Just Briefly
The Loyola Marymount women's soccer team completed its 2000 regular season schedule on Saturday, Nov. 4 with a 1-0 shutout victory over West Coast Conference rival Pepperdine at Sullivan Field. Freshman midfielder Laura Trask scored her third game-winning goal in WCC play by one-timing a shot past Wave keeper Cheri Spangler at the 55:26 mark. Sophomore Jill Dobens and junior Erica Florez assisted on the play. Goalkeeper Tracy Sharp went out with a bang in her final collegiate game, tying the all-time conference record for shutouts with the 33rd of her career. Sharp, along with fellow seniors Kim Buccola, Angela Ichinose, Stacy Roberts and Michelle Woimberghe were honored for their contributions to the LMU program prior to kickoff. On Sunday, Nov. 5 the Lions were hopeful their 12-6-1 overall record and best-ever 5-2-0 mark in West Coast Conference play would earn them a spot in the 48-team NCAA Tournament field, however Loyola Marymount's name was never called. There was some consolation on Nov. 8 as the WCC bestowed all-conference honors on four Lion players.

Up Next
LMU will tentatively open its 2001 season on August 31 against NCAA tourney participant Michigan at the University of California Tournament.

Lions Place Six on All-Conference Team
The West Coast Conference announced its 2000 all-conference team on Wednesday, Nov. 8, reserving four awards for Loyola Marymount University players. Defender/midfielder Shari Nishikawa became the first freshman in LMU history and only the second Lion ever to earn All-WCC first team acclaim. On the offensive end the Kaneohe, Hi., native scored the game-winning goal at Cal State Northridge and added an assist. The other Lion to garner first team all-conference acclaim, senior goalkeeper Tracy Sharp, closed her stellar career with second team honors in 2000. Her exploits are detailed below. Joining Sharp on the second team were freshman midfielder Laura Trask, who caught fire during league play with three game-winning goals, and sophomore forward Jill Dobens, who tied for second on the team with nine points (three goals, three assists) en route to the second All-WCC selection of her young career. Senior Angela Ichinose and junior Erica Florez, both forwards, rounded out Loyola Marymount's All-WCC selections with honorable mention acclaim.

Close Calls
All but three of the Lions' 19 games this season - and all 12 of their victories - were decided by a single goal. Included in that total were 10 gut-wrenching 1-0 decisions, of which Loyola Marymount won seven. Overtime matches were especially kind to LMU in 2000, which posted an undefeated 3-0-1 record in sudden death contests.

LMU Tackles Tough Opponents
As in past seasons, the 2000 Lions played a challenging schedule against a number of teams from what is arguably the nation's toughest toughest region, the West. Loyola Marymount posted a 3-4 record versus NCAA Tournament-bound teams, with shutout victories coming over 22nd-ranked Santa Clara and Atlantic-10 Conference champion Xavier in addition to a 3-2 overtime win against San Diego. LMU finished ahead of both San Diego and Santa Clara in the West Coast Conference standings. Two of the Lions' losses this season were at the hands of UCLA and Portland, two of the top-eight seeds in the 2000 NCAA tourney.

Sharp and the Shutouts
The Lions finished the season allowing just 1.01 goals per game and relied on senior Tracy Sharp as their last line of defense. The Yorba Linda, Calif., native staked her claim as one of the nation's finest goalkeepers in 2000 while etching her name in the West Coast Conference record books. With her shutout of Pepperdine last Saturday, Sharp tied University of Portland senior keeper Cheryl Loveless for the WCC record of 33 career shutouts. The two-time WCC Defender of the Year registered a paltry 0.97 goals against average in over 1,483 minutes of action this season, making 62 saves including eight stops in a 1-0 shutout over Santa Clara. She blanked a total of seven opponents in 2000 and did not allow a goal until her seventh start of the season, a tough 1-0 loss at 23rd-ranked USC on Sept. 22.

Trask Was Focused on the Task at Hand
Freshman midfielder Laura Trask was relentless during West Coast Conference play, scoring three game-winning goals and assisting on a fourth. In addition to Saturday's heroics against Pepperdine, Trask notched the "golden goal" in the 109th minute of overtime to defeat San Diego 3-2 in the Lions' WCC opener. The following Friday the El Cajon, Calif., native capped a 3-2 LMU comeback at Gonzaga by scoring with less than 10 minutes remaining in regulation. Then on Oct. 29 against No. 22 Santa Clara, Trask fired the centering pass which led to Erica Florez's game-winner. All seven of Trask's points this season have come in WCC action.

LMU Head Coach
Gregg Murphy has completed his fifth year at the helm of the LMU women's soccer program. Under Murphy the Lions have enjoyed unprecedented success, posting winning seasons in all but his first year in Westchester. Murphy's record at LMU now reads 53-33-8, while his career coaching record, which spans nine seasons, stands at 111-85-12. An outstanding recruiter, Murphy's 2000 class was ranked 10th best in the West Region by Soccer Buzz. Murphy is a 1986 graduate of Chapman University.