Oct. 6, 2008

LOGAN, Utah - ON THE PITCH-This week, Utah State soccer will open Western Athletic Conference action by taking on Idaho at home on Friday, Oct. 10 at 3 p.m. at Chuck and Gloria Bell Field. The Aggies will then travel to Boise to take on the Broncos of Boise State on Sunday, Oct. 12 at 1 p.m. USU concluded non-conference play with a loss to instate rival BYU, 2-0, on Thursday. Utah State ended non-conference play with a 5-7-1 record. The Aggies are 4-2-1 at home and hold a 1-5 mark on the road. Idaho fell to 1-10-1 this season after a loss to Montana on the road on Oct. 5. The Vandals fell to the Grizzlies, 2-0, after Montana scored two second-half goals. The Vandals have now lost eight in a row. Idaho's only win came against Idaho State on Sept. 2. The Aggies fell to the Bengals in overtime to start the season. Idaho and Utah State have two other common opponents. The Vandals lost to Seattle (0-1) and Wyoming (3-0), while the Aggies defeated both the Redhawks (2-1) and the Cowgirls (2-1). Boise State closed a long nine-match road swing Sunday afternoon in Laramie, Wyo., when it suffered a disappointing 1-0 loss at the hands of Wyoming. The Cowgirls dominated the match outshooting the Broncos, 10-0, in shots on goal. The loss dropped Boise State to 7-4-1 overall and snapped a four-match win streak, they finished the nine-game road swing with a 5-4 mark. Boise State and Utah State have four common opponents. The Broncos were 2-2 against these foes, while the Aggies were 3-1. Both teams beat Northern Colorado, while Boise State beat Idaho State (2-1) and lost to Seattle (1-2) and Wyoming (0-1). Utah State defeated Seattle and Wyoming and lost to Idaho State.

GAMETRACKER-Fans can follow all the Aggie home games through the USU web site at www.UtahStateAggies.com via GameTracker, a free service, which updates play-by-play and statistics throughout the game.

NOW THEY REALLY MATTER-Utah State begins its fourth season in the Western Athletic Conference on Oct. 10 against Idaho. The Aggies are 3-0 in WAC openers. This is the second-straight season that the Aggies have started WAC play with the Vandals. Last season, Utah State defeated Idaho, 4-0. In 2005 and 2006, the Aggies defeated Louisiana Tech to begin conference play. In 2005, Utah State won 2-1 in Logan, while the Aggies won 2-0 in 2006 in Ruston.

SPREADING THE WEALTH-The Aggies have had several players involved in scoring this season. Only four players have scored at least two goals, Lauren Hansen (4), Erin Salmon (3), Shantel Flanary (2) and Lindsey Smart (2). There are no Utah State players that have more than one assist, but eight different players have earned an assist.

GRIFFIN GREAT IN GOAL-Senior goalkeeper Ali Griffin's performance in the, 2-0, loss to BYU was very solid despite the loss. Griffin made seven saves against the Cougars which was the fourth-most in her four-year Aggie career. The netminder had nine saves in a, 2-0, win against Nevada on October 20, 2006 for her highest save total in her career. Griffin registered eight saves on two occasions, including a 1-0 overtime loss to BYU on Sept. 16, 2006. She also had eight saves in a 2-1 loss to Oregon on Sept. 14, 2007.

TIME AFTER TIME-Looking back at the Aggies from 2007, Utah State is close to the output of week year ago. At this point last season, the Aggies had 16 goals and 14 assists for 46 points. The 2008 version of the Aggies has 13 goals and eight assists for 34 points. Senior goalkeeper Ali Griffin's goals against average is very similar. At this point last season, Griffin had a GAA of 1.29, while this season her GAA is 1.31 through 13 matches. Her goals allowed (15) and saves totals (49) mirror those figures exactly from 2007. In 2007, the Aggies had a record of 5-8, while this year they have a record of 5-7-1 entering conference play.

FAB FIVE-There are only five Aggies that have played in every match this season seniors Alyssa Lowry and Jessie Malaska, juniors Lindsey Smart and Sydne Porter and sophomore Stefani Shiozaki. There are only six players who have joined the 1,000 minute club, Smart, Porter, Lowry, Malaska, Ali Griffin and Chandra Salmon.

FIRST TIME-Freshman goalkeeper Molli Merrill made her first collegiate start against UTEP on Sept. 14. The Bountiful, Utah, native had played 90 minutes total prior to her start against the Miners. Merrill played the second half in both the Oregon and Oregon State matches. After allowing an early first-half goal, Merrill settled down not allowing a goal the rest of the match. Merrill has seven saves and an 0.50 goals against average.

AGAINST THE GEM STATE-The Aggies are 19-7 against teams from the Gem State, including Boise State, Idaho and Idaho State. Utah State is 5-4 against the Bengals, having already lost to ISU 2-1 in overtime to open the 2008 season. The Aggies take on both Boise State (Oct. 12) and Idaho (Oct. 10) this week. Utah State holds a 6-2 record against the Broncos. Last season, the Aggies fell to the Broncos, 2-1 in Logan. Utah State had won the two previous meeting before. USU holds an impressive 8-1 record against the Vandals, including all three meetings since joining the WAC in 2005. The Aggies only loss to Idaho came in the Big West Tournament in 2002 when the Vandals captured a 3-2 double overtime victory.

MOVING UP THE CHARTS-Several Utah State players keep moving up the career charts. Sophomore forward Lauren Hansen is tied for sixth all time in points scored with 29. Hansen is also tied for fifth in goals scored with 14, while senior forward Candice Clark is tied for 10th with 10 goals scored. Junior defender Lindsey Smart is fourth in assists with nine. Senior goalkeeper Ali Griffin is also still first in shutouts with 18 after three shutouts this season. Griffin is close to third on the all-time saves list with 212 saves. Michaela (Hawes) Miller (1997-2000) currently holds the third sport with 216 saves.

GOT MY EYE ON YOU-Forward Erin Salmon is close to entering the Aggies all-time scoring lists. The junior has eight career goals and 20 career points. After scoring a goal in the Aggies' 2-1 win over Wyoming, Salmon inches closer to the top 10 in both goals scored and points. Senior Candice Clark is 10th in both goals scored (10) and points (25). Clark is tied for 10th with Emily Sutherland (1996-99).

AGGIE INFORMATION-Sophomore Lauren Hansen leads the team in points scored with nine off of four goals and one assist... Both junior transfer Andrea Seledee and freshman Summer Tillotson got their first assists against UTSA on Sept. 18... Freshman midfielder Chandra Salmon earned her first collegiate point with an assist in the win against UTEP... Senior forward Candice Clark returned from injury with her first goal of the season in the win against Northern Colorado... Freshman defender Summer Tillotson scored her first collegiate goal off a penalty kick in the Aggies' win over Wyoming on Sept. 28... Her brother was a member of the Utah State basketball team, while her dad played football for the Aggies... In the win against UNC, four different Aggies earned at least one point with Flanary, Clark and Lauren Hansen scoring goals and Flanary and Lindsey Smart adding assists.

WAC PRESEASON POLL-For the second-straight season Utah State was tabbed third in the Preseason WAC Coaches' Poll, as the Aggies garnered 37 points. Junior defender Lindsey Smart was named to the Preseason all-WAC soccer team and was WAC Preseason co-Defensive Player of the Year also for the second consecutive year.

BABY AGGIES-The young Aggies are having an immediate impact this season. Freshman forward Shantel Flanary has led the way with two goals and an assist. Flanary assisted in the game-winning goal against Northern Colorado on Sept. 6. Midfielder Chandra Salmon has started 12 of 13 matches for USU this season. Newcomer Summer Tillotson has started eight matches for the Aggies in the back. Allie Maduell has played in 12 matches, while Brittney Boyack has played in seven of USU's 12 matches.

AROUND THE WAC-Louisiana Tech is off to a hot start with a 10-2- record. The Aggies end the regular season taking on Lady Techsters on Oct. 31, looking to spook them on Halloween. Nevada is the only team remaining without a win with an 0-9-2 record. There are three teams with two wins or less Nevada (0-9-2), Idaho (1-10-1) and San Jose State 2-6-3. Conference play begins this week for all eight WAC soccer teams.

FISHY SITUATION-Things are getting awfully fishy for the Aggies. Junior Erin Salmon scored the first goal of the season for Utah State off the dish from sophomore Heather Pond. To add to the underwater element, freshman midfielder Chandra Salmon has now started five of the Aggies first seven matches. Both Salmon's had a fin so to speak in the Aggies, 2-1, win over UTEP. Erin Salmon scored the game-winning goal for her second goal of the season. Chandra Salmon had her first collegiate assist with her pass to Lauren Hansen to tie the score 1-1. Erin Salmon proved once again to be one of the fastest in the pond by scoring her third goal of the season in the Aggies' win over Wyoming.

THE COACH-Entering her sixth season at Utah State is Heather Cairns, who became the winningest coach in school history after recording her 27th career victory on Sept. 30, 2006, defeating Eastern Washington 1-0. In her five plus seasons at the helm of the Aggies, Cairns has compiled a 48-53-10 (.477) record passing former head coach Stacy Enos (1996-2000) who went 26-59 (.306) in five seasons with the Aggies. Cairns' teams have also recorded a school record 36 shutouts in the last five seasons. USU recorded a total of just 16 shutouts in the six years prior to Cairns' appointment as head coach.

CLOSE CALLS-The Aggies may sport a 5-7-1 record this season, but Utah State has been in every single match. Four of the Aggies six losses have come by only one goal (L, 1-2 vs. Idaho State; L, 0-1 Oregon; L, 1-2 Oregon State; L, Cal Poly, 0-1).

NOTHING BUT ZEROES-There have been eight shutouts in Utah State matches this season. Senior goalkeeper Ali Griffin has three shutouts this season, including the 0-0 tie against Texas State. In turn, the Aggies have been shut out five times: two at home (Texas State and Long Beach State) and three on the road (Oregon , Utah and Cal Poly).

WACTASTIC-Utah State will play 11 teams this season who are currently or have been members of the Western Athletic Conference. Utah, Wyoming and BYU were members of the WAC through 1998. UTEP was a WAC school through the 2004-05 school year. USU will also take on the seven WAC schools that sponsor women's soccer (Boise State, Fresno State, Hawai`i, Idaho, Louisiana Tech, Nevada and San Jose State). So far this season, the Aggies are 2-2 against former or current WAC teams with wins over UTEP and Wyoming and losses to Utah and BYU.

WAC INFORMATION-The WAC will continue its regular-season play as a single round-robin format (plus a points system) for a total of seven conference matches. The points system allows each team to receive three points for a win and one point for a tie. The top six teams at the end of the regular season advance to the WAC Tournament which will be held Nov. 6-7, 9 in Reno, Nevada.

Aggie Algebra

1-The total number of collegiate assists that goalkeeper Ali Griffin has after assisting on Shantel Flanary's first goal in the win against Seattle on Aug. 24.

2-USU opponents on the 2008 schedule that played in last year's NCAA Tournament, including BYU and Hawai`i.

3-The number of goals that junior Erin Salmon has scored this season to match a career high.

4-The number of first-half goals the Aggies have scored this season compared to nine second-half goals.

5-The number of starters to have played in every match (Lindsey Smart, Stefani Shiozaki, Sydne Porter, Alyssa Lowry and Jessie Malaska).

6-Different states that players on the roster are from: California, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, Utah and Washington.

7-The number of season-high saves that Ali Griffin had against BYU on Oct. 2.

8-The number of Aggies that have an assist this season, including three newcomers (Summer Tillotson, Andrea Seledee and Chandra Salmon).

9-The number of brothers and sisters Aggie freshman Shantel Flanary has.

10-The number of freshmen the young Aggie team has on the roster this season.

19-Players from the state of Utah on the roster.

25-Total number of career points by senior Candice Clark which makes her 10th on the all-time Aggie list. She is one point from ninth which is held by Charlsie Harris (2002-06).

34-The total number of points that the Aggies have scored this season off of 13 goals and eight assists.

157-The number of shots that the Aggies have taken this season.

4,724-Career minutes Griffin has at goalkeeper to rank second on the career minutes list behind Megan Mills (2001-04) who logged 5,196 minutes.