Aug. 18, 2015
San José State women's soccer gets the 2015 regular season underway this week with two matches in the state of Texas. First, the season-opener on Friday, August 21, at Lamar University in Beaumont, Texas beginning at 7:00 p.m. CT. Then, an 85-mile trip west to Houston for a bout with the Rice Owls on Sunday, August 23 at 1:00 p.m. CT. Live streaming and statistics will be available for free for Friday evening's match at Lamar. Check back at sjsuspartans.com for streaming information about Sunday's match at Rice.
Matches #1-2
San José State (0-0) at Lamar (0-0)
Friday, August 21, 2015, 7:00 p.m. CT
Lamar Soccer Complex (500)
Beaumont, Texas
Live Video
San José State (0-0) at Rice (0-0)
Sunday, August 23, 2015, 1:00 p.m. CT
Holloway Field (5,000)
Houston, Texas
Live Stats
FOUR-GAME TRIP STARTS WITH TEXAS TWO-STEP
The season-opening trip to Texas is the beginning of a four-game road trip to begin the year. Following the two matches in the Lone Star State, SJSU heads to UC Santa Barbara and Sacramento State the following week. The Spartans' first regular-season match at home will take place on Friday, September 11, against Saint Mary's College.
SPARTANS PICKED SEVENTH IN PRESEASON COACHES' POLL
The voting panel of the 12 Mountain West women's soccer head coaches picked San José State to finish in seventh place this season in the preseason poll. The results have three-time defending regular-season and tournament champion San Diego State winning it all again in 2015. The Spartans received 53 points, putting them even with UNLV in seventh place ahead of Air Force, Fresno State, Colorado State and Nevada.
EXPERIENCE WAS THEY KEY DESPITE THE 2-0 EXHIBITION LOSS
San José State fell behind 2-0 within the first seven minutes of the exhibition loss to UC Davis last week. However, head coach Lauren Hanson was happy to give eight players their first taste of competition in a Spartan uniform during the tune-up. Darriell Franklin (Fr., F, La Habra, Calif.), Hayden Kelley (Jr., D, Murrieta, Calif.) and Samantha Orodpour (Jr., MF, Chino Hills, Calif.,) each appeared for the first time and were a part of the starting lineup. Alyssa Bertuleit (Jr., MF, Sparks, Nev.), Daria Manzano (Fr., MF, Lakewood, Calif.) Veronica Chung (Fr., D, Woodenville, Wash.), Courtney Elterman (Fr., MF, Templeton, Calif.) and Paige Simoneau (Fr., GK, Corona, Calif.) all made their first appearances in a reserve role. There are a total of 11 new players on the 2015 roster.
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 for more in 2015. Zoe Makrigiannis is coming off of 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.
GET TO KNOW YOUR 2015 SPARTANS!
Spartan women's soccer has an active social media agenda this year and they want you to be a part of it. Get familiar with the faces by following the official Instagram account @sjsuwomenssoccer. Also, interact with the team during social media player takeovers on the official Twitter (@sjsusoccer) and Facebook (/sjsuwsoc) pages.
MORE ON LAMAR
Lamar University, located in Beaumont, Texas, is a member of the Southland Conference. The Cardinals began the 2014 season with a 1-0 victory over San José State at Spartan Soccer Field, and ended the year with a 5-11-2 record. The season-opener last year is the only match played between the two programs. Lamar is coached by Orlando Cervantes, a 1999 graduate of San José State, now in his fourth season.
MORE ON RICE
Rice University, located in Houston, is the reigning Conference-USA Tournament champion and 2014 NCAA Tournament contender. A very successful season last year ended with a 14-4-3 record and a 3-0 loss to Texas in the NCAA Tourney. Rice is coached by Nicky Adams (Texas A&M, 2001) in her fourth season. The Spartans are 0-4 all-time versus the Owls dating back to their first meeting in 2001.
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 Luptia 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.).
MOUNTAIN WEST GIVES MAKRIGIANNIS 2014 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.
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.
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 (Sr., GK, San Jose, Calif.). 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 in that category.
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 solid finish, outscoring the opponents 12-5 during the final six matches.
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), the team's most experienced player on either side of the ball.
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!