A full slate of Big West women's soccer is on tap this weekend with four of the 12 games against nationally ranked competition.  Defending regular season champion Cal Poly opens up at No. 3 UCLA on Sunday.

NOTEWORTHY

KEEP AN EYE ON

Kailyn Kugler, UC Santa Barbara
The senior looks to lead UC Santa Barbara to a third straight NCAA Tournament appearance, hoping to build upon a nine-goal, five-assist season that earned her Big West Offensive Player of the Year honors in 2009.  Kugler is the conference’s active career leader in goals (22) and points (55).

MORE NOTABLES

Coaches Project UC Santa Barbara To Win 2010 Title
The nine head coaches selected UC Santa Barbara to win the 2010 Big West women’s soccer title in their annual preseason poll.  The Gauchos collected four first-place votes and 75 points to earn the nod over defending regular season champion Cal Poly (61 points - 2 first-place votes) and UC Irvine (60 points - 2 first-place votes).  Pacific was picked to finish fourth with 59 points and the remaining first-place vote.  Cal State Northridge (45 points), Long Beach State (44), Cal State Fullerton (34), UC Riverside (15) and UC Davis (13) rounded out the poll.  The favorite Gauchos return eight starters and 21 letterwinners from the 2009 squad that finished 9-10-3 overall and in third place in Big West action at 5-2-1.

Crozier Aims For Another Championship
In 2009, head coach Alex Crozier guided Cal Poly to a record sixth Big West regular season championship as the Mustangs finished 7-1-0 in league play.  All six titles - 1997, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003 and 2009 - have been won outright.  Crozier also has three (1996, 2003, 2004) Big West Tournament titles to his credit.  Entering his 19th season at Cal Poly, Crozier is the Big West career leader in overall victories (162), conference victories (73) and conference winning percentage (.719).

MOST BIG WEST REGULAR SEASON TITLES
Cal Poly                     6
Cal State Fullerton     5
Long Beach State      3
UC Santa Barbara     2
Pacific                        1

Coach Brown Previews 2010 Season
Cal State Fullerton head coach Demian Brown sat down with the Titan media relations staff to discuss his thoughts on the 2010 team and the upcoming campaign.  To watch the video, please click on the link.

Rodriguez, Figueroa Represent Mexico In World Cup
UC Irvine sophomore Mar Rodriguez and Pacific junior Angelica Figueroa represented Mexico at the U-20 Women’s World Cup 2010 in Germany.  The two Big West standouts helped their country win Group C and advance to the knockout stage in the quarterfinals.  Mexico fell to Korea, 3-1, in the quarterfinals

Andrews Bolsters Cal Poly Defense
The Big West’s top-ranked Cal Poly defense, which posted a 0.78 goals against average in 2009, lost a significant chunk of that strength with the graduation of defenders Julianne Grinstead and Carissa Voegele, and goalkeeper Coral Hoover.  The trio earned All-Big West First Team accolades and left a significant hole in the Mustang armor.  However, Cal Poly gets a huge boost with the return of senior Carrie Andrews, the 2008 Big West Defensive Player of the Year.  Andrews sat out last year but brings a wealth of experience and three-All-Big West First Team citations to the fold.

Let There Be Lights
An extra dose of excitement will be present for Cal State Northridge’s home opener on Sunday, August 22 against nationally ranked Portland.  Newly installed lights to Matador Soccer Field will be unveiled for the 7:00 p.m. matchup.  The Portland game will be one of seven night contests for the Matadors this season.
   
Padilla Returns To The Pitch
Pacific forward Maricela Padilla was brilliant in her freshman season, notching eight goals and two assists, and looking every bit like a Player of the Year candidate.  Unfortunately, she suffered a season-ending knee injury in the Big West opener October 1 at Long Beach State and missed the final seven games of the season.  The Tigers won that game against the 49ers, 1-0, on a Padilla goal in the 20th minute.  Pacific scored 23 goals in the 12 games Padilla participated in - nearly two goals per game.  In the seven games Padilla was absent, the Tigers found the back of the net just six times.  A healthy Padilla is key to Pacific’s 2010 fortunes.

Big West Takes On Nation’s Best
The Big West is ducking nobody with a heavy load of non-conference ranked opponents on the docket.  According to the preseason NSCAA poll, Big West teams have 15 games lined up against teams ranked in the top 25, including six in the top five.

Cal Poly hosts defending national champion and preseason No. 1-ranked North Carolina on Friday, September 10 at Spanos Stadium.

The Big West battles five ranked opponents within the first week of the season as Long Beach State and Cal State Fullerton host No. 22 BYU on August 20 and 23, respectively.  UC Irvine travels to No. 14 California, Cal Poly visits No. 3 UCLA and Cal State Northridge hosts No. 5 Portland this Sunday. 

BIG WEST VERSUS TOP 25 OPPONENTS
No. 22 BYU at Long Beach State - Aug. 20
UC Irvine at No. 14 California - Aug. 22
No. 5 Portland at Cal State Northridge - Aug. 22
Cal Poly at No. 3 UCLA - Aug. 22
No. 22 BYU at Cal State Fullerton - Aug. 23
Long Beach State vs. No. 21 Washington State - Aug. 27
Long Beach State vs. No. 15 Virginia Tech - Aug. 29
Cal State Northridge at No. 3 UCLA - Sept. 5
Pacific vs. No. 9 Santa Clara - Sept. 10
No. 1 North Carolina at Cal Poly - Sept. 10
Pacific at No. 2 Stanford - Sept. 12
UC Santa Barbara at No. 3 UCLA - Sept. 12
Long Beach State at No. 14 California - Sept. 12
Pacific at No. 14 California - Sept. 19
Cal State Northridge at No. 8 Texas A&M - Sept. 19 

Offense On Display In Eaterville
UC Irvine scored a league-high 37 goals in 2009.  A majority of that offense returns in 2010, including the four leading scorers in Tanya Taylor, Dana Sanderlin, Devon Delarosa and Mar Rodriguez.  The foursome accounted for 21 of those goals, with Taylor and Sanderlin providing six apiece.

Follow Your Team On BigWest.TV
The Big West Conference and the CBS College Sports Network are partnering to bring you exclusive coverage of Big West sports, press conferences, interviews, and features to your home via the Internet!  Now in its sixthyear, BigWest.TV covers every home and conference contest in men’s basketball as well as women’s basketball and volleyball.  Also covered are select contests in men’s and women’s soccer, baseball, softball, and Big West Conference Championships.  A monthly subscription of $9.95 or an annual subscription of $79.95 delivers exclusive coverage to you.  If you can’t make it to the gym or the field, you can still catch all the action on BigWest.TV!