Women's Soccer Improves In 1999

Oct. 31, 1999

HURRICANES DO ONE BETTER THAN 1998: Miami finished its inaugural season in1998 with an impressive 11-7-1 record in a regionally dominated schedule.At the close of the 1999 regular season, the sophomore/freshman dominated UMroster combined for a 12-7 overall record.

10 SHUT OUTS IN 12 WINS: Of the Hurricanes 12 wins on the 1999 season, 10have come by shut out. Most recently, UM defeated Boise State 7-0 at CobbStadium.

Last season, UM recorded just four shut outs over Tampa (2-0),Stetson (2-0), St. Thomas (2-0) and Nova Southeastern (5-0).

This season, the other shutouts have come against Florida State(3-0), Long Island (2-0), Maine (2-0), Central Florida (4-0), Providence(2-0), Lynn (3-0), St. John’s (1-0), West Virginia (1-0) and Pittsburgh(2-0).

TWO STRAIGHT SEASONS WITH WINNING ROAD RECORDS: So far this season, theHurricanes have gone 4-2 in away games and 0-1 in neutral site games outsideof 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 has alsodefeated Providence (2-0) and Pittsburgh (2-0) on the road. In itsinaugural season, UM forged a 3-2 mark with wins at Stetson, FIU and FAU.

UM CLINCHES SPOT IN BIG EAST CHAMPIONSHIPS: By way of Syracuse’ 0-0 tiewith St. John’s on Oct. 17, the Hurricanes locked up fourth place in the BIGEAST Northeast Division and qualified for the BIG EAST Championship in theirfirst season of league play. Miami will travel to BIG EAST Mid-AtlanticDivision Champion Notre Dame for its first round match. UM recorded winsover Providence (2-0) and St. John’s (1-0) to secure fourth place.

GOMEZ TALLIES HAT TRICK, PLUS IN 7-0 ROUT OF BOISE STATE: Freshman LisaGomez (Boca Raton/Spanish River) led the Hurricanes with three goals and twoassists in UM’s 7-0 shut out of Boise State on Oct. 31 to close out theregular season at Cobb Stadium. Gomez also tallied the game winning assistin the victory.

Nina Wathne (Haudesand, Norway), UM’s lone senior recognized onSenior Day, totaled one goal and one assist. Sophomores Sharon Williams andAlexis MacKenzie each added a goal and an assist in the win.

GOMEZ MAKES HER MOVE ON SINGLE SEASON ASSISTS LIST: With her two assistagainst Boise State, freshman Lisa Gomez pushed her 1999 assists total to10. The 10 assists places her second 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 consecutivegames with an assist with four. Her three game winning assists on theseason are also a team-high.

McWHINNEY MOVES PAST WATHNE, CLOSER TO SANCHEZ: Allison McWhinney scored twogoals against FIU and has now recorded 26 points through 19 matches. The26-point total moves her past Nina Wathne’s 23 (1998) and one point shy oftying Jenny Sanchez’ program-high 27-point mark in the all-time singleseason scoring column.

Her 10 goals this season also places her behind Sanchez in thesingle-season goals scored column. Last year, Sanchez led the team with 11goals. Not only does McWhinney (Danvers, MA/Danvers) lead the rest of theteam by at least seven points, she also has a team-high 10 goals and placessecond in assists with six.

UM, McWHINNEY KNOCK OFF CROSS-TOWN FIU, 3-2: Allison McWhinney (Danvers,MA) scored twice, including the eventual game-winner in the 86th minute, tolift the UM to a 3-2 victory over cross-town rival FIU.

McWhinney ignited the Hurricanes first-ever come-from-behind win inthe second half with consecutive scores at 66:57 and at 85:11. Overall, UMheld a 20-10 advantage in shots on goal. The win also gives the Hurricanesa 2-1 lead in the all-time series.

McWhinney, the team leader in goals and overall points, now has 10goals and 22 points overall. Sophomore forward Jenny Sanchez, who is outfor the season with an injured left knee, holds the single season record forgoals (11) and points (27) set during UM’s inaugural season in 1998.

CAPTAIN WATHNE DELIVERS CLUTCH GOALS FOR THE HURRICANES IN WINS OVERPITTSBURGH AND WEST VIRGINIA: Lone senior Nina Wathne, one of two teamcaptains on the 1999 season, scored both of the Hurricanes goals in UM’s 2-0shut out win at Pittsburgh. Her first goal, the game-winner, was her fourthgame-winning goal of the season and sixth on her UM career, both programhighs.

Wathne also scored UM’s lone goal in its 1-0 shut out of WestVirginia at the Miami Invitational. In addition to her game winning scoresagainst the Panthers and Mountaineers, Wathne tallied the game winner inUM’s 3-0 win over Division II No. 1 Lynn and in UM’s 4-0 victory overCentral Florida.

DEFENDER BASS HAS OFFENSIVE SIDE: Sophomore Deidre Bass, one of two teamcaptains on the 1999 season, is enjoying her best year as a Hurricane.Bass, from Coral Springs (Stoneman-Douglass), is currently tied for third onthe team with 18 points off of seven goals and four assists. As a freshmanin ’98, Bass tallied just one assist, while starting all 19 matches.Most Recently, Bass scored the game winning goal against Boise State.

Among the 10 players who were on UM’s inaugural women’s soccerroster last season, Bass is the lone member to have started in the program’sall-time 37 matches.

HURRICANES BEAT WEST VIRGINIA, FALL TO NO. 17 HARVARD AT MIAMI INVITATIONAL:To start play at the Miami Invitational, the Hurricanes defeated BIG EASTMid-Atlantic member West Virginia, 1-0. Senior captain Nina Wathne scoredthe game winning goal off a double assist from Lisa Gomez and DeirdreFoster. The shut out marked the Hurricanes eighth on the season, double the1998 total. UM keeper Elizabeth Swinson recorded her fourth shut out ingoal. For the third time on the 1999 season, the Hurricanes fell to aranked opponent – No. 17 Harvard, 2-0. UM held Harvard to a scoreless tieuntil the 63rd minute of play. The Crimson quickly tacked on another goalone minute later to defeat UM 2-0 on the final day of the MiamiInvitational.

MacKENZIE RETURNS TO STARTING LINE-UP AGAINST NO. 17 CONNECTICUT: Aftersitting out six matches due to an MCL injury to her right knee, sophomoreforward Alexis MacKenzie (Plantation/St. Thomas Aquinas) returned to the UMstarting 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 overSt. John’s. Against UConn, MacKenzie scored the Hurricanes lone goal.

SWINSON RETURNS, SANCHEZ GOES DOWN – UM SHUTS OUT ST. JOHN’S 1-0: Aftersitting out two matches, sophomore goalkeeper Elizabeth Swinson (Boca RatonH.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 anACL injury to her right knee. Sanchez had started in every match sheappeared in (30).

The Hurricanes lone score came from Deidre Bass in the 23rd minuteof play off an assist from Allison McWhinney. McWhinney stole the ball fromthe 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 Foggdown the center of the net.

UM RECORDS SHUTOUT NO. 6 OVER DIVISION II NO. 1 LYNN, 3-0: The Hurricanesdoubled its assist total from a year ago with six, following a 3-0 shutoutof 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 ashutout victory for the ‘Canes.

With the win, Head Coach Jim Blankenship defeated the team he leftto take the head post at Miami a year and a half ago. Blankenship was headcoach at Lynn for 12 seasons earning three national titles, finishingrunner-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 RANKEDOPPONENT: Miami traveled to the Northeast to face Providence and No. 18Boston College to open up BIG EAST play. The Hurricanes defeated theFriars, 2-0, at Glay Field for their first conference win ever. The matchwith 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 ofthe match.

UM, SWINSON RECORD FOURTH SHUTOUT OVER UCF: UM recorded its fourth shutoutof the season, 4-0, over visiting Central Florida. Nina Wathne, last year’sNo. 2 scorer, scored her first points of the season with the eventual gamewinning goal in the 10th minute. Allison McWhinney had the game winningassist. In her Hurricane debut as a starter, Elizabeth Swinson (Boca Raton,FL/Boca Raton) recorded six saves in goals while the UM defense allowed UCFnine shots.

MIAMI, SANCHEZ SCORE GOALS AGAINST FLORIDA ATLANTIC: The Hurricanes recordeda new team-record with six goals scored against Florida Atlantic, all in thefirst half. Of those six goals, sophomore forward Jenny Sanchez added a newschool-best four. In the game Sanchez recorded another team-best ninepoints.

HURRICANES SHUT OUT MAINE 2-0, SPLIT MATCHES AT BLACK BEAR INVITATIONAL: TheHurricanes won their third consecutive match to start the season with a 2-0shut out of Maine in the first match of the Black Bear Invitational inOrono. UM outshot the Black Bears 26-13, including goals from Jordan Sims(Bradenton,, FL/Bradenton Academy) and Allison McWhinney. Sims, a transferfrom FSU, scored her first collegiate goal off an assist from Floridatransfer Alexis MacKenzie. Goalkeeper Rachel Elsby (Boca Raton, FL/SpanishRiver) recorded three saves in the win. In the second game, UM fell to NewHampshire, 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 defensewas in full force against Long Island, as the UM “D” held LIU without a shotthe entire first half en route to a 2-0 win. Miami, which scored both ofits goals in the first half, outshot the Blackbirds 6-0 in the first halfand 14-7 for the game. Rachel Elsby recorded three saves in the game.

UM MATCH WITH FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL RESCHEDULED DUE TO HURRICANE FLOYDTHREAT: Miami’s Sept. 14 scheduled match with cross-town FloridaInternational was postponed till Oct. 27 at 7 p.m. due to the threat ofHurricane Floyd to the South Florida coast.

UM KEEPS EDGE IN ALL-TIME SERIES AGAINST FLORIDA STATE: Miami defeatedFlorida State, 3-0, to open the season on Aug. 29. It marked the Hurricanessecond win over the Seminoles in as many seasons, moving the short-livedteam’s all-time mark to 2-0 against FSU. UM defeated FSU, 4-2, at GulliverPrep in its inaugural 1998 season.

SIMS ENJOYS RETURN TO TALLAHASSEE: Sophomore midfielder Jordan Sims playedher first season at Florida State, appearing in eight games. As a starterfor the Hurricanes in 1999, Sims had the game winning assist against theSeminoles 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 10saves in the Hurricanes 3-0 win over FSU, while also defending the Seminoles23 overall shots on goal. The 10 saves tied her career-best, from lastseason’s win at Jacksonville.

UM PICKED FOURTH IN THE BIG EAST NORTHEAST DIVISION: In its first season ofcompetition in the BIG EAST, the Hurricanes were picked to finish fourth inthe Northeast Division behind Connecticut, Syracuse and Boston College.UConn and Syracuse both qualified for last season’s NCAA Tournament. Miamiwas picked ahead of St. John’s and Providence. Notre Dame was picked to winthe BIG EAST’s Mid-Atlantic division.

HURRICANES RETURN MAJORITY OF 1998 OFFENSE: Despite returning 10 playerswho saw action in the Hurricanes inaugural 1998 season, UM returns themajority of its offensive production. The players returning wereresponsible for 84 percent of last season’s offense (104 of 124 overallpoints). Those same players were also responsible for 86 percent of thegoals 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 rosteredplayers on the Miami women’s soccer roster, just 11 remain from the 1998Inaugural squad. Thirteen newcomers grace the UM roster in ’99, includingfour sophomore transfers.

In addition, inaugural squad member Jana Escribano (Valrico,FL/Bloomingdale) will be making her collegiate debut in ’99 afterredshirting last season with an ankle injury.