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Issued: September 14, 2006

SOCCER OUT TO EXTEND HOME WINNING STREAK

EAU CLAIRE - The returning conference champion UW-Eau Claire soccer team looks to establish its turf by extending its 10-game home winning streak this Sunday in the home-opener against Concordia-Moorhead.

The game will take place at Bollinger Fields at noon. Eau Claire does have one game before then, a 1:00 p.m. game at UW-La Crosse on Saturday.

The Cobbers are ranked ninth in the Central Regional of the NSCAA/Adidas poll with a 3-1-0 record. The Blugolds are ranked first in the regional and tied for sixth nationally in the NSCAA/Adidas poll. They are 23rd nationally in the D3Kicks.com poll.

Eau Claire is 4-0 on the season and has only allowed one goal that being a penalty in the final five minutes of the team's last game. The defense has only allowed 15 shot attempts and six of those were on goal. Such performances have earned sweeper Allison Smith (So.-Bloomington, MN/Jefferson) Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Player of the Week honors.

Smith is one of four returning Blugolds who earned a spot on the All-WIAC team last year. Fellow defender Becky Westbrock (Sr.-Oakdale, MN/North St. Paul) returns, as do midfielders Liz Kooistra (So.-Lakeville, MN) and Emily Meisinger (Sr.-Green Bay/Notre Dame Academy). They are led by Coach Sean Yengo, who was the WIAC Coach of the Year last season.

Kooistra leads the team so far in assists with two, but returning senior Maria Iaizzo (White Bear Lake, MN) has most of the categories. She leads in points (6), goals (3), shots (14), and shots on goal (4). Along with Smith, she has also been a WIAC Player of the Week due to her offensive firepower. The Blugold goalies typically have been Liz Weirick (Jr.-Kenosha/Tremper) in the first half and Allie Rivard (So.-Plymouth, MN/Wayzata) in the second.

Concordia Moorhead is a very competitive team returning from a year in which it lost the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) Championship 1-0 in overtime. The Cobbers have been in their conference's championship the past two years and have finished second the past two years.

The team has 10 starters returning from last year. All-Region player Morgan Bain holds the Cobber lifetime goal record with 50. She joins All-MIAC competitors Amy Ravenhorst, Miriam Lombardozzi, Betsy Oleson, Suzy Grabko, and Jill Fancher.

Thus far in the season, Bain has come through as a leader, topping the Cobbers in points (9), goals (4), shots (26), and shots on goal (20). Ravenhorst has the most assists with two.

As a team, they have defeated Carthage College 1-0, Nebraska Wesleyan University 2-1 in OT, Grinnell College 2-0, and St. Thomas 3-0. Their lone loss came to UC Santa Cruz in a season-opening 1-0 contest. Of those, Santa Cruz is ranked 14th in the NSCAA/Adidas poll.

The last time the Cobbers faced the Blugolds was in 1993. The Blugolds lead the series 3-1.

Perhaps the most important element of the upcoming game is the 10-game winning streak at home. Eau Claire wants to maintain its home dominance as it did during last season's tear. The last time Eau Claire lost at home was October 16th of 2004.

- PH -

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