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WSOC16Preview

Women's Soccer

Sunbirds Prepared to Open Season with Busy Week

GAME 1
vs. Stanislaus State
Monday, Sept. 5 •  7 p.m.
Ramirez Field • Fresno, Calif.
Live Stats
 
GAME 2
vs. Southern Oregon
Friday, Sept. 9 •  7:30 p.m.
Ramirez Field • Fresno, Calif.
Live Stats
GAME 3
vs. Western Oregon
Sun. Sept. 11 •  2 p.m.
Warrior Stadium • Turlock, Calif.
Live Stats • Video

SCHEDULE NOTES
After two home games and a neutral site game, the first true road trip of the season comes the on Saturday, when the 'Birds take on Cal State San Marcos in the final non-league game of the year.
 
FPU hosts Chaminade in the 2016 PacWest Conference opener on Sept. 22 before hosting BYU-Hawaii on the 24th. A five game road swing runs from Sept. 29 to Oct. 15, when the Sunbirds will meet up with Notre Dame de Namur, Dixie State, Dominican, Azusa Pacific and Point Loma.  
 
Academy of Art and Holy Names come calling on Oct. 19 and Oct. 22, respectively, before FPU visits California Baptist and Concordia to close out the month. Hawaii Hilo makes the journey to Ramirez Field on Nov. 3, and the Blue and Orange entertain Hawaii Pacific for Senior Night on Nov. 5. 
 
PACWEST PRESEASON POLL
Fresno Pacific was picked sixth in the PacWest Preseason Coaches' Poll.
 
PACWEST WOMEN'S SOCCER POLL
1. Azusa Pacific (6) 184
2. Point Loma (6) 182
3. Concordia 162
4. California Baptist (1) 157
5. Dixie State 141
6. Fresno Pacific 125
7. Hawai'i Pacific 108
8. Dominican 96
9. BYU-Hawaii (1) 83
10. Academy of Art 59
11. Hawai'i Hilo 57
12. Holy Names 54
13. Notre Dame de Namur 42
14. Chaminade 20
 
 
 
 
 
 












ROSTER NOTES
A Fresno junior, Mariah Montoya served as a spark for the Sunbird offense in 2015, leading the team in overall points by scoring four goals and dishing out a team-high six assists. She scored two goals in the team's 3-0 victory over Dominican and had her game of the year last October when she contributed to all four goals (one goal, three assists) in a 4-0 win over Notre Dame de Namur. Montoya also scored the team's lone goal in the 1-1 tie with Cal Baptist last fall.
 
Alyssa Nakaguchi, one of three team captains for the upcoming season, earned All-PacWest honors for the second straight year last season after totaling four goals and three assists for a total of 11 points. She was one of the team's primary distributors in the mid-field and scored game-winning goals against NDNU and Holy Names. She dished out a season-high two assists in the win over Dominican.

ABOUT STANISLAUS STATE
The Warriors began the year with back-to-back wins at a neutral site, besting Northwest Nazarene 3-1 on Thursday before defeating Colorado Mesa 2-1 on Saturday. Stanislaus State has been attacking-minded to this point in the young season, taking 28 shots and allowing just 12. Forward Jade Poon has led the offensive attack so far, tallying three goals and an assist, while goalkeeper Haley Crook has recorded twice as many saves as she has surrendered goals.

SERIES HISTORY: FPU VS STANISLAUS STATE The Sunbirds have never defeated the Warriors, carrying an 0-7-0 record into Monday night's season opener. Most recently, the 10th-ranked Warriors defeated FPU at Warrior Stadium by a final of 4-1. Returning forward Gabby Squarcia picked up a pair of goals.
 
ABOUT SOUTHERN OREGON
The Raiders have outscoured opponents 8-1 through two games this season, including a 5-0 shutout of UC Merced on Thursday evening. Megan McArthur and Lauren Aldana have combined for half the team's goals, while keeper Kylie Moltzen has already tallied 10 saves in her two victories.
 
SERIES HISTORY: FPU VS SOUTHERN OREGON
The Sunbirds claim a 4-1-0 all-time record against the Raiders. The last meeting came in 2012, when the visiting Raiders defeated FPU 2-1 in the seventh minute of the first overtime period. That was the second consecutive game for the Blue and Orange to go longer than 90 minutes, and six more followed the same season.

ABOUT WESTERN OREGON
The Wolves blanked George Fox in the initial game of their 2016 season on Thursday, earning a 1-0 home victory behind a Taylor Higa goal early in the second half. Goalie Caitlyn Kastelic recorded seven saves to keep the Bruins off the board to earn her first collegiate victory, and Western Oregon earned their second season-opening shutout in as many seasons.
 
SERIES HISTORY: FPU VS WESTERN OREGON
The Sunbirds and Wolves have not previously met.
 
HEAD COACH ROB PODEYN
Rob Podeyn joined the FPU staff in 2015 as head women's soccer coach. In his first season with the team, he guided a team that had finished 6-8-2 the previous year to a record-breaking season that saw the team lead the league in shots on goal while tying for the best record in program history. 
 
Podeyn began his coaching career after a successful seven-year professional playing career as a goalkeeper. He played collegiately at Long Island-C.W. Post (1984-1987) where he was an NCAA Division II All-American while leading his team to the NCAA quarterfinals as a senior. That year, Podeyn led the nation in save percentage (.893) and ranked fifth in the nation in saves with 107. He went on to spend seven seasons with the Long Island Stars of the American Soccer League, earning league MVP honors twice while setting a league record of 973 consecutive shutout minutes.
 
He holds an overall career coaching record of 109-98-20, including a 9-6-2 mark in his first season at FPU. He holds a bachelor's degree in English from Dowling College and a master's of education from William Woods University. Podeyn teaches in the university's kinesiology department, focusing primarily on the areas of sport psychology and leadership.
 
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Players Mentioned

Mariah Montoya

#15 Mariah Montoya

F
5' 0"
Junior
Alyssa Nakaguchi

#13 Alyssa Nakaguchi

M
5' 5"
Senior

Players Mentioned

Mariah Montoya

#15 Mariah Montoya

5' 0"
Junior
F
Alyssa Nakaguchi

#13 Alyssa Nakaguchi

5' 5"
Senior
M