Colorado University Athletics
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Soccer To Face Aggies in Big 12 Championship Sunday
November 05, 2005 | Soccer
QUICKLY...The No. 23 University of Colorado women's soccer team (12-6-3) will face the No. 10 Texas A&M Aggies (15-3-2) on Sunday, Nov. 6 at noon MST at Blossom Athletic Complex in San Antonio, Texas. Colorado is the No. 2 seed, the Aggies are the No. 1 seed and regular season conference champion. The winner of the game will earn the Big 12 Conference automatic berth to the 2005 NCAA Tournament.
BUFFALOES AT THE BIG 12 TOURNAMENT...CU earned the No. 2 seed in the tournament by virtue of a tiebreaker over Iowa State, Kansas and Nebraska. This is CU's second-highest seed in the tournament ever, with the Buffs taking the No. 1 seed in 2003. Colorado has only faced four teams in it's Big 12 tourney history: Missouri four times, Texas A&M three times, Texas twice and Oklahoma once. CU is 4-6 in the Big 12 tourney all time. It will be the second time in three weeks that the teams have met with a championship on the line, as the same storyline dominated on Oct. 21 in College Station as the first place Buffaloes went to A&M to try and clinch a share of the title, only to fall 2-1.
NOTING THE BUFFALOES...Colorado is led by senior midfielder Fran Munnelly, a Hermann Trophy candidate and four time First Team All-Big 12 selection who has eight goals and five assists for 21 points on the season thus far. Junior Katie Griffin has really erupted down the stretch, scoring 12 goals on the year with one assist for 25 points, while senior Kat Grandinetti leads the way in the assists column with six this season to go with three goals. Goalkeeper Kirstin Radlinski is CU's netminder, with five starts and posting a record of 4-1-1 with three shutouts in her role as CU's keeper.
SCOUTING THE AGGIES...Texas A&M is the proverbial thorn in the side of Colorado soccer. Colorado has yet to defeat the Aggies in the 12 meetings between the programs. CU's only non-loss came surprisingly in the 2001 season, a 2-2 overtime tie between the two. Since then, A&M have won the last five meetings in a row, twice in Boulder, twice in College Station and once, last year, in San Antonio. A&M has 58 goals on the season, led by Ashlee Pistorious' 18. Ashlee Pistorius leads the Big 12 with points with 18 goals and 11 assists, so clearly the Aggies boast a formidable attack. Couple that with Kati Jo Spisak's 0.81 goals against average and the fact that she's only been forced to make 49 saves, and that all adds up to a top 10 ranking. A&M's losses in Big 12 play this year were at Texas and at home to Iowa State. Their tie was at the hands of OSU in Stillwater last weekend.
LAST TIME OUT...CU decided to make things interesting, after jumping out to a 2-0 lead, the Buffs surrendered two late goals o the Texas Longhorns, only to come out on top in the end with a 3-2 victory. CU got two goals from Katie Griffin and the gamewinner from Allison Kidd. Kirstin Radlinski had a three game shutout streak and 383 minute streak snapped in the victory.
MUNNELLY NAMED TO ALL-BIG 12 10th ANNIVERSARY TEAM...Fran Munnelly has been named to the Big 12 Soccer 10th Anniversary Team. Munnelly is only one of two current players selected by the league's head coaches in celebration of the Big 12's 10th anniversary season. It has been a big year for Munnelly as she was also named to the preseason All-Big 12 Team, as well as to the Hermann Trophy Watch List, making her the first in school history to be a preseason national payer of the year candidate.
FIVE BUFFS EARN ALL-BIG 12 HONORS...Five members of the CU women's soccer team earned honors from the Big 12 Conference. Senior Fran Munnelly was named First Team All-Big 12 for the fourth consecutive year, the first player in any sport in CU history to be named First Team All-Big 12 four times and one of five players ever to earn . She was one of just two unanimous selections to the first team joining KU defender Holly Gault. CU had three women on the second team in juniors Katie Griffin and Laura Munnelly and sophomore Allison Kidd. Freshman Nikki Keller was named to the Big 12 All-Newcomer team.
THE FRANCHISE...Is Fran Munnelly. The owner of 30 career goals, she boasts 81 career points, making her the first player in CU history to score over 80 points. She's one of just five players in Big 12 history to be a four time first team All-Big 12 pick, and has led Colorado to four straight winning seasons.
UNDERRATED...Three times in the Big 12, three times second team All-Big 12. Here's why that's not on: Katie Griffin was the 2003 Big 12 Freshman of the Year, and in the three years since she has become CU's second all-time leading scorer with 27 goals. She has 12 this season, a new CU record, and her 25 points is also a new CU all time mark. She is the leading scorer in the Big 12 Tournament with three goals and one assist.
FEELING THE LOVE...Colorado has appeared in the NSCAA poll for the third different time this season on Nov. 1, now posting a No. 23 ranking after checking in at No. 24 three weeks ago.
WHERE'S THE LOVE?...The Buffaloes were not feeling love in the preseason, when the Big 12 coaches picked the Buffaloes to finish fifth in the conference despite returning 10 starters and all of their top scorers.. CU had other plans. The Buffs were two points shy of claiming their second regular season title, and finished second in the conference. CU has finished first, third and second in the last three years in the Big 12.
HEMPEN GETS 50TH WIN AT CU...With CU's 3-0 victory at Northern Colorado, CU head coach Bill Hempen earned his 50th win at Colorado. Just the second coach in women's soccer history at Colorado, Hempen is also the winningest. He surpassed his predecessor Austin Daniels' 36 wins last year. Coach Hempen has also guided the program back to a .500 all time record, as CU sits at 91-88-15. When Hempen took over, the Buffaloes were 36-53-5, with a .404 winning percentage. Since then, CU is 55-35-10, a .598 winning percentage, and have earned a Big 12 title and two trips to the NCAA Tournament.
COLORADO IN BIG 12 STATS...Katie Griffin is eighth in scoring in the Big 12, while Fran Munnelly is the 10th leading scorer in the Big 12 Conference. The Buffs lead the league in shutouts with 10. In Big 12 games, Katie Griffin finished the season as the fourth leading scorer with six goals in Big 12 play. Kat Grandinetti is fourth in Big 12 assists with five, while Fran Munnelly trails her with four in fifth. Colorado is leading the way with just eight goals allowed for tops in the conference, along with goals against average (0.78) and shutouts (six). Kirstin Radlinski lead the conference in goals against average with 0.47 GAA and a save percentage of .917.
YOU LOCK IT UP!...Colorado is tops in the conference in defense this season, leading the league in league play in goals allowed (eight) and goals against average (0.78). That's not just due to the goalkeeping of Jessie Keller and Kirstin Radlinski, that's thanks to CU's ironwomen defense. The back four of Laura Munnelly, Tricia Regan, Darci Smerchek and Michelle Wenino have been nothing short of stellar this season, limiting the opposition to just 10.7 shots per game, only 4.7 of those on goal in all games. Translation...you can't score if you don't shoot, and CU has allowed just eight goals in Big 12 play, a 0.78 goals against average, as well as six shutouts...all Big 12 bests.
THE SENIOR CLASS...When now-seniors Fran Munnelly, Tricia Regan, Ashlie Mihalcin and Darci Smerchek signed on to be Buffs, one needs to remember that they did so following a 3-11-2 mark during the 2001 season. Jessica Keller and Kathryn Grandinetti did so a year later, transferring from Miami and Kentucky, respectively, after Hempen and the Buffs concluded a 10-8-2 2002 campaign. The class of 2005 is on track to go down as the first CU class to string together four winning seasons as they were 10-8-2 as freshmen, 15-4-1 as sophomores and 15-6-2 as juniors. With a 50-24-8 overall mark, they are the winningest class in CU history. The six have also done the same in conference play with a 24-11-5 record (66.6 win percentage), including the 2003 regular season title.
GAME WINNER GRIFFIN...Junior Katie Griffin is tops on the CU gamewinning goals chart with 11 in her career, one ahead of teammate Fran Munnelly. She has a team high three gamewinning goals this season, two of them coming in Big 12 play (OSU, Texas Tech).
WE'RE GOIN STREAKIN!...Senior classmates Fran Munnelly and Ashlie Mihalcin had an impressive starting streak (and games played streak) running at 68 consecutive games played and started in their careers. After Mihalcin suffered an injury against UCLA her streak came to an end. Now Fran is the all-time leading games started and games played leader at CU with her 84 of each under her belt.
SHOWER RINSE REPEAT...Historically, Colorado has just 12 players that have recorded multiple goal games. Three current Buffs, Katie Griffin, Nikki Keller and Fran Munnelly can lay claim to that accomplishment. Griffin has done it six times in her career, the most ever for a Buffalo, while Fran has now done it three times thanks to her double dips against Detroit and Northern Colorado. Freshman Nikki Keller became the latest Buffalo to join that club, scoring back-to-back goals in a three minute span against Iowa State.
JESSICA KELLER BIG 12 PLAYER OF THE WEEK...Senior goalkeeper Jessie Keller was named the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week for her efforts against Texas and Northern Colorado last weekend. Keller registered two shutouts last weekend, giving her six for the season, with wins over Texas and Northern Colorado. The Buffs' win over Texas was only their second in program history. Keller had four saves in the two matches and picked off several crosses in the penalty area.
WHAT WOULD WE DO WITHOUT US...Three of Colorado's seniors, Kat Grandinetti, Fran Munnelly and Darci Smerchek have played together, in one way or another, for 10 years. The three started together on the Lakewood Fury U12 squad, which had an eight year streak of state cup championships and five Far West Regional final appearances. They capped their U18 season when they won the Far West and went on to win the USYSA U18 National Championship. After Grandinetti took a brief detour to Kentucky, she reunited with Smerchek and Munnelly for their sophomore year at Colorado. They went on to help lead CU to it's first Big 12 soccer championship and first NCAA appearance in 2003.
FRESH STARTS...Colorado has a youthful roster this season with nine freshmen on the squad. Four of them have found their way into the starting lineup, as Nikki Keller, Michelle Wenino and Alex Cousins have started 17, 20 and 10 games, respectively, and Kirstin Radlinski got her fifth start vs Texas. Frosh have accounted for three of CU's 12 game winning goals this season. First year Megan Manthey scored the gamewinner against Vanderbilt in the season opener, while classmate Keller notched hers to beat Pitt on Sept. 16 and Iowa State on Sept. 25. They were the first career goals for both. In all, seven of the frosh have seen time; Keller, Kris Kauftheil Manthey, Wenino, Cousins, Caitlin Marquis and Radlinski. The Hoilands are injured thus far and haven't seen time.
HIT ME WITH YOUR BEST SHOT...Colorado has outshot its opponents this season 325-227, which translates to 15.5 shots a game against 10.8 for the opposition. Of those 325 shots, 47-percent have been on goal (154), with Katie Griffin leading the way with 40 of those.
SMARTY PANTS...Senior Jessie Keller was named a CoSIDA Academic All-District second team selection on Nov. 3. Add that to four Academic All-Big 12 picks as well in first team selections Kat Grandinetti, Ashlie Mihalcin and Keller. Fran Munnelly was a second team pick.
SISTER ACT...CU boasts two sets of sisters on the roster this season. The first is the wonder non-twins, senior Fran and junior Laura Munnelly. The freshmen twins of Krista and Shannon Hoiland are both likely going to redshirt this season, as they both freakishly suffered ACL tears before coming on campus. Nikki Keller and CU's Jessie Keller are not sisters, though DU's Jessi Keller is Nikki Keller's twin sister.
HOMEGROWN...14 of the 22 players on the Colorado roster are from the Centennial State, with nine of them gracing the starting lineup of late.
KELLER KEEPING CLEAN...Prior to her collegiate career ending injury on Oct. 16, senior goalkeeper Jessica Keller made a name for herself all over the CU goalkeeping record books. She is tops among all CU keepers all time in goals against average with 0.83, wins with 37 and shutouts with 25. The only category of real statistical significance she does not lead is saves, but she can probably thank the CU defense for that since she hasn't had to face a great many shots.
KELLER BLOG...Even in convalescence senior Jessica Keller has joined the masses and is continuing to write a blog which is featured on the Daily Camera website. It can be found at http://bouldernews.net/bdc/blogs/cusoccer/
THE 10th SEASON...The 2005 season marks the 10th of the Colorado Soccer program as well as almost all in the Big 12 Conference. To date, the Buffs are 91-88-15 overall, 43-46-10 in Big 12 play with the 2003 Big 12 regular season title, player, rookie and coach of the year honors that season. In the classroom, the Buffs have made 76 Academic All-Big 12 appearances.
FIVE YEARS AT THE FOOT OF THE FLATIRONS...This season is Bill Hempen's fifth at the helm of the Buffaloes. In that span, he's led the team to two NCAA Tournament appearances and a Big 12 Championship in addition to 50 wins in that time. Hempen is the 21st winningest active coach in the NCAA Division I ranks by wins with 205 wins entering the 2005 season.
FRAN MUNNELLY NAMED TO HERMANN TROPHY WATCH LIST...For the first time in school history, the Buffaloes have a preseason national player of the year candidate. Fran Munnelly is one of 25 players named to the Missouri Athletic Club's Hermann Trophy Watch list.
MUNNELLYS NAMED PRESEASON ALL-BIG 12...Fran and Laura Munnelly have been named to the preseason All-Big 12 Team as voted by the league coaches, the conference announced August 18.
HOME SWEET PRENTUP...A home is defined as a place of residence and the highlight of CU's 10th season will be calling CU's East Campus home. For the first time in the program's history the Buffs have a field to call their own as Prentup Field went from a baseball-only field as recent as three years ago to a soccer-only practice facility in 2004 to the Buffs' exclusive home field a year later. Colorado played the first nine seasons at Pleasant View Soccer Complex in North Boulder.
THE SCHEDULE...For two straight seasons, the Buffs have faced the toughest schedule in program history. But the 2003 and ?04 teams won't hold a candle to the 2005 slate that Hempen has arranged. Seven teams that advanced to last year's NCAA Championships, including national runner up UCLA and 17-time champion North Carolina will be two of the Buffs' first six regular season opponents. Both Nebraska and Texas advanced to the round of 16 while Detroit, Kansas and Texas A&M bowed out in their respective second rounds. Thirteen teams with better than .500 records, including five in Big 12 play, will play CU. Colorado's 20 opponents combined for 217 wins against 162 losses and 28 ties for a .568 win percentage. The challenge with a schedule such as 2005's will be not to let this team get awestruck and convince a squad of balanced newcomers and veterans that they deserve, and can compete against this schedule.
THE QUICKEST GOALS IN PROGRAM HISTORY: The quickest goal in school history was netted this season, with three of the top 15 coming this season:
1:39 Katie Griffin at Denver 9/2/05
3:30 Fran Munnelly vs. Texas Tech 10/17/04
3:38 Jen Thais vs. Texas A&M 10/8/04
3:39 Jessie Burgener vs. Colorado College 9/15/00
3:51 Melissa Cartmell vs. Air Force 9/22/99
4:07 Kathryn Grandinetti vs. Minnesota 10/10/03
5:12 Heather Zonker vs. UMass 9/25/98
6:08 Jen Thais vs. Eastern Michigan 9/4/04
AND THE LATEST GOALS SCORED IN HISTORY (In Regulation): Tricia Regan's first career goal with eight seconds left in regulation to force overtime against Missouri in the Big 12 Tournament last season made us research the opposite:
89:56 :04 Allison Gausman vs. Oklahoma St. 9/29/00 Final score in 3-1 win
89:52 :08 Tricia Regan vs. Missouri 11/3/04 Forced overtime in Big 12 Tournament first round game
89:43 :17 Elizabeth Swain at Iowa State 10/11/96 Won 2-0
89:40 :20 Jen Thais vs. Texas A&M 9/30/01 Forced overtime, game ended in 2-2 tie
89:16 :44 Lindsey Galas vs. Fresno State 8/30.02 Final goal in 3-0 win
89:06 :54 Suzy Kiefer at Wyoming 9/2/01 Her second score in come from behind 2-1 win
88:25 1:35 Megan Manthey vs. Vanderbilt 8/26/05 Gamewinner in season opener; first career goal
88:12 1:48 Heather Zonker vs. Missouri 11/3/99 Big 12 Tournament first round game, lost 5-3