Aug. 21, 2010

Complete Game Notes

Memphis, Tenn. – After a hard fought season opening victory at Saint Louis on Friday night, the 18th-ranked University of Memphis women’s soccer team will open the 11-match home schedule on Sunday at 6 p.m. versus Samford.

Samford travels to the Bluff City with a 0-1-0 record after falling to the Alabama Crimson Tide on Friday night. The Bulldogs were unable to score in the final 10 minutes after trailing Alabama 2-0 much of the match. Head Coach Todd Yelton and the Bulldogs finished 2009 with a record of 12-1-5 and return seven starters from the 2009 squad.

Lizzy Hildebrandt converted the game-winner for the Lady Tigers on Friday in St. Louis, Mo. After an Alena Strnadova put Memphis ahead 1-0 at half, SLU battled back to tie the game, but Hildebrandt punched in the game-winner to give Memphis its fifth-straight victory in a season opener on the road.

Live streaming for Sunday’s match will be available through gotigersgo.com. Due to some internet and connectivity problems at the Mike Rose Soccer Complex the stream will be at about 40 percent the quality that should be expected. The University of Memphis and the men’s and women’s soccer coaching staffs are working hard to fix this problem.

PRESEASON RANKINGS
• For the first time in program history, the Lady Tiger soccer program received a top-25 preseason ranking. Memphis is ranked 18th in Soccer America’s preseason top-25 poll.

PRESEASON AWARDS
• Senior forward Ashley Berra was selected as the 2010 C-USA Preseason Offensive Player of the year. Berra claimed the 2009 C-USA Offensive Player of the Year honors after an explosive 15 goal, eight assist season. Berra was also selected as one of 25 preseason All-Americans by Soccer America. • Senior midfielder Vendula Strnadova joins Ashley Berra on the C-USA Preseason All-C-USA team. Strnadova is a three-time, first team All-C-USA selection with 19 career goals. Strnadova was also selected as one of 30 candidates for the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award.

HERMANN TROPHY WATCH LIST
• Memphis senior forward Ashley Berra and senior midfielder Vendula Strnadova were named to the 45-player watch list for the 2010 Missouri Athletic Club Hermann Trophy as announced by the National Soccer Coaches Association (NSCAA). • Considered the highest individual honor in intercollegiate soccer, the recipients of the MAC’s Hermann Trophy are selected by Division I head coaches who are current members of the NSCAA. A list of 15 semifinalists is selected by a coaches committee in November, with three finalists announced in early December.

HEAD COACH Brooks Monaghan
• Monaghan finished 2009 with his 110th career victory over UCF in the finals of the C-USA Tournament. In 2010, Monaghan will look to add to his program record career winning total. Monaghan has a record of 111-81-11.

THREE…IS THE MAGIC NUMBER
• As winners of three-straight C-USA Championships, the Lady Tigers have had immense success when scoring three or more goals in a match. Since 2005, Memphis is 31-1-1 when scoring three or more goals in a match.

SENIOR CLASS SUCCESS
• As winners of three-straight C-USA Championships, the senior class of Ashley Berra, Brittany Hance, Laura Laufenberg, Amanda Olszewski, Vendula Strnadova and Krista Turner are chasing program history as the winningest class. With 49 wins, the seniors need 11 victories to surpass the 59 victories that the class of 2006-09 posted. The class of 2010 has posted a win percentage of .743 (49-16-3) which is the best win percentage in program history by a senior class.

FRESH FACES
• The Lady Tigers will introduce seven newcomers to the 2010 squad. Kelley Gravlin joins the midfielder core for the Lady Tigers. Avery Dellheim and Ashley Barksdale join the talented squad of defenders. Rasheeda Ansari, Emmaleigh Davis and Christabel Oduro offer versatility as each will like see playing time at multiple positions. Alena Strnadova joins her sister, Vendula, in the midfield for the Lady Tigers.

HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE
• With 11 home matches in 2010, Memphis will look to continue the home field success gained in recent years. Over the last six seasons, the Lady Tigers have posted a record of 39-16-2 at Mike Rose Soccer Complex. In C-USA action at Mike Rose Soccer Complex, Memphis has posted a 21-8-1 record in the last six seasons.

DEFENSE WINS CHAMPIONSHIPS
• A sign of a championship team is their play on the road. The Lady Tigers have claimed win after win on the road the last three championship seasons. Memphis has a record of 19-4-2 on the road the last four seasons and is 12-2-2 in C-USA road contests.

SISTER ACT
• The Lady Tigers will have a sister act in the midfield in 2010. Three-time, first team All-C-USA selection Vendula Strnadova is joined by her sister, Alena “Aja” Strnadova, in 2010. The Las Cruces HS products will look to terrorize midfields over the course of the season. • Vendula has appeared in 66 career matches for the Lady Tigers, posting 19 goals and 10 assists entering her fourth season. • Alena “Aja” scored her first career goal versus SLU on Friday, giving the Strnadova duo three points on the night.

RECORD BOOK
• Ashley Berra ranks fifth in career points with 65 points in three seasons. The 2009 C-USA Offensive Player of the Year is ranked fourth in career goals with 26. Berra has registered 158 career shots to enter the 2010 campaign ranked fifth. • Vendula Strnadova climbed to second in career shots in 2009 and with six shots in the season opener the senior needs 10 shots to claim the top spot in the program record book.

PROGRAM NEARS 150 VICTORIES
• As coach Brooks Monaghan enters his 11th season as head coach, the U of M women’s soccer program nears the 150 win plateau. The Lady Tigers had one 10-plus win season in the first nine seasons as a program, but Memphis has won 11-plus games the last six seasons. With a program record of 145-141-15, the Lady Tigers are over .500 for the first time in program history.

1-2 PUNCH
• Seniors Ashley Berra and Vendula Strnadova give Memphis one of the top scoring duos in C-USA. The duo combined for 20 goals and 12 assists in 2009 which accounted for 40 percent of the Lady Tigers’ offense.

CLEAN SHEET
• In 2009, the Lady Tiger defense posted a school-record 12 shutouts in 23 matches. Limiting opponents to an average of 0.87 goals per game was a key to the championship success of 2009. In 2010, junior goalkeeper Elise Kuhar-Pitters is expected to anchor the defense after posting a single-season school-record 11 shutouts in 2009.

REDSHIRT RETURN
• Redshirt senior Laura Laufenberg will return for her fifth season in 2010 after suffering a season-ending knee injury six games into the 2009 season. Also returning from injury is redshirt-junior Melissa Smith who also played in six matches before being sidelined with a knee injury.

TOPDRAWERSOCCER TOP 20
• TopDrawerSoccer.com released its top-20 rankings for each conference in mid-August and four Lady Tigers made the top-20. Ashley Berra was awarded the number one ranking and Vendula Strnadova was ranked sixth. Elise Kuhar-Pitters was ranked eighth to give Memphis three student-athletes in the top-10. Taylor Isenhower was ranked 17th in the top-20 to give Memphis the most student-athletes of any C-USA program.

GAMETRACKER
• If you can’t make it to the game, you can still follow the Lady Tigers. Every home game can be viewed on Gametracker. Just go to GoTigersGo.com, click on “Gametracker” on the side bar under women’s soccer and follow the action from any computer.

LIVE CHAT
• This season, the University of Memphis media relations department will seek to provide live chat of all home sporting events as well as select road matches. To participate in the live chat, find the live chat link on the schedule page or click on the link in the preview for that match.

UP NEXT
• The Lady Tigers will continue a home stand when SEC power LSU visits Mike Rose Soccer Complex. Match time is set for 7 p.m. on Sat. Aug. 28.