LA JOLLA, Calif. - The 2010 uniforms for the UC San Diego
women's soccer team feature seven stars on the left shoulder, representing the
number of national titles that the Tritons have won in program history. With
the new season set to begin Thursday with a 4:30 p.m. match against Dominican,
UCSD's search for star No. 8 is renewed.
In 2009, the Tritons reached the NCAA West Region Championship with a squad
that featured freshmen and sophomores at 10 of the 11 starting spots. While the
team was labeled as "young" last season, its identifying characteristic might
shift to "experienced" in 2010, considering how playoff-tested UCSD is at this
point.
Senior All-American Lisa Bradley has played in five NCAA Tournament matches
while the 10-member junior class is primed to step up and take leadership roles
this season.
Leading the UCSD offense in 2009 was junior forward Sarah McTigue, who
collected three goals in the postseason alone, including a two-score effort in
the Tritons' second-round win over Chico State. The focal point of the UCSD
attack didn't sit squarely on McTigue's shoulders though, as she was one of
five players to tally double-digit points last season. Anne Wethe led the squad
in assists with eight, while Shelby Wong contributed a balance of goals (6) and
assists (5).
Returning to her regular spot in net this year will be Kristin Armstrong, who
started all 22 matches in 2009 and only allowed 16 goals. Competing for a share
of the minutes will be Sarah Garland, a junior transfer from the University of
San Francisco.
Armstrong will see a familiar line of defense in front of her in 2010, with
Hayley Johnson, Sara Spaventa and Ellen Wilson doing their best to shut down
the opposition's scoring threats. Aside from Armstrong, those three defenders
were the only Tritons to play more than 1,900 minutes last season.
With practically the entire 2009 roster intact heading into the new campaign,
head coach Brian McManus and his staff don't have a lot of lineup mysteries to
solve. One unknown though is newcomer Annette Ilg, who played four years of
basketball for the Tritons. As a starting 5-foot-10 guard on the court, she
earned all-conference honors as a senior and scored 25 points in her final
game. Stepping onto the soccer field this fall as a forward will be a new
challenge for the athletically-gifted Ilg, who is enrolled in a graduate program for Chemistry and Biochemistry.
With a clean slate ahead, UCSD will challenge Dominican at 4:30 p.m. on
Thursday and on Saturday, the Tritons will host Notre Dame de Namur at 7 p.m. Both
of the visiting squads hail from the Pacific West Conference and the meetings
will mark the first time that UCSD has faced those opponents in program
history.
