GU women face tough competition

The Gonzaga University women’s soccer team is off to the best start in school history.

If the Bulldogs can say the same after this weekend, they will have pulled off the improbable.

The Bulldogs (2-0-1) travel to Santa Clara to face Cal State Fullerton on Friday and defending national champion Notre Dame on Sunday.

Fullerton (3-1) has a win over No. 9 Auburn. No. 1 Notre Dame (4-0) has outscored opponents 27-2, including an 11-1 stomping of New Hampshire and a 4-1 victory over nationally ranked Florida.

GU coach Shannon Stiles wanted to bolster her team’s schedule, hence the Bulldogs involvement in the Santa Clara Adidas Classic.

Before GU, 2-33 against ranked opponents, takes its shot against the top-ranked Irish, it must contend with the Titans.

“We’re looking at it moment by moment, 45 minutes at a time and I think they’ve bought into that,” Stiles said.

“I was very disappointed with our performance against Oregon (1-1 last Friday), so the next game becomes critical for us to turn around some of the mistakes we made.”

Notre Dame’s Kerri Hanks has scored 10 goals in 225 minutes of game time, an average of a goal every 22 minutes on the field.

The Irish haven’t lost in 14 regular-season tournament contests.

“It’s one of those teams that’s loaded with talent, but talent alone doesn’t win games,” Stiles said. “If we want to be a great team we have to know what the standard is in women’s soccer. If we get pounded, maybe the learning experience is hey, we have to buckle down and we have a lot of work to do. If we can compete with this team, what would that do for us? I’m hoping it’s similar to the men when they knocked off Virginia when they were No. 3 in the country.”

Gonzaga’s five goals have been scored by sophomores Christin Leverson (two), Christine Soma (two) and Nanda McCormick (one).

Cougs start fast

Washington State, with one victory already over a ranked opponent, entertains No. 8 Wake Forest (3-0-1) at 3 p.m. Friday. The Cougars, behind Megan Hyte’s three game-winning goals are 3-1, which includes a 3-2 overtime victory over No. 11 Tennessee.

WSU’s defense will be challenged by Wake Forest, which has scored at least four goals in three of its four matches.

“The Deacons are one of the best teams we will come across this year,” said WSU coach Matt Potter, whose team is scheduled to face eight ranked foes.

Split decision

Whitworth’s soccer teams experienced highs and lows last weekend.

The men’s team posted a pair of 3-1 victories, including one over Redlands, which joined Whitworth in the NCAA Division III Tournament last season.

Senior Evan Hendrickson, who missed the season-opening match with a sprained knee ligament, scored a goal in Monday’s win over Corban.

“It’s important that we won and won without doing the best we could,” coach Sean Bushey said. “It means there’s still room for improvement.”

While the men played in McMinnville, Ore., the Pirates’ women played host to a four-team invitational, meaning Bushey had a conflict for the first time in eight years that prevented him from coaching both teams.

Roughly 20 minutes into the women’s game with Cal State-East Bay, All-Northwest Conference forward Jael Hagerott went down with an apparent torn ACL in her knee.

“One of our men’s players, Niko (Varlamos), said we’re losing the best player in the nation in Division III,” Bushey said. “It’s a really significant blow. In the end, we have to respond as a team.”

Whitworth has been involved in a specialized program aimed at preventing injuries designed by The Santa Monica Orthopaedic and Sports Medicine Research Foundation. The program involves 20 soccer-specific exercises that take 15-20 minutes to complete.

“They’ve had pretty good success with it in their studies,” Bushey said.

Throw-ins

Idaho’s 1-0 win over Portland State was particularly satisfying for first-year head coach Pete Showler, a former Vikings assistant. PSU won the Big Sky Tournament last year and was tabbed No. 1 in the preseason coaches’ poll… . Beth Russell‘s goal Friday gave her 19 career points, tied for first on EWU’s all-time list with Kyla Hamilton (1998-2001)… . GU’s men, after a 1-0-1 showing at a tournament in Chicago, remain on the road to face Kentucky and Iona this weekend in Corvallis, Ore.