 Jen Duran, Arizona Loyola Marymount 9-4-95:15 Shannon Leahy, So. Alabama Howard 10-3-98 Linda Hoffman, Santa Clara Sonoma St. 10-2-90 Michelle McCarthy, Notre Dame Xavier 10-8-93:16 Mandy Clemens, Santa Clara Minnesota 11-22-97:18 Mary Revnew, Marquette No. Illinois 10-9-96:20 Kazmeen Moolchan, Miami Kansas 9-6-98 Katie Mackey, W. Michigan E. Michigan 9-12-96 Kim Smith, Virginia Arkansas 9-20-92 Sufia Wall, San Diego St. Central Florida 10-28-97
Miami When It…
1999 All-TimeScored first 8-0-0 19-1-1Scored second 1-1-0 1-3-0Didn't score 0-3-0 0-6-0Led at half 7-0-0 16-0-0 Trailed at half 0-5-0 0-10-0Tied at half 2-1-0 5-3-0Played overtime 0-0-0 0-0-1Scored one goal 2-2-0 2-5-0Scored two goals 3-1-0 8-2-1Scored three + goals 4-0-0 10-0-0Allowed no goals 8-0-0 12-0-0Allowed one goal 0-0-0 4-1-0Allowed two goals 1-2-0 3-4-1Allowed three + goals 0-4-0 1-8-0vs. ranked opponents 0-3-0 0-3-0vs. unranked opponents 9-3-0 20-10-1vs. BIG EAST Northeast 2-3-0 2-3-0vs. BIG EAST Mid-Atlantic 1-0-0 1-0-0vs. Non Division I Opps. 1-0-0 5-0-0
SOUTHEAST Region Rankings
(as of 10/18)
Team NSCAA Soccer BuzzFlorida 1 2North Carolina 2 1Wake Forest 3 3Clemson t4 4Duke t4 5South Carolina 6 7Georgia 7 9UNC-Charlotte 8 6Furman 9 8East Carolina 10 10Miami ARV ARVFlorida State ARV ARVSouth Florida ARV
Miami in the BIG EAST/NCAA Statistics
(as of 10/18)
BIG EAST – INDIVIDUAL
Scoring Leaders (Overall)
# Player Goals Assists Pointst7 Allison McWhinney 8 5 21t21 Deidre Bass 5 4 14t29 Jenny Sanchez 5 1 11
Scoring Leaders (BIG EAST games)
# Player Goals Assists Pointst13 Deidre Bass 2 2 6
BIG EAST – TEAM
Category Total Rank Goals 28 8Assists 29 6Goals Against 1.53 8Shutouts 8 t1
NCAA – TEAM
Category Avg. RankShutouts Per Game 0.54 t18
NCAA – SINGLE GAME HIGHS
Points Player/Game Rank 9 J. Sanchez vs. FAU (9-10-99) t4
Goals Player/Game 4 J. Sanchez vs. FAU (9-10-99) t3
Miami vs. Opponents
ACC
1-0
America East
1-1
BIG EAST (overall)
3-3
BIG EAST (Northeast)
2-3
BIG EAST (Mid-Atlantic)
1-0
Big West
0-0
Ivy league
0-1
Mid American
0-1
Northeast
1-0
TAAC
2-0
Division II
1-0
