WILMINGTON,
North Carolina - The No. 3 seed UNCW women's soccer team
continues its quest for the program's second CAA Tournament title in four
seasons as it faces No. 2 seed Drexel in the first semifinal of the 2012 CAA
Women's Soccer Championship Friday in Williamsburg, Va.
Kickoff
between the Seahawks and Dragons is set for 5 p.m. at Albert-Daly Field on the
campus of William & Mary. The winner of Friday's UNCW-Drexel semifinal will
play the winner of the other semifinal between No. 5 seed Hofstra and top seed
William & Mary Sunday in the championship game at 2 p.m. The tournament
champion receives the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
Staying Connected
Live stats will be available for Friday's
game and can be accessed here.
The CAA will also offer a free video stream for
the game that can be accessed by clicking here.
Fans can also keep up with updates from the
UNCW women's soccer program by following the team's twitter account (@UNCWSoccer).
Information for the women's soccer program
and all 19 of UNCW's varsity intercollegiate programs can also be found by
checking out the department's Facebook (UNCWsports)
and Twitter (@UNCWAthletics).
Seahawk Notes
UNCW is making its 12th overall appearance in
the CAA Women's Soccer Championship and its first since capturing the
tournament title in 2009.
The Seahawks have compiled a 5-10-2 overall
record in the CAA Championship and are undefeated in their last three
championship contests (2-0-1).
UNCW advanced to the tournament semifinals
with a 4-3 victory in penalty kicks over Delaware on Oct. 28 at the UNCW Soccer
Stadium. The two sides played to a 1-1 draw through regulation and overtime
before the Seahawks advanced by winning the shootout.
The shootout victory over the Blue Hens
marked just the second time in program history that the Seahawks have had a
game decided by penalty kicks. UNCW posted a 5-4 shootout win over East
Carolina in the first round of the 1996 CAA Championship, a game that was also
played at the UNCW Soccer Stadium.
Senior forward Stephanie Rose has enjoyed a
breakout season, leading the CAA in both goals (13) and points (37). The
Jacksonville, N.C., product is also second in the league in assists, having set
a new school record with 11 helpers in 2012.
UNCW has put together one of its best defensive
efforts in school history as the squad has combined to allow just 18 goals,
matching the 2006 squad for fewest goals allowed in a season.
The team has also recorded nine shutouts this
season, equaling the school mark in that category that was established in 2009.
The Seahawks have also
been clicking offensively all season as they have combined to score a
league-high 43 goals while adding 37 assists for 123 points. That total
represents the third highest point total in school history, trailing only the
1997 and 1998 squads that saw UNCW tally 133 and 167 points, respectively.
The Seahawks are just one victory away from
matching the program mark for wins in a season. The 2006 squad established the
program standard with 13 victories and the 2009 team equaled that total on its
way to capturing the school's first CAA Championship.
Scouting Drexel
Drexel enters the tournament as the No. 2 seed
after finishing the regular season with a 7-2-1 record in CAA play and a 13-3-2
overall mark.
The Dragons have won three in a row and six of
its last seven matches. Two of their last three wins have come via the shutout,
including a 1-0 win against Delaware in the regular-season finale at Vidas
Field.
Junior Sam Greenfield, who scored the
game-winning goal in the Dragons win against the Blue Hens in the regular
season, paces the Dragons attack with 11 points on the strength of a team-high
five goals.
Senior Alex Vazquez and freshman Gabby Dixon have
provided depth to the lineup as the duo has tallied three goals apiece for Head
Coach Ray Goon's squad.
In goal, sophomore Eve Badana paced the CAA in
the regular season with 10 shutouts and a 0.66 goals against average. Badana also
ranked second on the circuit with a .836 save percentage.
Series Notes Versus Drexel
UNCW holds an 8-2-1 edge in the all-time
series with Drexel.
The Seahawks have enjoyed the edge in the
series of late, winning four of the last five matchups between the two
programs.
Drexel's lone victory in that stretch came in
a 3-1 home triumph over UNCW last September.
UNCW improved to 5-0-1 at home against the
Dragons with a 2-0 victory at the UNCW Soccer Stadium on Sept. 28.
The two sides are meeting at a neutral site
for the first time in program history.
Five of the previous 11 meetings between the
two programs have gone to overtime.
Seahawks Ranked Ninth In NSCAA
Mid-Atlantic Poll
For the second straight week, UNCW was ranked
in ninth place the National Soccer Coaches Association of America's (NSCAA)
Mid-Atlantic Region Poll.
UNCW had been ranked or receiving votes in
the first eight polls of the ranking that features teams from the CAA, Atlantic
10, Ivy and Patriot leagues prior to
moving out of the rankings two weeks ago.
The Seahawks are one of three CAA squads
either ranked or receiving votes in the NSCAA Mid-Atlantic Poll as fellow CAA
championship participants William & Mary (3th) and Drexel (5th) are also
among the top 10.
Seahawks Record Tie Against
No. 3 Wake Forest
UNCW posted its first win or tie against a
top 10 opponent when it played to a 0-0 draw against No. 3 Wake Forest at the
Hilton Garden Inn Hokie Invitational in Blacksburg, Va. on Aug. 19.
The draw also marked the Seahawks first
result against an opponent from the Atlantic Coast Conference as they had
compiled a 0-11-0 mark versus the league prior to the tie with the Demon
Deacons.
Hunter Honored For Solid
Opening Weekend
Senior keeper Caitlin Hunter was recognized
by various outlets for her play in the Hilton Garden Inn Hokie Invitational in
mid-August.
On Aug. 20, Hunter was named the Colonial
Athletic Association Women's Soccer Co-Player-of-the-Week and was selected as
the CAA Player-of-the-Week by the online publication College Sports Madness.
Hunter was also selected as the keeper for
the Soccer America Women's Team-of-the-Week on Aug. 22.
Hunter allowed just one goal in 211:37 in
guiding the Seahawks to a 0-1-1 result against two ranked opponents at the
Hilton Garden Inn Hokie Invitational.
The Ashburn, Va., product made six saves in a
1-0 double-overtime loss to host No. 22 Virginia Tech in the season opener on
Aug. 17 before posting 10 saves in a 0-0 draw against No. 3 Wake Forest on Aug.
19 to record her eighth career shutout.
Currie Recognized By
Collegesoccer360.com
UNCW senior midfielder Kim Currie was
recognized by Collegesoccer360.com in early September, earning Primetime Player
accolades from the online publication for the week of Sept. 3-9.
Currie was recognized after earning MVP
honors in the UNCW Courtyard Marriott Wilmington Invitational, tallying five
points on two goals and an assist to lead the Seahawks to the tournament title
with shutout victories over Campbell and Troy.
She opened the weekend with a goal in the
Seahawks 3-0 victory over the Camels and capped the event with a goal and an
assist in UNCW's 4-0 blanking of the Trojans.
Rose Named To Soccer America
Women's Team-of-the-Week
Senior Stephanie Rose was named to the Soccer
America Women's Team-of-the-Week on Oct. 25 following her nine-point
performance in the Seahawks road victories at Towson and George Mason in
mid-October.
Rose, who was also named CAA
Player-of-the-Week for her efforts, opened the weekend with a goal and an
assist in the Seahawks' 5-2 victory at Towson on Oct. 19 before exploding for
six points as she scored twice and added two assists in UNCW's 4-0 shutout of
George Mason on Oct. 21.
She is the second UNCW player to be
recognized with the honor as fellow senior Caitlin Hunter was named to the
weekly squad following her performance at the Hilton Garden Inn Hokie
Invitational in August.
Rose Named To Preseason CAA
Squad
UNCW senior forward Stephanie Rose was named
to the Preseason All-CAA Women's Soccer Team on Aug. 15.
Rose, a native of Jacksonville, N.C., earned
Third-Team All-CAA accolades last season after leading the Seahawks in scoring
with 10 points on a team-high five goals.
Record Watch
Senior Stephanie Rose is currently second
place on the program's career points list with 85 points (33 G, 19 A) and is
second on the squad's single-season points chart with 37 (13 G, 11 A).
With her goal in the regular-season finale at
Georgia State on Oct. 24, Rose surpassed Kristine Mengle for second place on
the school's career scoring chart (84).
Rose is now also just nine points shy of
matching Christy Timbers single-season scoring record (46).
Rose currently sits in third place on the
program's career goals chart (33) and is in sole possession of third place on
the single-season goals list.
With her two assists at George Mason on Oct.
21, Rose moved into first place on the program's single-season assists chart
(11).
Rose enters the CAA Semifinals needing just
one assist to match Timbers for first place on the school's career assists
chart (20).
Senior keeper Caitlin Hunter finds herself
ranked on four of the program's career charts, entering the week in first place
in wins (29), second in saves (335), second in save percentage (.809) and fifth
in goals against average (1.27).
Hunter's victory against Towson on Oct. 19
moved her into sole possession of first place on the school's career wins
chart, surpassing former keeper Meghan Fitzsimmons.
Hunter's five-save shutout against Georgia
State on Oct. 24 was her seventh of the season, breaking a five-way tie for
first place on the program's season shutout chart.
The win against the Panthers also moved
Hunter into first place on the school's season victory chart with 12.