Women's Soccer August 04, 2010 CSU Bakersfield Athletic Communications

Experience Leads Women?s Soccer in 2010

The CSUB women's soccer program took the field for its first day of preseason workouts on Wednesday morning. The team will play an exhibition match against the alumni on Sat., Aug. 14, at 7 p.m. with the season opener against Cal State Fullerton on the Main Soccer Field scheduled for Fri., Aug. 20, at 7 p.m. The team will practice every week day from 8–10 a.m. on the Main Soccer Field leading up to the start of school on Sept. 14. The 'Runners will also meet from 4–6 p.m. each day leading up to the Fullerton season opener.

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. - In July, CSUB President Horace Mitchell announced that the Roadrunners had been officially admitted as an NCAA Division I insititution, effectively ending the five year transition process. For the 2010 Roadrunner women's soccer team, the combination of experience and talented newcomers brings a newfound optimism to the program. With a core of five seniors, a stark contrast to the 2009 squad that had no senior presence, Head Coach Nicole Van Dyke knows that the opportunity to make a name for Roadrunner women's soccer is now.

The Schedule
The Roadrunners will take on five Big West Conference -members, four Western Athletic and West Coast Conference schools in addition to a pair of Big Sky programs. Of the 18 scheduled contests, 14 opponents are repeat foes from the 2009 schedule including NCAA Tournament qualifiers San Diego and UC Santa Barbara.

“This will be the most experienced team we have taken against a full Division I schedule,” Van Dyke says. “We have the luxury of playing some of these teams each and every year so this will be a good measuring tool for how far we've come during the transition. We also went out and added a couple of big names in college soccer to really test our squad this year.”

Here are a few of the season's biggest contests:

Aug. 22	@ UC Santa Barbara	The Gauchos were the 2009 Big West Tournament champions and advanced to the NCAA Tournament.
Sept. 5	@ San Jose State	WAC regular season champions in 2009
Sept. 17	@ San Diego	In 2009 CSUB earned the program's first NSCAA West Region team ranking after beating the tournament–qualifying then–No. 13 Torreros on opening weekend. The win was also the Roadrunners' first win over a ranked Division I opponent.
Oct. 7	Fresno State	Battle for the Valley Cup. Trophy has changed hands the past two seasons.
Oct. 16	@ Creighton	Missouri Valley Conference 2009 runner–up
Oct. 29	Seattle	Senior Day. The Roadrunners say goodbye to their five–member senior class
Oct. 31	Cal Poly	2009 Big West Conference regular season champions

The Roadrunners
Forwards: The leading scorer over the past two seasons, junior Kassi Massey, returns up top after appearing in 19 contests in each of the last two seasons. Massey has scored seven career goals with two assists. Splitting time at forward and in the midfield is second-year player Sam Peña who tied Massey's three–goal tally in 2009. Peña made 17 starts and was one of just two freshmen to play more than 1,000 minutes (1,143).

Senior captain Faith Perry rebounded from an injury–shortened sophomore campaign to put together a solid junior year, appearing in all 19 contests with 12 starts. Against Cal Poly, Perry came off the bench to score the first game-winner of her collegiate career. Junior Veronica Ramos saw action in all 19 contests with a goal and an assist. Sophomore Yesenia Reyes started four contests and had a pair of assists last year.

Adding to the mix up top will be Pierce College transfer Stephanie Cubias who was the 2009 Western State Conference Player of the Year. The incoming junior scored 17 goals and 17 assists for Pierce. Monrovia High School's Tyler Shirk, Tulare Union's Taylor Jordan and Fullerton's Adriana Valdez are the team's trio of freshman strikers who will be looking to earn field time.

“Experience is the key to scoring goals in 2010,” says Van Dyke. “It will be nice to have a healthy Kassi and a more experienced Sam Pena. Along with the help of newcomers and Faith, we are expecting a lot more action in the back of the net.”

Midfielders: Senior captain Alexandria Ngo has been the team's leader in the midfield the past two seasons. She played a team–leading 1,755 minutes last year and was one of two players to start in all 19 contests. Ngo showed a flair for the dramatic against Cal State Northridge last year, scoring in the 90th minute to lift the Roadrunners to a 1–0 victory, the first win in program history over the Matadors. Senior Sarah Gaskins is the active career leader in games played, having never missed a match in her three–year career. Last season, the versitile El Cajon, Calif., native started at least one game in every field position for CSUB.

Returning juniors Maritza Rumbo and Kristina Martin Del Campo both contributed important minutes during the 2009 season. Rumbo, who had one assist, and Martin Del Campo each made 15 appearances in 2009.

Ventura College transfer Jessica Fogeltanz enrolled at CSUB after the completion of the 2009 fall season and had the benefit of playing spring soccer with the team. She could position herself for major minutes alongside Ngo in the midfield. Freshman Hannah Farazmand from Redwood High School should also be in contention for minutes in the midfield.

“We have always had a strong running midfield and I feel like we have even further strengthened it with our new additions,” states Van Dyke. “I expect that our captain Alexa Ngo will still run the show in the middle of the park.”

Defenders: The defensive line will feature some of the more intriguing position battles leading up to the season. The one staple of the back four is senior Tara Corcoran, who was one of two players to start all 19 contests in 2009. She played 1,715 minutes, the second highest total on the team. Classmate Leanne Tucker earned made 11 on the back line while appearing in 15 total contest. Tucker will serve as captain along with Perry and Ngo this year. Sophomores Daisy Vazquez and Raquel Gervas both played their way into the regular rotation as freshmen in 2009. Vazquez started 18 of the 19 games she appeared in, compiling the team's fifth–highest minutes total of 1,428. Gervas appeared in 15 contests, making seven starts. She scored two goals, both on penalty kicks. Junior Jamie Havelin made 13 starts on the back line and had two asssts while classmate Breanna Flores made two starts in 14 total games for CSUB.

The program's first–ever Canadian and Colorado residents will be looking to break into the back–line rotation as freshmen. Kelowna, British Columbia native Sydney Mullen and Monument, Colo., native Jade Ryals bring an added demension of height to the squad as both are listed as 5–feet 9–inches. Chaminade Prep's Ryann Appell and Santiago High School's Devin Morgan both completed standout southern California prep careers and will also compete for playing time.

“With all four starters returning in 2010, I expect that we will continue being a stingy defensive team that does not concede many goals,” observes Van Dyke. “We have a group that has played a large amount of minutes together and had a very successful spring season.”

Goalkeepers: The Roadrunners return a pair of goalkeepers for the 2010 campaign. Junior Kym Gause started the majority of the 2009 contests, earning the starting nod in 16 contests. She compiled 90 saves with four shutouts and a 1.44 goals against average. Sophomore Jessica Montaño started three contests, including two of the season's final three games. She made eight saves with one shutout with a 1.33 goals against average.

“Having stability in goal is very important moving from year to year,” says Van Dyke. “Being able to work with both keepers during the offseason means we are that much further along that we have been in years past. Combined with our defensive line, our keepers should help provide a solid last line of defense.”

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