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2011 WSOC Seniors
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Women's Soccer

Westminster Home on Saturday for Senior Day

2011 Women's Soccer Seniors
Complete Release | PDF

SALT LAKE CITY – The Westminster College women's soccer team will play the final home game of the season on Saturday when they host Marymount (Calif.) at 1 p.m. at Dumke Field.  The 11 Westminster seniors will be recognized in a ceremony prior to kickoff.

Griffin Notebook
Westminster enters the final home game with a 7-4-1 overall record and ranked 22nd in the NAIA Top 25 Coaches' Poll.  The Griffins have gone 7-1 at home this season and outscored the opposition 23-7 during those games.  They are coming off a 1-0 win over then-No. 23 Carroll at home last Saturday.

As a team, Westminster ranks 35th in the NAIA with 35 goals scored and 31st with 19 assists. They are second in the Frontier/Cal Pac Conference in goals per game at 2.33 while leading the league in shots on goal per game at 8.25.  The Griffins four shutouts during the year rank 23rd in the country.

Margo Hickman leads the team with nine goals and is 30thnationally in total goals.  Hickman has also added a team-best five assists to rank 41st nationally and her 23 total points in 23rd in the NAIA.  Carissa Cooper is second on the team with three goals.  Sarah Swenson and Heather Hillam have 10 points apiece with for goals and two assists.

Dayna Winter-Nolte has made 12 starts in goal and recorded seven wins.  She has recorded a 1.39 GAA with 45 saves and a .726 save percentage.

Game Coverage
Live Stats will be available for Saturday's game against Marymount.  The stats can be accessed at WestminsterGriffins.com and are also available on your mobile device.

Saturday's Opponent: Marymount
Marymount comes to town at 4-5-2 overall and coming off of consecutive 1-1 ties.  The Mariners have gone 1-0-2 since a three-game losing streak in late September.  They average 2.2 goals per game and have also recorded 15 assists.  They allow the opposition an average of 2.8 goals per contest.

Kri Christiansen and Adrianna Neal have scored four goals apiece to lead the team.  Christiansen has added one assists for a team-bets nine points.  Five different Mariners have recorded two assists to lead the squad.  Andrea Poeschel has a 2.54 GAA with 55 saves in between the pipes.

Inside the Series
Saturday's game will be the first meeting all-time between the two programs.

Offensive Explosion
Westminster is having its best offensive season in school history this season.  They have already scored 28 goals this season and are four shy of tying the record of 32 set in 2007.  The 2.33 goals per game average would be a school record, surpassing the 2007 average of 1.78.  Westminster scored at least one goal in each of the first nine games and surpassed the previous record of seven straight set in 2009.

The Griffins are also racking up the assists at a record pace.  Through Saturday, Westminster has recorded 19 assists this season and is two shy of the 21 set in 2009.  They also average 1.58 assists per game which would become a new school record, eclipsing the 1.05 average from 2008 and 2009.

The Hickman Show
Junior forward Margo Hickman has scored nine goals with five assists and leads the team in both categories.  Her 23 points ranks second in school history for points in a season and sit just five shy of the 28 Jennifer Pirente had in 2007.  Hickman is also four goals away from matching the 13 Pirente scored in 2007.

Hickman has scored at least one goal in seven of the 12 games played this season.  She has twice scored two goals in a game and has five goals in the last six games.  Hickman has tallied at least one point in nine games and has two five-point games with one three-point game.

When it Counts
Heather Hillam has scored four goals this season while adding two assists for 10 total points.  After posting just one point in the first four games, Hillam has recorded nine points in the last eight contests.  She has also scored two game-winning goals, including one against the College of Idaho.

Hillam ranks second in school history with 41 career points and sit just three short of the 44 scored by Pirente in her career.  She also needs one goal to tie Pirente for the career lead and her nine career game-winning goals rank first in school history.

Freshman Sensation
Carissa Cooper is off to a fast start in her Westminster career.  The freshman midfielder has three goals in 12 games including one game-winner.  Cooper also scored a goal in the Griffins 2-1 exhibition win against Iowa Western at Rio Tinto Stadium in August.  She has attempted 12 shots and put six on frame.

Dumke Advantage
The Griffins have posted a 36-9-1 all-time record on the fast surface of Dumke Field.  They have never dropped more than two games in a season and have gone 7-1 at home this season.  Saturday will be the final home game of the season and with a victory they will set a school record for most home wins during one season.

Checking the Poll
Westminster moved back into the Top 25 by placing 22nd in the fifth edition of the 2011 NAIA Women's Soccer Coaches' Top 25 Poll, the national office announced Tuesday. This is the second time this season that Westminster has cracked the Top 25.

Westminster received 161 points in Tuesday's poll and the No. 22 ranking is the highest ranking in school history.  The Griffins made the poll for the first time in school history when they were 24th in the poll on Sept. 20.  Westminster is 7-4-1 on the year and they are coming off a 1-0 win over then-No. 23 Carroll last Saturday.

Massey Ratings
Westminster climbed four positions to No. 24 in the latest edition of the Massey Ratings that were released on Sunday.  The Griffins have a rating of 0.392 and have the No. 1-rated home field advantage.  The ratings have Westminster playing the No. 21 schedule through Sunday and they rank first among the eight teams in the Frontier/Cal Pac Conference.

The Massey Ratings are compiled each week with new ranking being released on Mondays.  Kenneth Massey is the creator of the rating formula and all ratings can be found on his web site at www.masseyratings.com.

Playing the Best
The Westminster women's soccer team is playing maybe the toughest slate of games in school history this season. The Griffins will face five teams that qualified for the 2010 NAIA National Championships and 11 opponents that won at least 10 games last season.

The 15 teams on the 2011 schedule combined to go 153-98-32 (.597) last season. They combined to win eight games at the national tournament with no team that qualified losing an opening round contest.  Westminster will also face seven teams that are ranked in the NAIA Preseason Top 25 Coaches' Poll and two more that received votes in the poll.

Frontier Conference vs. Cal Pac Conference
Dumke Field will play host to the Frontier/Cal Pac Conference Tournament on Nov. 11-12.  The top four teams from the two conferences will compete for an automatic invite to the NAIA National Championships.  The semi-finals will be played on Friday with the title games being played on Saturday.  Games times will be announced at a later date.
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