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Sunwaves get kick-start thanks to East County ‘alliance' Posted June 27, 2007 The South Bay-headquartered San Diego Gauchos filled the gap left by the departure of the international-flavored WUSA San Diego Spirit by fielding a women's team in the United Soccer Leagues' W-League for the 2005 and 2006 seasons. With the demise of the WUSA, the W-League stepped forward as North America 's premier women's pro league. The Gauchos may have underestimated the caliber of play in a W-League now infused with top-notch talent from the defunct WUSA. The result was an inaugural 0-14 campaign while fielding a lineup comprised primarily of high school and junior college standouts. The Gauchos increased their player profile last season by adding standouts from four-year colleges and instantly became competitive with the top teams in the Western Conference. A lack of finishing prowess cost the team in a couple of matches, with the second-year club finishing a deceiving 2-7-3. The Gauchos increased their attendance dramatically from their first season to the second season, specifically showing that there was still a market for high-level women's soccer at USD's Torero Stadium. But the team was sold during the off-season and the new San Diego Sunwaves were born. Credit for the W-League maintaining a presence in the region goes to a group of parents whose daughters play in the East County-based Alliance Soccer Club. The Sunwaves ownership group consists of Diane and T.J. LaFlam, William Jensen and Scott McDermand — all East County residents. The new ownership group got involved in the Sunwaves through their association with Elio Bello, who serves as the Alliance Soccer Club's president and premier-level director and was a member of last year's Gauchos coaching staff. Bello also happened to coach the daughters of the three respective families. When the opportunity arose (the Gauchos' decision to end operations), it didn't take long to bring the Sunwaves into existence. Diane LaFlam described the Sunwaves owners as a “group of parents who have a love for the game of soccer.” She and her husband described an incident that happened four years ago that heavily influenced their decision to become involved in breathing new life into the W-League team. Four years ago our daughter Brittany and the Jensens' daughter Chelsea were invited to come on air at one of the local radio shows to meet and talk with Jamie Pagliarulo, a goalkeeper from the San Diego Spirit,” Diane LaFlam said. “At the time the girls were 10 years old, best of friends, and AYSO soccer players destined to play against each other in the county playoffs. They were young and very impressionable. “After meeting Jamie, they were infused with enthusiasm for the sport. Since then, they joined club soccer and now play for their high school teams. They are growing and improving with each passing year. They are great students, good athletes, and most important they are awesome decision-makers, always striving to make the right choices in life. In short, they are growing up to be women any parent would be proud of. We really believe the experience they had meeting a great woman athlete influenced their determination to take control of their lives and move in a positive direction. If the women on our team can influence even one child, like Jamie Pagliarulo influenced our girls, then the decision to bring and keep a team in San Diego was a good one.” rittany LaFlam, Chelsea Jensen and Megan McDermand — the daughters in question (who have been playing together for six to seven years) — are now 14. Brittany now plays soccer for Steele Canyon High School and the Alliance Soccer Club. The LaFlam's youngest daughter, Bailey, is almost 9, and plays AYSO soccer and is on an indoor team. She also dabbles in gymnastics, according to the family. Megan will be a freshman at Steele Canyon this fall. An older sister, Kellin, will be a senior at the Rancho San Diego school. The McDermands also have a son, Scott, who attends Southwestern College , and an older daughter, Erin, who is married and lives in Scottsdale , Ariz. , with her husband Randy and two sons Quinn and Shane. The elder McDermand, a 1971 graduate of USD, said the three families wanted to help provide positive role models for young girls as well as help provide affordable family entertainment by becoming involved with the Sunwaves. “We all felt that what we were doing was for the girls who made up the team, the community by providing some good, affordable family entertainment, and some great role models for our own girls and the young girls who we hoped would follow the Sunwaves,” Scott McDermand said. “I think we all feel that, to a much smaller scale than we had hoped for, we have actually accomplished these things. We are all very proud of the Sunwaves players, who have been everything we hoped they would be.” With an influx of even higher-profile playing talent than last season, the Sunwaves expected to provide a high-level, entertaining brand of professional women's soccer this summer. Thus far, the team has delivered just that with a 5-3-1 record that has been highlighted by a 2-2 draw against the defending W-League champion Vancouver Whitecaps (in Canada ) and a two-game sweep of the visiting Mile High Edge from Denver June 22 and June 24 at USD. The Sunwaves downed the Edge 3-1 in come-from-behind fashion in the series opener and recorded a 4-0 shutout victory in the second game to sweep the season series 3-0 after previously defeating the Edge, 4-0, on its season-opening three-game Colorado road trip. USD's Amy Epsten, one of the holdovers from the Gauchos, scored twice in each game to give her four goals in the two matches. Katie Miyake, an All-Western Conference selection last season with the Gauchos, collected one goal and two assists in the two games while Leigh Ann Robinson (USD/Mt. Carmel High School) had a goal and assist and Rebekah Patrick scored one goal. Elizabeth Remy, who scored both goals in the Sunwaves' June 10 game in Vancouver , had two assists while Holly Grogan and Debs Berenton also were credited with assists in the two matches against the Edge. Goalkeeper Sofia Perez, an alumna of Bonita Vista High School and SDSU, had two saves in each game. She posted her third shutout of the season in the June 24 win. “Everything came together for us,” said Bello , who serves as the Sunwaves head coach. “We played well and dominated the ball. We got it done.” The two victories catapulted the Sunwaves into sole possession of first place in the Western Conference standings – three points ahead of the second-place Seattle Sounders (4-3-1). “It would be great to make the playoffs in the Sunwaves' inaugural season,” said Epsten, who works in El Cajon and has two years of eligibility left at USD. “It's so great to have this opportunity. I've met so many great people. It's a great experience. We've gotten better and better every year. San Diego is such a great place to play soccer. We love to compete. It would be great to win the W-League championship in our inaugural season.” Off the field, the Sunwaves are banking on support from the region's numerous youth soccer players. That potential was admirably displayed by the turnout of an estimated 2,000 fans at the team's May 18 exhibition match against the Los Angeles Storm. The sizable crowd was easily the largest gathering of fans to watch a professional women's soccer match locally (other than the U.S. women's national team) since the demise of the WUSA in 2003. “We want to provide a pro level for the women's game and keep it in San Diego ,” T.J. LaFlam said when asked about the team's goals. “The USL is a respected organization and the W-League is a high level league. We think soccer in America is at a point right now where football was 20 years ago when it took off. Youth soccer is where our fan base is.” The Sunwaves already appear on their way to replicating the support the former WUSA Spirit enjoyed among area youth. At the team's preseason match, several young girls, standing at the front rail, began spontaneously singing a cheer song dedicated to the Sunwaves. It could be a marriage made in heaven — or, more precisely, on the youth soccer fields of San Diego County. Cornerkicks Returning Gauchos include defender Mariette Boyce (Washington State University ), midfielders Kara Kabaellis ( Wisconsin University ), Miyake ( Portland State University ), Grogan and defender Ana Gutierrez (Seattle University ). Other players with San Diego County ties include forward Lizzy Karoly (San Pasqual High School), defender Jayme Leigh Cargoni ( Mt. Carmel High School ) and Lizette Martinez (SDSU/ Hilltop High School ). The team's international connection include Grogan (English National Premier League), Berenton ( England's National Soccer Academy ) and midfielder Laura Cooper ( England 's Chelsea Ladies). The Sunwaves kicked off their W-League home schedule with a Fathers' Day contest June 17 with a 1-0 loss against the Real Colorado Cougars. The Sunwaves, who had compiled a 3-2-1 record in six consecutive road games, out-shot the Colorado visitors 19-5 and dominated the opening half of play with a 12-3 edge in shots. But after scoring early in the second half ( Megan Flanagan in the 47 th minute) , the Cougars (2-3-1) were able to hold off the tiring Sunwaves and returned the favor after dropping a 1-0 decision to the Sunwaves in the teams' season opener in Denver in May. "We played well and dominated the ball most of the game. But we just couldn't get it done," Bello said. San Diego swept its three-game road swing to Colorado but dropped 2-0 and 1-0 matchups to the Seattle Sounders on its Pacific Northwest road swing. The Sunwaves suffered their first loss of the season, 2-0, at Seattle on June 8 despite out-shooting the Sounders 16-12. Sandwiched around the two losses in Seattle was the dazzling June 10 performance in Vancouver by the San Diegans. The Sunwaves led 2-0 before the Whitecaps, playing in front of 5,420 hometown fans, staged a late rally with goals by Tiffeny Milbrett ( USA women's national team) and Holly Gault in the final six minutes. Vancouver evened the match in injury time. Remy ( Wake Forest ) had both goals for the Sunwaves while Grogan and Brereton each were credited with assists. Perez was credited with six saves in the high profile matchup. But Milbrett, who was making her debut for the Whitecaps after playing in Sweden , was the catalyst for the hosts. “We fought to the end, and that is all you can ask,” Milbrett told reporters after the game. “It was a struggle, but we fought and got a point.”
The Sunwaves are also planning an exhibition game on July 7 — its once-in-a-lifetime “07-07-07” promotion. For more information, visit the team's Web site at www.sandiegosunwaves.com. San Diego Sunwaves May June July
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San Diego Sunwaves/W-League Report
Sunwaves make history with first W-League conference title
Posted July 26, 2007
Members of the San Diego Sunwaves women’s soccer team set a goal at the onset of the season to win a championship. Before the last ball is kicked this season, that goal could end in plural form, as in championships.
By virtue of a 2-0 victory against the Seattle Sounders July 22 at USD’s Torero Stadium, the Sunwaves captured sole possession of the W-League’s regular season Western Conference championship and will host a playoff match this weekend against the Sounders for the right to advance to the league’s final four championship tournament the first week in August in New York.
The Sunwaves’ 8-3-1 regular season finish caught the team’s East County owners somewhat off guard, so much so that the team will have to schedule its home playoff game elsewhere than USD because of field renovations for the upcoming college football season.
The club’s inaugural playoff match will take place Friday, July 27, starting at 6:30 p.m. at Southwestern College.
“The team exceeded expectations, in just about every area,” said co-owner Scott McDermand in speaking for the team’s ownership group.
Speaking for the group, McDermand said the team’s owners set out with three main hopes for the season.
1) To provide a place for college age women, college graduates and young women who still had the ability and desire to compete at a high level.
2) To provide San Diego County soccer fans a reasonably priced, family-oriented place to watch good, competitive soccer.
3) To provide the ownership group’s young daughters, as well as the many young girls playing soccer throughout San Diego County, role models who are not only great athletes, but also “wonderful young women.”
“I have to say that the young women on our team have provided everything and more than we had hoped for,” McDermand said. “They have continually shown a great deal of class and sportsmanship, even under some very trying situations, and have shown that they deserve to be called champions. Everything from this point forward is just icing on the cake.”
McDermand said if there was one area in which the owners wished they had been more successful, it was getting the word out about this team. “It is a real shame that more families, more young girls, did not get the opportunity to see our team compete, become a part of a championship team, and meet our players,” he said. “I think that some of the more memorable moments of this season, apart from the outstanding soccer, was the interaction of the players with the fans, especially the young wide-eyed girls who were able to meet their favorite players, get autographs and hugs from the players. Seeing the excitement on the faces of the kids and the players made us remember why we did this.”
As far as the conference championship goes, McDermand said “these girls deserved it.”
“They played their hearts out all season and every one of them, no matter how many minutes they played, contributed to the success of the team,” McDermand said. “When I mentioned role models above, there is a reason these young women exceeded our expectations. They all have great character and a drive to succeed. They certainly have been role models.”
That drive to succeed begins with this weekend’s playoff game against the Sounders and could include as many as three post-season games. The Western Conference playoff winner travels to the W-League’s Final Four championship tournament Aug. 3-5 in Rochester, N.Y. The Western Conference, Eastern Conference and Central Conference playoff champions, along with the host Rochester Raging Rhinos, will meet in two semifinal games, with the winners to meet for first place and the losers to vie for third place.
With a playoff victory against Seattle, the Sunwaves would play for a top four finish in the 35-team W-League.
“My quote of the year would be from worst to first,” said Sunwaves goalkeeper Sophia Perez, an alumna of both Bonita Vista High School and SDSU. “This is my third year on this team (two years previously as a member of the Gauchos) and to see this happen to this team is incredible. It’s amazing how we’ve brought so much talent together in one place.”
The addition of Mexican superstar Maribel Dominguez appears to provide the proverbial “missing piece” to the puzzle, according to coaches and players. Dominquez, a standout player in the WUSA as well as abroad, notched a goal and assist in her first match with the Sunwaves on July 18 and collected two goals in last weekend’s pair of contests to give her three goals in just three games. Her presence on the field gives the team a new sense of confidence — and stature.
“She gives us that extra pizzazz,” Perez said in reference to Dominguez, a fellow teammate on the Mexican women’s national team.
The Sunwaves enter the upcoming playoff match against Seattle with the momentum arising from a five-game winning streak in which the San Diegans have outscored their opponents 18-4.
The Sunwaves topped the defending W-League champion Vancouver Whitecaps, 4-1, on July 18 and followed with a 5-2 win against the visiting Ft. Collins Force on July 20.
“The game against Vancouver was awesome,” said T.J. LaFlam, one of the team’s owners who also serves as Sunwaves general manager.
USD’s Amy Epsten had a goal and assist in the game against Vancouver and helped power the offense in the game against the Force with a pair of goals (matching Dominguez).
In the regular season finale against the Sounders, the Sunwaves dominated two third of the contest in building a 2-0 lead and held off the visitors with some inspired defensive play in the latter stages of the second half.
Leigh Ann Robinson, assisted by Debs Bereton, scored in the seventh minute of play while Epsten tacked on a penalty kick goal in the 57th minute.
Perez was credited with three saves. For the match, San Diego outshot Seattle 12-4.
Dominguez had the opening (36:00) and closing goals (81:00) in the Sunwaves’ 5-2 win against Ft. Collins. Epsten scored in the 61st and 74th minutes while Bereton tallied a goal in the 49th minute. San Diego out-shot the physical Force 14-6.
The Sounders are a playoff veteran with five consecutive post-season appearances in the W-League.
“We go into the playoff game against Seattle with both positives and negatives,” Perez said. “The positive is that we beat them. The negative is that they beat us twice on their home field. But the playoff game will be on our home field in front of our fans. We’re at home. We’re excited. I’ve been happy all year with our fans.”
For more information on the Sunwaves, visit the club’s Web site at www.sandiegosunwaves.com.
Notepad
The Ottawa Fury was the lone W-League team to finish regular season play undefeated with an 11-0-1 record as the leaders in the Eastern Conference Northern Division. The Washington Freedom, formerly a member in the WUSA, topped the Eastern Conference Northeast Division with a 12-1-1 record while the Midwest Division-champion Minnesota Lightning finished as the top team in the Central Conference with a 10-1-1 record.
Vancouver, which missed the playoffs for the first time in its W-League history, finished third in the Western Conference standings at 6-3-3. Following the Whitecaps in the conference standings were Ft. Collins (4-7-1), the Mile High Edge (3-7-2) and Real Colorado (3-7-2).
Sunwaves strive for first-place finish
Posted July 19, 2007
With two games remaining on their regular season schedule, the San Diego Sunwaves are poised to make a run for the USL W-League Western Conference title — and perhaps the league title.
The Sunwaves, bolstered by the addition of Mexican superstar Maribel Dominguez, moved into first place in the Western Conference standings by defeating last year’s W-League champions, the Vancouver Whitecaps, by a convincing 4-1 score July 11 at USD’s Torero Stadium. The Whitecaps had entered the game holding a two-point advantage in the conference standings but left down a point.
The Sunwaves, with victories in their final two games against the visiting Ft. Collins Force (Friday, July 20, 6:30 p.m.) and Seattle Sounders (Sunday, July 22, 3 p.m.), can clinch first place in the conference standings and a home playoff game.
Dominguez, who joined the team after a longer-than-expected stint in Europe, scored the final goal in the Sunwaves’ spirited win against Vancouver on a booming 45-yard shot that caught nearly all of the announced crowd of 2,743 — and Whitecaps goalkeeper Cori Alexander — by surprise.
The crowd was the largest to see a Sunwaves’ regular season W-League game this season. The victory was likely the biggest in franchise history.
With two games left, San Diego is 6-3-1 with 19 points — tied with Seattle (6-3-1). Vancouver is 5-2-3 with 18 points, followed by Ft. Collins at 4-6-1 with 13 points.
Vancouver and Ft. Collins both have one game remaining.
Sunwaves head coach Elio Bello called the Whitecaps “a great team.”
"But we studied the film and came up with a good game plan that kept things in check,” he said. “Katie (Miyake), Ana (Gutierrez) and Lisa (Gomez) kept a very close eye on Tiffeny (Milbrett) all night. In fact, the entire team really did an awesome job."
The Sunwaves were left seeing red when they departed Vancouver a month earlier after playing to a disappointing 2-2 draw. San Diego owned a 2-0 lead before the hosts tied the match with unanswered goals in the final six minutes. The tying goal came in stoppage time.
In the rematch, while wearing red, the Sunwaves avenged the early season draw in a gritty game for first place. The large crowd not only came to see the Sunwaves’ debut of Dominguez but also the return of U.S. international Tiffeny Milbrett, the Whitecaps’ star player.
Not to disappoint, Milbrett scored Vancouver’s lone goal.
But Milbrett could not rescue her team this time.
San Diego scored two unanswered first-half goals to lead 2-0. Elizabeth Remy took a perfect feed from USD teammate Amy Epsten and put in it for a 1- 0 lead in the 13th minute. Epsten, tallying in the third consecutive game, knocked in a misplayed rebound near the Vancouver net three minutes later.
Sunwaves goalkeeper Sophia Perez denied Milbrett in the 79th minute before the Team USA standout finally broke through with a goal in the 86th minute, assisted by Ros Hicks, to halve the San Diego lead to 2-1.
But the hosts quickly negated another miraculous Whitecaps rally by scoring twice in the waning stages of the match. Dominquez assisted on Rebekah Patrick’s goal in the 87th minute before Marigol, as she is called, amazed everyone with her long-range laser shot at the 89:00 mark. Leigh Ann Robinson received credit for the assist on Dominguez’s first goal as a Sunwave.
Bello called possessing a 2-0 lead as “the worst lead to have."
"There's a tendency to relax. One goal and it's a game,” Bello said. “(Against Vancouver), we stepped up and kept attacking. I'm very proud of our team. We played smart and with lots of organization, leadership and heart."
The save by Perez on Milbrett proved to be a momentum-shifter. Had she not rose to the occasion by deflecting Milbrett's initial bid for a goal in the 79th minute, Milbrett’s goal in the 86th minute would have tied the contest.
Thankfully, Perez saw little other action in the game due to the solid play of the defenders in front of her. For the game, San Diego held a 10-6 edge in shots.
"Eighty percent of our training is possession and if we hold onto the ball, they can't score," Bello said. "It's as simple as that."
Bello confirmed the addition of Dominguez has helped strengthen the team in several areas. "We're happy to have Maribel,” he said. “She adds value to the team as a leader and makes us stronger. But I can't say enough about our backline and the organization and leadership of players like Lisa Gomez who are really playing well and controlling the tempo. They all are working very hard and are focused."
The result was a satisfying victory. The end result could be a league championship.
Mexican star Maribel Dominguez set to join Sunwaves
Posted July 5, 2007
The first-place San Diego Sunwaves got some more good news June 29 when Mexico 's all-time leading women's scorer, superstar forward Maribel Dominguez ,announced that she would be joining the W-League team effective July 8.
Dominguez, currently completing European obligations that were unexpectedly extended earlier this summer, will be in San Diego for the Sunwaves' next W-League home game — a July 11 match against the defending national champion Vancouver Whitecaps. Dominguez, a former star in the WUSA, is also slated to play in the Sunwaves' remaining league games against the Seattle Sounders and Ft. Collins Force.
Dominguez, who signed with the Sunwaves earlier this year was persuaded by her European team in Barcelona , Spain , to help it qualify for advancement to that country's premier league, which it successfully did.
“We weren't sure of Maribel's status until recently,” said T.J. LaFlam, co-owner of the Sunwaves. “We had a signed agreement with her and were hoping she'd honor that agreement at some point this season, so we're delighted that she's joining the team.”
Dominguez's debut, ironically, will come against another great team that the Sunwaves came close to defeating earlier this season, the Vancouver Whitecaps. The game ended in a 2-2 tie, thanks to a Whitecap goal in stoppage time. The Whitecaps have lost only five games in six years and are led by superstar Tiffeny Milbrett, a former U.S. National team member who won a Women's World Cup championship in 1999. She also was a member of the 1996 Gold medal-winning U.S. Olympic team.
Vancouver and San Diego currently share first place in the Western Conference standings.
The Sunwaves and Whitecaps kick off their July 11 matchup at 6:30 p.m. at USD's Torero Stadium. Tickets are $8 for seniors and juniors; and $10 for any seat in the house. For more information, visit the team's Web site at www.sandiegosunwaves.com or call (619) 303-7290.
Martinez hoping to re-establish soccer links
Posted June 29, 2007
Lizette Martinez, a 2002 graduate of Hilltop High School , has had three different surgeries that, at various junctures, have helped delay her soccer career. She has the scars to prove it. They are visible just below her left knee.
The ACL injuries limited her to the equivalent of just two varsity seasons while attending SDSU. She graduated in 2006 with her potential hardly realized.
Her goal is to continue to play soccer at the highest possible level. She appears on her way after making a cameo appearance in Sunday's 4-0 San Diego Sunwaves victory against the Mile High Edge at USD's Torero Stadium.
Martinez is a member of this year's inaugural Sunwaves team that plays in the United Soccer Leagues' W-League, currently considered the highest level of professional women's soccer in North America . She is the teammate of former Bonita Vista High School and SDSU standout Sophia Perez, the Sunwaves' goalkeeper.
Both Martinez and Perez previously played for the Sunwaves' forerunner, the San Diego Gauchos women's team.
To say that Martinez , in particular, has some unfinished business is an understatement.
“I'm at about 90 percent now. I'm still trying to get my speed back,” she said.
The former Lancer standout — and coach (she coached last season's Hilltop girls team to a South Bay League championship title) — got a chance to showcase her moves in the waning stages of Sunday's match. She nearly scored what would have been the team's fifth goal after taking a pass at the forward position and blasting a shot toward the Colorado team's net less than a minute after being inserted into the contest.
“Hey, it was like thanks for giving me the ball,” Martinez said with a smile. “If you have only a minute to play, it only takes a minute to score a goal.”
Martinez currently works as a substitute teacher in the San Diego Unified School District . Her goal one day is to become a school counselor. “I want to be a counselor but I wanted to get some classroom experience first.”
The former South County high school and SDSU standout is now a role model for the young girls who attend Sunwaves matches. Martinez can still recall the days when, as a teen-ager, she attended WUSA Spirit games at Torero Stadium in awe of the professional players on the field.
“I remember coming here every weekend. It was fun,” Martinez said. “We want to get something going again.”
While a proposed replacement league for the world class-caliber WUSA is supposedly in the works for the 2008 season, the W-League and the Sunwaves continue to carry the torch for the sport at the local level.
Sunday's shutout victory was the back end of a two-game sweep against the Edge after the Sunwaves previously defeated Mile High, 3-1, last Friday. The two wins raised the Sunwaves' record to 5-3-1 and catapulted the team into sole possession of first place in the Western Conference standings — three points ahead of the second place Seattle Sounders (4-3-1).
The 1999 Women's World Cup played a huge part in launching the WUSA, which played three seasons as a national league before suspending operations following the 2003 season. The 2007 Women's World Cup will take place in September in China . Many hope the quadrennial event will help launch another effort at showcasing top-level women's soccer in this country. Whether that translates to another high profile pro league or simply a jump in attendance at W-League games is unknown at this point.
Whatever is lurking on the horizon, Martinez would like to play herself back into shape to be a part of it.
“My personal goal is to get back into soccer,” she said. “I'm here now. I'd like to take it from here.”
Perez currently plays for the Mexican women's national team. Martinez said she feels honored to play alongside a player of Perez' caliber.
“It's great. She keeps everyone in check on the team,” Martinez said of Perez. “She sees everything on the field from her position. She has total field vision. She's a great leader. She's fun to play with.”
Martinez hopes to have her share of fun before the Sunwaves season is over — whether that be a conference championship, league championship or simply more valuable playing time.
Cornerkicks
•The Sunwaves kicked off their W-League home schedule with a Father's Day contest June 17, dropping a 1-0 contest against the Real Colorado Cougars. The Sunwaves, who had compiled a 3-2-1 record in six consecutive road games to start the season, out-shot the Colorado visitors 19-5 and dominated the opening half of play with a 12-3 edge in shots. But after scoring early in the second half (Megan Flanagan in the 47th minute), the Cougars (2-3-1) were able to hold off the tiring Sunwaves.
•San Diego swept its three-game road swing to Colorado, defeating the Cougars 1-0 in May in the teams' season opener, but dropped 2-0 and 1-0 matchups to the Seattle Sounders on its Pacific Northwest road swing. The Sunwaves suffered their first loss of the season, 2-0, at Seattle on June 8 despite out-shooting the Sounders 16-12.
•Sandwiched between the two losses in Seattle was a dazzling June 10 performance in Vancouver by the San Diegans. The Sunwaves led 2-0 before the Whitecaps, playing in front of 5,420 hometown fans, staged a late rally with goals by Tiffeny Milbrett ( USA women's national team) and Holly Gault in the final six minutes to earn a 2-2 draw. Vancouver evened the match in injury time. Elizabeth Remy had both goals for the Sunwaves while Holly Grogan and Deborah Brereton each were credited with assists. Perez had six saves.
•USD's Amy Epsten, another holdover from the Gauchos, scored twice in each game last weekend against the Edge to give her four goals in the two matches. Katie Miyake, an All-Western Conference selection last season with the Gauchos, collected one goal and two assists in the two games while Leigh Ann Robinson (USD/Mt. Carmel High School) had a goal and assist and Rebekah Patrick scored one goal. Elizabeth Remy, who scored both goals in the Sunwaves' June 10 game in Vancouver , had two assists while Holly Grogan and Debs Berenton also were credited with assists in the two matches against the Edge. Goalkeeper Sofia Perez, an alumna of Bonita Vista High School and SDSU, had two saves in each game. She posted her third shutout of the season in the June 24 win.
Sunwaves open 3-0
Posted June 1, 2007
The San Diego Sunwaves women's soccer team has gone where its predecessor, the San Diego Gauchos, dared only venture by sweeping a three-game Colorado road trip to kick off the team's third W-League season. The Sunwaves, who feature former Bonita Vista standout Sophia Perez and Hilltop standout Lizette Martinez on the roster, defeated the Real Colorado Cougars, 1-0, on May 25 and followed with a 3-2 win against the Ft. Collins Force on May 25 and a 4-0 victory against the Mile High Edge on May 27. Perez's play proved critical in the team's season opener as the former SDSU goalkeeper made a diving save in the 85th minute to deflect what Sunwaves coach Elio Bello called “a sure Cougar goal." Said Bello : "Her play literally saved the game."
Holly Grogan and Rebekah Patrick each came away from the three games with two goals and one assist while Leigh Ann Robinson scored two goals.
The Sunwaves play three more road games in the Pacific Northwest before hosting Real Colorado June 17 at USD Torero Stadium. “We want to come home with a lot of wins and get our home crowd excited and behind us,” Perez said.