Next Up for Lady Yotes: Rocky Mountain
CALDWELL, Idaho -- The Lady Yotes open up their home soccer schedule this Friday afternoon, hosting Frontier Conference foe Rocky Mountain. The Bears (2-2) head to Caldwell looking to stop a two-game losing streak, although both losses were to Top-10 teams in Concordia and Simon Fraser. Rocky is led offensively by former NAIA All-American Anna Clark, while defensively, former All-American goalkeeper Vanessa Peters has been solid in the net this season. It marks the seventh time the two teams have met, with the Lady Yotes holding a 3-2-1 series edge, including a 1-0 victory over the Bears last season.
YOTES OFF TO STELLAR START: After a 600-mile bus ride, The College of Idaho women’s soccer team made the most of their first-ever trip to California, winning two of the three matches played. It marked the second-straight season that the Coyotes have opened the year with a 2-1 record and the second time in three seasons that the Yotes have won their opening game.
HUGHES NAMED DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: For her efforts on the trip to California, C of I goalkeeper Sadie Hughes (Courtenay, B.C. / Vanier SS) was named Cascade Conference Defensive Player of the Week. The junior did not allow a goal in the first half against Mills and pitched a shutout against Holy Names. For the week, Hughes allowed three goals in 228 minutes in the net, posting a 1.18 goals against average. It marks the second time that she has won the honor in her collegiate career.
GOALS GALORE: The trip to California allowed the Lady Yotes to sharpen their goal scoring skills – something that they struggled with throughout the 2007 season. In fact, in the first three games this season, the Coyotes scored a combined 11 goals – just six shy of the amount the team scored last season in 19 games. The eight goals scored by the team in the victory over Mills was the most goals scored by the Lady Yotes in five years.
SOLID FRESHMEN DEBUTS: Four different true freshmen made a splash during their first-ever collegiate road trip – helping the Lady Yotes to the 2-1 mark. Leading the way was Chelsea Heffner (Meridian, Idaho / Mountain View HS), who scored a goal in each of the first two games – including the game-winner in the victory over Holy Names. Ashley Page (Emmett, Idaho / Emmett HS) had a goal against Dominican and an assist against Mills, with Kelly Hardegree-Ullman (Boise, Idaho / Mountain View HS) registered a goal against Mills. Rounding out the group was Anne Ball (Boise, Idaho / Boise HS), who recorded an assist in the win over Mills.
RETURNERS HAVE BIG TRIP: It wasn’t just the youngsters excelling for the Yotes, returners put up big numbers in the Golden State. Sophomore Jamie Reichel (Boise, Idaho / Capital HS) recorded a hat trick in the victory over Mills, equaling her 2007 season output in the opening game. Emily Dickerson (Nampa, Idaho / Vallivue HS) had two goals against Mills and added a goal and an assist against Dominican – already eclipsing her career totals for goals and assists from her first three years in the program. Rounding out the returners was Mandy Greif (Payette, Idaho / Payette HS), who had a goal and four assists on the weekend – moving her into a tie for third all-time in career assists with 11.
FOUR KEY PLAYERS MISS THE WEEKEND: The Yotes were successful in California despite missing four key players with nagging preseason ailments. Forward Macy Egerman (Boise, Idaho / Boise HS), and defenders Melissa Garrison (Boise, Idaho / Borah HS) and Lauren Winterholler (Idaho Falls, Idaho / North Idaho College) are hopeful to return to the line-up this weekend, while striker Amanda Barrieau (Eagle, Idaho / Eagle HS) will be unavailable.
RECAP – C OF I 8, MILLS 1: Jamie Reichel recorded a hat trick and an assist and Mandy Greif added a goal and three assists, as The C of I recorded their most prolific scoring game in five years, routing Mills College, 8-1, in the season opener for both teams Thursday in Oakland, Calif. Despite a 17-2 edge in shots during the first half, the Lady Yotes were held scoreless until the 40th minute, when the sophomore Reichel scored off an Ashley Page assist to give The C of I the lead. Back-to-back goals from senior Emily Dickerson in the first five minutes of the second half ballooned the lead to 3-0. Reichel added two more tallies, with the junior Greif, and freshmen Chelsea Heffner and Kelly Hardegree-Ullman each scoring one. The Yotes had a commanding 41-5 edge in shots, including 24-4 on goal - while recording all seven corner kicks in the game. It was the most goals scored by a C of I team since 2003, when the Lady Yotes defeated Cascade, 8-1.
RECAP – C OF I 1, HOLY NAMES 0: Chelsea Heffner beat the goalkeeper in a 1-on-1 situation with five minutes left in the opening period and the goal held up, as The C of I knocked off Holy Names, 1-0, Friday in Oakland, Calif. The win for the Lady Yotes helped the squad begin a season with two victories for the first time in the 20-year history of the program. After multiple HNU counter-attacks posed threats early, including a goal disallowed due to an offsides call, the Yotes cashed in late in the period, as Mandy Greif connected with Heffner with a through-ball and beat Brianna Witrado for the game-winner. "It was a weird game," said head coach Niki Taylor. "We had trouble with their counter-attacks in the first half, but they made changes in the second half that played into our strengths. We were able to maintain possession the majority of the second half and preserve the shutout." The Yotes outshot the Hawks (0-1) 8-3, with Sadie Hughes recording the shutout in goal for the Purple and Gold.
RECAP – DOMINICAN 3, C OF I 2 (OT): Eleanna Mendez scored the game-winning goal in overtime off a long throw in, as the Dominican University women's soccer team knocked of The C of I, 3-2, in a battle of unbeaten teams in San Rafael, Calif. on Sunday afternoon. Mendez, who got the Penguins (3-0) on the board in the 26th minute, corraled the long throw in, beat two defenders, and slotted the ball in the back of the net for the winning tally. The Lady Yotes nearly had a victory, as a first half goal by Ashley Page off an Emily Dickerson assist tied the score, with Dickerson tying the game with a goal off an Allie Dufault assist in the 75th minute. The C of I tried to hang on, but Bridget Folan found the net with under five minutes left in regulation to send the game to overtime. The Coyotes had a 9-7 edge in shots - but only three of the shots were on goal.
PRESEASON CCC/NATIONAL POLL: Unlike the CCC Preseason Coaches Poll, the NAIA releases a Top-5 poll for each conference prior to the release of the NAIA Top-25 rankings. The Coyotes were ranked No. 4 in both preseason polls, although the polls do not look alike – as Concordia, Corban, and Oregon Tech are atop the national list, with the Yotes and Southern Oregon rounding out the ranking.
ABOUT THE COACH: Niki Taylor is in her third season as head coach of The College of Idaho women's soccer program. In her two seasons with the Coyotes, she helped the Lady Yotes to their first-ever back-to-back playoff appearances, including their first-ever postseason win in 2007, advancing to the Cascade Conference Tournament semifinals. A graduate of Truman State University in Kirksville, Mo., Taylor was an honorable mention all-conference player for the Bulldogs in 1999 and 2000, helping the squad to an NCAA Division II regional championships. She went on to assist coach Mike Cannon during the 2001 season, helping TSU to the regional finals, then moved West, where she was an assistant for Steve Lucas at Boise State for three seasons. She has also been involved with the Les Bois United Soccer Club for the past five years, while serving as a head coach in the Idaho Olympic Development Program. Taylor has received her USSF "B" Coaching License.