Northwestern University Athletics
Women's Soccer Plays St. Mary's, BYU This Weekend
9/6/2001 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Sept. 6, 2001
EVANSTON, Ill. - After a modestly successful weekend in Utah, the Northwestern women's soccer team makes its 2001 home debut this weekend by hosting a pair of doubleheaders.
The Wildcats will meet St. Mary's (Calif.) on Saturday at 1 p.m. in the first of two matches, followed by Minnesota and Brigham Young. On Monday, Minnesota and St. Mary's kick things off at 11:30 a.m., followed by the Wildcats and the Cougars at approximately 2 p.m.
All matches will take place at Lakeside Field.
Last weekend, the Wildcats made Jenny Haigh's head coaching debut a success. Katie Hertz (Orland Park, Ill./Carl Sandburg) and Enyo Dzata (Eugene, Ore./South) scored first-half goals, and they stood up in a 2-1 win over Utah State. On Monday, Northwestern engaged No. 7 Washington in a neutral-site match and gave the Huskies all they could handle before succumbing in overtime, 1-0.
"I think we established a good foundation with team character, in terms of fight and character," said Haigh. "We learned some valuable things about ourselves as a team."
St. Mary's (2-0) comes to Evanston fresh off winning the UNLV Classic championship. The Gaels came from behind to defeat Washington State (3-2), then downed Long Beach State (2-1). In the win over WSU, St. Mary's overcame a 2-0 deficit and rode a natural hat trick by freshman Katie Frattone to victory. Another freshman, Jenny Barbera, had two assists in that game and followed it up with a goal in the win over Long Beach State.
"St. Mary's will match up very well with us," said Haigh. "They're an up and coming program, and have have improved every year for the last several years. They are knocking on the door of being a Top 25 program, and if we can beat them it would be a very respectable win for us."
Brigham Young (1-1) began the season ranked 13th in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) poll, but fell out after a 2-1 home loss to unranked Tennessee. However, prior to that the Cougars opened the season with a 2-0 shutout win over No. 19 USC.
"We will have to be ready and sharp and have a good game on Monday," said Haigh. "Brigham Young is a team that will capitalize on our mistakes, so we need to be prepared."
