Aug. 10, 2015
The San José State women's soccer team begins its second season under the direction of head coach Lauren Hanson this Friday afternoon with an exhibition match against UC Davis at Spartan Soccer Field. It will be the first organized athletic competition of the 2015-16 year for any SJSU team. The Spartans ended last season on a hot streak, which included five wins in the final six matches, capped by a 4-0 victory on the road at Fresno State. The team hopes to carry that momentum into 2015 beginning 3:00 p.m., at Spartan Soccer Field on Friday. The field is located on Alma Street in San Jose between Senter and Tenth streets.
Exhibition Match
San José State vs. UC Davis
Friday, August 14, 2015, 3:00 p.m. PT
Spartan Soccer Field (400)
San Jose, Calif.
HANSON FUELS TURNAROUND IN YEAR ONE
In her first season as a head coach, Lauren Hanson led the Spartans to an 8-8-3 overall record and 5-5-1 in Mountain West play. The .500 record comes one year after the team finished 3-14-1 and 2-7-1 in conference play. The team doubled its offensive output in 2014, scoring 22 goals after just 10 went into the net in 2013. The defense also saw a huge lift, allowing 18 goals when the year before it gave up 33.
STRONG FINISH IN 2014 HAS SPARTANS CONFIDENT
San José State finished the 2014 season winning five of its last six matches down the stretch of Mountain West play. Two of those wins came on the road against rival opponents in Boise State and Fresno State. While the defense was strong all year long, the Spartan offense helped fuel the strong finish, outscoring the opponents 12-5 during the final six matches.
2015 ROSTER BREAKDOWN
The Spartans are returning five starters from a season ago, while losing six. A total of 15 letterwinners are returning for 2015. SJSU scored 22 goals last season, 10 of which are back this year. Zoe Makrigiannis (Sr., GK, San Jose, Calif.) is coming off one of the best seasons for a goalkeeper in Spartan women's soccer history, and she will be back in the goal for her senior campaign this year.
SPARTANS ADD NEW SCORERS FOR 2015
While the Spartans had a Mountain West leading 12 goal scorers in 2014, only half of that number have returned for 2015. Seniors Gabriella Stange and Lupita Estrada combined for seven goals last season as the team's top scorers. To help replenish the offensive side, head coach Lauren Hanson has brought in three forwards with this year's recruiting class: Aspyn Audibert (Fr., F, Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.), Darriell Franklin (Fr., F, La Habra, Calif.) and Morgan Matthews (Fr., F, Mountain View, Calif.).
MEET THE CAPTAINS
Head coach Lauren Hanson has named three captains for the 2015 season: Darlene Rodriguez (Sr., MF, San Jose, Calif.), Rachel Docherty (Sr., D, Calgary, Alberta, Canada) and Zoe Makrigiannis. Rodriguez, an attacking midfielder in 2014, was a significant part of the Spartans' offense down the stretch when the team won five of its last six matches. Docherty is a three-year letterwinner heading into 2015. She has held down the line of defense now in 45 career matches for San José State. Makrigiannis is coming off of one of the best performances by a goalkeeper in SJSU history in 2014. She had seven shutouts and begins the year one shy of tying the all-time career record.
MOUNTAIN WEST GIVES MAKRIGIANNIS FIRST-TEAM NOD
Goalkeeper Zoe Makrigiannis was a First-Team All-Mountain West honoree in 2014, making her San José State's first all-conference honoree since Megan Molina in 2012. Makrigiannis' first-team nod makes her the just second goalkeeper to receive the honor in program history alongside Amee Brown who was first-team All-Western Athletic Conference twice in 1997 and 1999.
ZOE LOOKS TO KEEP TRENDING
Zoe Makrigiannis' outstanding 2014 season when she was an All-Mountain West goalkeeper, vaulted her up the ranks of SJSU's career leaders in multiple categories. With 10 career shutouts, Makrigiannis is one shy of tying Amee Brown (1996-99) for most in SJSU history. She is also second in career goals against average at 1.35 and sixth with 184 saves.
BACK LINE SET TO HOLD IT DOWN IN 2015
On top of Zoe Makrigiannis' great year in the goal, a solid back line of defense helped the Spartans to the best goals-against average in the Mountain West last season (.905). Two young defenders in Claire Berkely (So., D, Pleasanton, Calif.) and Myia Wilkes (So., D, Calgary, Alberta) each logged over 1,000 minutes as freshman defenders. They are returning to hold it down in 2015, as is Rachel Docherty (Sr., D, Calgary, Alberta) who is the team's most experienced player on either side of the ball.
WHAT'S ON DECK
After the exhibition versus UC Davis, San José State begins the regular season with a couple of matches in Texas. The trip begins in Beaumont for a match against Lamar University on August 21. Then, SJSU goes to Houston to face Rice on August 23. SJSU's first regular season match at home takes place on September 11 against Saint Mary's College.
GAMEDAY AT SPARTAN SOCCER FIELD
Join us for our second full season at Spartan Soccer Field located on the corner of 10th and Alma Streets. General admission for adults is $5 and youth 12 and under are $3. All youth 12 and under wearing any soccer jersey will be admitted for just $1 and on Sundays, kids get in free!