Aug. 17, 2009

Complete Women's Soccer Release in PDF Format

IN A NUTSHELL: The 13th-ranked University of San Diego women's soccer team will open its 2009 season at home in the friendly confines of Torero Stadium this Friday with a 7 p.m. non-conference match against Cal State Northridge. The Toreros will then travel to Bakersfield to take on the Roadrunners of Cal State Bakersfield on Sunday with a 7 p.m. non-conference match.

TOREROS TABBED SECOND IN WCC PRESEASON POLL: The University of Portland garnered the maximum seven first place votes and was selected as the preseason favorite in the 2009 WCC women's soccer head coaches preseason poll. The Pilots are followed in the poll by 2008 NCAA Tournament participant San Diego, which was picked second, Santa Clara third, and Pepperdine tabbed fourth. Rounding out this year's poll was Loyola Marymount, picked fifth, followed by Gonzaga in sixth, San Francisco in seventh, and Saint Mary's eighth. San Diego returns eight starters including 21 letterwinners overall from last year's squad that posted a 15-5-3 overall record and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The Toreros, who posted a program-best 6-1 WCC record last season, will be led by 2008 All-WCC first team member Jackie Zinke, who was also named to the preseason all-conference team, and Natalie Garcia, Elissa Magracia, and Stephanie Ochs, all of whom were named to the 2008 All-WCC freshman team.

SCOUTING THE MATADORS: Cal State Northridge will also be kicking off their 2009 season against the Toreros on Friday, then remain in San Diego and take on San Diego State on Sunday as a Dan Diego double-header. Last season, the Matadors finished with an overall record of 8-9-2 and were picked to finish fifth in the Big West preseason coaches poll. Junior forward Farryn Townley is the leading returning goal-scorer from last season, as she scored four goals. Anchoring down the defense for the Matadors will be junior goalkeeper Leah Elliott. Last season, Elliott posted an overall record of 8-9-2, with three shutouts and had a goals-against-average of 1.31. Northridge is under the direction of fourth-year head coach Keith West. During his tenure at CSUN, West has posted an overall record of 23-28-5.

SCOUTING THE ROADRUNNERS: Cal State Bakersfield enters the 2009 season after posting a 5-13-1 record in 2008. This will mark CSUB's final season in transition from Division II to Division I, and next year they will be eligible to compete in the NCAA Tournament. The Roadrunners will host UC Riverside on Friday in their season opener, before the Toreros make their way to Main Soccer Field. 2008's leading scorer Kassi Massey is the only returner to the Roadrunner front line at CSUB, after she scored four goals and added a pair of assists for a team-leading 10 points. The Roadrunners are under the direction of third-year coach Nicole Van Dyke. During her tenure in Bakersfield, Van Dyke has posted an overall record of 10-26-2.

THE POLLS: San Diego received a program-best No. 13 preseason national ranking from the National Soccer Coaches Association of America. Also ranked in the preseason top-25 poll from the WCC, is Portland at No. 4 and Santa Clara at No. 22. Neither Cal State Northridge, or Cal State Bakersfield are ranked in the preseason top-25.

AN ALL-AMERICAN RETURNS FOR THE TOREROS: Sophomore midfielder Elissa Magracia makes her return to the Toreros after earning not only All-WCC Honorable Mention honors last year, but also being named a freshman All-American by Soccerbuzz magazine. Magracia is coming off a solid rookie campaign in which she scored three goals and had five assists for 11 points. She became a valuable member of the Toreros midfield last season and will look to once again help solidify the Toreros midfield in 2009.

FIVE ALL-WCC HONOREES RETURN: Five University of San Diego women's soccer players, who earned All-WCC honors last season, make their return for the Toreros in 2009. Sophomore midfielder Jackie Zinke was named first team All-WCC last year after scoring four goals and adding in four assists. Senior defender Natalie Vinti was named second-team last season after helping the Torero defense bolster a 0.75 GAA and post 13 shutouts. All-WCC honorable mention honorees, sophomore midfielder Elissa Magracia and freshman forward Stephanie Ochs, also make their return. Ochs scored three goals and added in two assists last season and MaGracia scored three goals and had five assists. The final All-WCC honor to return is sophomore defender Natalie Garcia, who was named to the All-WCC freshman team after helping the USD defense record 13 shutouts and bolster a 0.75 GAA.

2009 GAMETRACKER AVAILABLE: All San Diego women's soccer home matches can be followed via Gametracker on the Toreros athletic web site at www.usdtoreros.com. Gametracker is a service of CBS, the official web provider for San Diego athletics, and is a real time update of the action. Selected San Diego road matches are also available via Gametracker. To see if Gametracker is available for a game go to San Diego Events at the top-right of the home page. If Gametracker is available there will be a Gametracker link.

THE GREENWOOD FILE: Since taking over the San Diego women's soccer program in 2003, Ada Greenwood has upheld the rich soccer tradition that San Diego is known for and continues to build a successful and nationally recognized program. Just the third coach in USD's storied 15 year history, Greenwood has compiled an overall record of 69-44-12 in his five seasons at the helm. As San Diego's top assistant from 1998-2002, Greenwood helped USD to a 66-30-5 record and four NCAA College Cup appearances. In his second year as a head coach in 2004, he guided USD to a 12-8-2 overall record, a 5-1-1 mark in the difficult West Coast Conference, and a second round appearance in the NCAA College Cup, maintaining USD's streak of six consecutive postseason appearances. For his efforts, Greenwood was honored as both the 2004 West Coast Conference Coach of the Year and the 2004 San Diego Union Tribune Coach of the Year.