Tech Concludes Non-Conference Play at Alabama Friday
September 15, 2010 | Women's Soccer
Sept. 15, 2010
This Week's Match
Alabama • Friday, Sept. 17 • 7 p.m. • Alabama Soccer Stadium
The Match
Texas Tech (7-1) wraps up non-conference play this week with just one match at Alabama (4-2) on Fri., Sept. 17, at 7 p.m., at the Alabama Soccer Stadium.
On the Web
There will be live video and live stats available for the match and can be accessed at www.texastech.com on the Texas Tech soccer schedule page.
The Red Raiders
After picking up two more shutouts last weekend, the Texas Tech soccer team is off to a 7-1 start heading into its last non-conference match. In the win over North Texas, freshman Jessica Disabella scored the game-winning goal on a free kick in the 84th minute. Then it was Disabella who got the assist on the game-winning goal by sophomore Sarah Ellison in the 56th minute versus Oral Roberts. On the year, junior Taylor Lytle leads the team points with nine, and is tied with freshman Jessica Fuston with a team-best four goals. Fuston has a team-high 12 shots-on-goal, while Disabella also leads the team in shots-one-goal with 12 and 23 shots. Disabella and freshman Mallory Yacullo both have a team-best three assists. Head coach Tom Stone is in his fourth year at the helm of the Red Raiders with a career record of 30-27-7.
The Opponent
Alabama owns a 4-2 record after splitting matches last weekend. The Crimson Tide lost at then No. 20 Memphis, 4-1, on Friday and shutout Middle Tennessee, 3-0, at home on Sunday. At Memphis, the lone goal came from freshman Ariel Amijo on an assist from Kendall Khanna. In the win over Middle Tennessee, senior Victoria Frederick scored the game-winning goal on an assist from senior Rosaly Petriello. Senior Brooke Rogers followed it up with two more goals. Sophomore Ashley Willis picked up the assist off of Rogers' first goal. On the year, Rogers leads the Crimson Tide in points with eight and in goals with four. Six players have each recorded one assist. Freshman Molly Atherton has a team-best 20 shots, while Frederick has a team-high 10 shots-on-goal. Todd Bramble is in his third year as head coach of the Crimson Tide with a record of 19-22-3. He is in his 10th year as a head coach with a career record of 99-73-20.
Series Record
It is just the second meeting between Texas Tech and Alabama after the Crimson Tide won 2-1 in double overtime last year on Sept. 18, in Lubbock. Last season, the Red Raiders outshot Alabama, 30-6, in a heartbreaking loss to the Crimson Tide.
Looking Ahead
Big 12 Conference action begins at Oklahoma on Fri., Sept. 24, at 7 p.m. The Red Raiders then play at Oklahoma State on Sun., Sept. 26, at 1 p.m. Tech opens Big 12 play at home on Fri., Oct. 1, vs. Colorado at 7 p.m. and on Sun., Oct. 3, vs. Nebraska at 1 p.m. Tech then returns to the road for games at Texas on Fri., Oct. 8, at 7 p.m., and at Texas A&M on Sun., Oct. 10, at 1:30 p.m.
A Season of Firsts
After starting the season off 5-0, the Red Raiders have already made their marks in the record books. The 5-0 start is the best in school history against Division I opponents and to go along with those five wins have been five shutouts. The five shutouts is the first time in the program's history that a Tech team began the season with five-consecutive shutouts.
Nearing School Record
The Red Raiders head into the game at Alabama looking for their eighth shutout of the season. If Tech is fortunate enough to get a shutout over the Crimson Tide, it will tie the school record for most shutouts in a season. The Red Raiders had eight shutouts in 1995.
All-Tournament Team, Again
Texas Tech had six players honored for their play during the Red Raider Classic Sept. 10 and 12. Sophomore Haley Fowler was named the Defensive MVP, while sophomore Erin Wikelius took home Goalkeeper MVP honors. Four other Red Raiders were named to the all-tournament team - junior Taylor Lytle, sophomores Sarah Ellison and Tiffini Smith and freshman Jessica Disabella. It was Lytle's second all-tournament team selection this season.
Disabella Scores First Collegiate Goal
It took almost 85 minutes to get the game-winning goal, but that's exactly what freshman Jessica Disabella did against North Texas. It marked the first collegiate goal for the Flower Mound, Texas, native. She followed it up in the next game with an assist on the game-winning goal against Oral Roberts. It was her third assist on the year.
Ellison Notches Third Goal
Sophomore Sarah Ellison notched her third goal of the season and her first career game-winning goal against Oral Roberts, which came in the 56th minute of the match.
First Career Shutouts for Wikelius
Sophomore Erin Wikelius recorded back-to-back shutouts against North Texas and Oral Roberts for the first two shutouts of her career. On the weekend, Wikelius played all 180 minutes collecting seven saves.
Disabella Named Big 12 Newcomer of the Week
Freshman Jessica Disabella was named the Big 12 Newcomer of the week for her performances against North Texas and Oral Roberts. Disabella totaled three points on the weekend as the Red Raiders improved to 7-1 and notched their sixth and seventh shutouts of the season. The midfielder secured her first collegiate goal on Friday, the game-winner in the 84th minutes as Tech edged North Texas, 1-0. On Sunday, she provided the assist for the game-winning goal as the Red Raiders defeated Oral Roberts, 1-0.
Season-High Attendance
Texas Tech soccer has become a big hit around the Lubbock community, especially in the last couple of years, and it was evident again on Sept. 10, as Tech had a season-high 1,558 fans at the match against North Texas.
All-Tournament Team
Three Red Raiders graced the All-Tournament team at the Inn at Saint Mary's Classic hosted by Notre Dame. Junior Taylor Lytle, sophomore Dawn Ward and freshman Hayley Haagsma were all honored for their stellar performances that weekend.
NCAA Stats
As of games through Sept. 12, senior Colleen Pitts ranks 15th in goals against average at .364 and 17th in saves percentage at .905, among all Division I players. As a team, Texas Tech ranks second in shutout percentage at .875, fifth in goals against average at .250, sixth in save percentage at .935 and 14th in won-lost percentage at .875, among all Division I teams.
Pitts Has Five Shutouts
Senior Colleen Pitts has picked up all five shutouts this season giving her a career total of eight. She currently stands fourth on Tech's career shutouts list.
McCall Gets First Assist
Junior defender Casey McCall got her first assist of the year on junior Taylor Lytle's game-winning goal versus Ole Miss. It marked the second assist of her career with the first coming last season against Iowa State.
Moving on Up
Junior Taylor Lytle continues to move up the charts on Tech's career lists. Lytle jumped to second on Tech's career shots list with 175. Her 46 career points is tied for fifth all-time. Her game-winning goal against Ole Miss gives her five in her career, which ranks tied for fourth all-time. That goal also gave her 13 career goals, moving her to 10th (tied) on the career goals list. Sophomore Dawn Ward also jumped to sixth on the career goals list as she has scored three goals this season.
Receiving Votes for the First Time
Another first in the history of the program took place the week of Aug. 30, as the Red Raiders received votes in the NSCAA/HendrickCars.com National Rankings (top 25 poll). Tech got 14 votes in the poll which is voted on by a panel of Division I college coaches. Tech received eight votes on Sept. 7 and nine on Sept. 14. Tech got seven votes in the Soccer Times top 25 poll as well on Sept. 14.
Fuston Named Big 12 Newcomer of the Week
Freshman Jessica Fuston was named the Big 12 Newcomer of the week for her performances at Northwestern State and Rice. Fuston started both of Texas Tech's matches last weekend and played all 90 minutes at Rice. The freshman forward scored her third and fourth goals of the season on Sunday against the Owls and is tied for third in the conference with eight total points.
First Half Goals Tied for Second
Freshman Jessica Fuston's two first-half goals against TCU and Rice are tied for second on the single-game list for first half goals. The record for most goals in the first half is three set by Chessa Purser against Prairie View A&M in 2006 and Brittney Harrison versus Northwestern State in 2008.
Fuston Earns Honors
Freshman forward Jessica Fuston made her collegiate debut Aug. 20 and 22, and her standout efforts did not go unnoticed. The Cedar Park, Texas, native garnered TopDrawerSoccer.com Team of the Week honors. Fuston was the only Big 12 player named to that week's team.
Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week
Senior goalkeeper Colleen Pitts received her first Big 12 honor as she was named the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week on Aug. 24, for her performances against TCU and Texas State. Pitts recorded two shutouts as she played all 90 minutes in both matches and tallied 10 saves on the weekend.
Four Freshmen See Quality Minutes
Four freshmen continue to see quality minutes in their first season of collegiate play. Three freshmen - Jessica Disabella, Jessica Fuston and Hayley Haagsma all started all four contests while Mallory Yacullo was one of the top non-starters in minutes played.
Filling the Stands
The Lubbock community continues to be big supporters of the Tech soccer team as the Red Raiders drew over 1,200 fans at each of the first two matches. Against TCU, 1,356 people witnessed Tech's season-opening victory, while 1,285 fans took in the Texas State win.
Lytle, McCall Named Captains
Tom Stone has called upon two juniors to lead this team as Taylor Lytle and Casey McCall have been named team captains for the 2010 season.
Lytle Preseason All-Big 12
After a stellar sophomore campaign, junior Taylor Lytle looks to continue on her success into 2010 as she was named preseason All-Big 12. Last season, Lytle became only the school's second player all-time to be named first team All-Big 12, while breaking the school's single-game and single-season assist records.
Williams Redshirting
Sophomore Conner Williams is redshirting the 2010 season after suffering a knee injury during summer club play.
From Freshmen to Sophomores
In 2009, three freshmen made a name for themselves throughout the season. Sophomores Dawn Ward, Tiffini Smith and Morgan Johnson were all three named to the Big 12 All-Newcomer team. Tech received more freshmen recognition than any other Big 12 school.
Summer Success
This summer Texas Tech had seven players win a national championship at the 2010 US Youth Soccer National Championships in Overland Park, Kan. Sophomores Erin Wikelius, Conner Williams, Morgan Johnson and Haley Fowler and freshman Jessica Fuston were part of Lonestar `91 that won the U19 national championship, while freshmen Gabby Kaufman and Hayley Haagsma led Laguna Hills Eclipse to the national title for the U18. Haagmsa also received the Golden Ball as the tournament's MVP.
Attendance Records Set in 2009
Two thousand and nine saw the opening of one of the best soccer facilities in the country as the John Walker Soccer Complex made it debut. The 1,728 fans in attendance at Tech's home finale against Oklahoma State not only set a new John Walker Soccer Complex record, but it also broke the school record that was previously set against Notre Dame in 2004. The John Walker Soccer Complex attendance record was broken three different times last season as the program averaged 908 fans per match.
