Women's Soccer Notebook - Week 3

Box Score COMING UP: vs. Whitman, Tuesday, 6 p.m.; vs. Trinity Lutheran (in McMinnville, Ore.), Friday, 1 p.m. (PT); at Linfield, Sunday, Noon (PT)
 
LAST WEEK: vs. Sierra Nevada (W 9-0)
 
LIVE STATS/LIVE VIDEO: Live Stats and Live Video of Tuesday's match with Whitman will be available online through C of I's streaming portal at (http://portal.stretchinternet.com/yoteathletics). The Live Video stream is a pay-per-view fundraiser for the women's soccer program, costing $7.95 per game or $29.95 for the season.  This weekend in Oregon, both matches will have Live Stats at http://www.linfield.edu/sports/sports-stats/soccer-live-stats.html?sport=ws, while Live Video will be available for the Sunday match vs. Linfield at http://portal.stretchinternet.com/linfield
 
GOAL PARTY ON SUNDAY: Playing their first game of the season on the home Simplot Stadium pitch, the Lady Yotes took advantage of a two-man advantage for the entire 90 minutes, tallying their biggest goal total in 22 years in a 9-0 victory over Sierra Nevada.  With SNC only able to field nine players due to eligibility issues, C of I had eight different players score goals, recording the third-highest goal total in program history. Over two decades ago, C of I scored more goals – 15 goals on Oct. 22, 1993 vs. Western Baptist and 11 goals on Oct. 26, 1993 at Western Baptist.
 
REWRITING THE RECORD BOOK: Though no single-game record was broken by the Lady Yotes, there were multiple records that were threatened by the squad.  Along with the third-highest goal total in a game, the seven assists by C of I equaled the third-highest assist total in a game, while the 41 shots taken by the club equaled the fifth-highest shot total in a contest.
 
YIZAR EARNS CCC HONOR: For her efforts in Sunday's victory, Jamiece Yizar (Pocatello, Idaho / Highland HS) was named Red Lion-Cascade Conference Offensive Player of the Week.  The junior scored two goals, including the first score of the game, along with assisting on a third strike.  It is the second time in her career that Yizar has earned the CCC honor.
 
WITHOUT THE FRESHMEN: The Lady Yotes had just 19 players in uniform for Sunday's match, as the entire freshmen class was on a bus to McCall for the annual Freshmen Orientation.
 
BEST STARTS: The 2-0 start by the Lady Yotes is their best since 2011, when the club equaled the 2-0 mark.  In fact, each year from 2008 to 2011, C of I opened with back-to-back wins.  Only once in program history (1993) have the Yotes started a season with three-straight victories.
 
NEARING 100: With C of I's win over Sierra Nevada, Lady Yote head coach Brian Smith is just two wins away from notching his 100th victory at the collegiate level.  The skipper won 82 games as men's head coach from 2004-12 and has added 16 victories with the Lady Yotes.  Smith is second only to the 205 wins by longtime Coyote leader, John Calpin, on the C of I soccer wins list.
 
OPPONENT PREVIEW – WHITMAN: C of I opens a long week vs. Division III rival, Whitman.  The Missionaries (9-7-4 in 2014), picked third in the Northwest Conference preseason poll, will be making their 2015 debut in Caldwell, returning a stellar goal keeper in Haley Case (0.90 GAA, 67 saves) and their top-five scorers, including Lena de Guzman (3 goals, 4 assists), Clara Merlino (3 goals, 4 assists) and Danielle Wieck (5 goals). It is the tenth all-time meeting, with Whitman holding a 6-1-3 series edge – though the Yotes ended an eight-match winless drought against the Whits, winning 3-1 in 2006.
 
OPPONENT PREVIEW – TRINITY LUTHERAN: The Yotes head to Oregon this weekend for two matches on the campus of Linfield College, starting with a neutral site game vs. Trinity Lutheran.  The Eagles (2-1), a second-year NAIA program, is riding a two match win streak, picking up road wins over Mills and Bethesda.  TLC is led by the tandem of Breann Moran (3 goals) and Taylor Cannal (3 goals), while keeper Colby Smits (1.00 GAA) has been solid in net.  It is the third meeting between the teams, with C of I winning 4-1 in 2010 and 3-0 in 2011 – both in Caldwell.
 
OPPONENT PREVIEW – LINFIELD: For the first time since 1995, the Lady Yotes will tangle with Linfield College.  The Division III Wildcats are coming off a 15-4 season and their fourth-straight second-place finish in the Northwest Conference.  Though the squad lost three All-NWC picks to graduation, the Cats return talented midfielders Emma Vukic (2 goals, 7 assists) and Marisa Specht (3 goals, 1 assist), along with top defender Kendra McSheridan (1 goal, 1 assist).  The teams have met 12 previous times, with C of I holding an 8-1-3 series edge.
 
CONFERENCE/NAIA TOP-25 POLLS: C of I was picked to finish sixth in the 2015 Cascade Conference Preseason Coaches' Poll, announced Aug. 11 by the league office. The Lady Yotes received 97 voter points by the 12 league coaches. Defending CCC regular-season champion, Northwest, claimed 10-of-12 first-place votes and earned the top spot, followed by Corban and newcomer, Carroll College. Southern Oregon was ranked fourth by the coaches, followed by Rocky Mountain and C of I. In the NAIA Preseason Top-25 Poll, Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) earned the top spot, followed by Northwestern Ohio, Keiser (Fla.), Cumberland (Tenn.), and Martin Methodist (Tenn.), with Northwest the only CCC team in the ranking, sitting at No. 20.
 
CUMULATIVE STATS: Complete statistics for the 2015 season are available online at http://yoteathletics.com/custompages/stats/wsoccer/2015/teamstat.htm.
 
GAME RECAP – C OF I 9, SIERRA NEVADA 0: Playing 11-on-9 for the entire match, the C of I used a 41-1 edge in shots to record their most prolific win in 22 years, routing short-handed Sierra Nevada, 9-0, at Simplot Stadium. Jamiece Yizar scored two goals and added a helper and Katelyn Benavidez (Saugus, Calif. / Saugus HS) scored a goal and had two assists in the win against the first-year program. Yizar got the Yotes on the board in the 11th minute, as Benavidez played a corner into the middle of the 6-yard box, with Yizar touching home the counter.  Despite dominating the run of play, C of I could not find the net until two minutes before halftime, when Hailey Woods (Meridian, Idaho / Meridian HS) unleashed a 25-yard strike from the left side of the pitch, giving the hosts a 2-0 lead. A flurry early in the second half put the game away, scoring three goals in a four minute span.  Sabrina Mallett (Las Vegas, Nev. / Sierra Vista HS) logged her first career goal to start the run, chipping a 20-yard shot over keeper McKenzie Cheever's head.  Julia Fretwell (Meridian, Idaho / Renaissance HS) got into the act just 27 seconds later, making a nice run up the right side, ripping a 15-yard strike into the right corner of the net.  Transfer Mariah Dean (Caldwell, Idaho / Northwest Nazarene U.) made it 5-0 in the 61st minute, touching home a rebound off a blocked shot. Keeper Brittany Houghton was never challenged in the match, as SNC played just one ball into the box all afternoon.
 
ABOUT THE COACH: Head coach Brian Smith is in his 12th season as the Director of Soccer at the C of I and is in his fourth season as women's soccer head coach.  He currently has a 98-91-14 all-time record, including a 16-27-5 mark with the Lady Yotes. As head coach of the Coyote men's program, Smith was named CCC Coach of the Year at the conclusion of the 2006, 2008, and 2010 seasons.  He has coached 36 All-CCC performers; 22 NAIA Scholar-Athletes; and four NAIA All-Americans in his 11 years as Director of Soccer. The USSF Class "A" licensed coach has has guided his teams to four postseason appearances - three in the CCC Championships and an NAIA regional berth.  In 2006, his men's squad advanced to the NAIA Region I tournament semifinals, before losing to eventual champion, Westminster, while in 2008, his men's team defeated Warner Pacific in the CCC semifinals, before dropping a 2-1 decision to Concordia in the title game.  In 2010, his men's team lost a CCC semifinal to Warner Pacific in penalty kicks, while last season, his women's squad dropped a 2-0 decision to Warner Pacific in the CCC quarterfinals. Smith led the Coyote men to a CCC co-championship in 2006, while in 2008, helped C of I to the only unbeaten, untied regular-season in CCC history in winning the South Division crown. Prior to coaching at the College, the Boise native had a highly successful high school coaching career, directing the Timberline High boys program from 1999-01 and the girls program in 2002 and 2003.  Smith was named Idaho 5A Coach of the year in 2001 and Southern Idaho Conference Coach of the Year in 2003. A 1994 graduate of the College with a political science degree, Smith was a four-year letter-winner and helped C of I to a 35-21-1 record as a player for longtime coach, John Calpin, earning All-District honors. He has served as a coach with the Boise National Soccer Club; the Les Bois United Soccer Club; and with the Idaho Olympic Development Program - while currently serving as a team coach with FC Nova and their entry in the ECNL.
 
FOR MORE INFORMATION: For more on the C of I women's soccer program, visit the official homepage of the Lady Yotes, http://yoteathletics.com/index.aspx?path=wsoc&tab=1.