GAME NOTES | AUDIO | LIVE STATS | TOURNAMENT CENTRAL
BENGAL OVERVIEW
Idaho State (11-5-3) won the Big Sky Conference Tournament title after defeating defending Big Sky Champion Montana in a 4-3 penalty kick situation. ISU also advanced to the final after defeating No. 4 seed Weber State in a 4-3 penalty kick shootout in the semifinal. ISU is making its fifth trip to the NCAA Tournament. The Bengals have drawn the top seed and defending National Champion Stanford Cardinal in Palo Alto, Calif. Game time is Friday, Nov. 9 at 7p.m. (PST).
ABOUT IDAHO STATE
The Bengals are 11-5-3 on the season and are led by senior forward
Rachel Strawn and sophomore
Amanda Ellsworth. Ellsworth leads the Bengals with 23 points coming from nine goals and a team-high five assists. Strawn leads ISU with 10 goals, 47 shots, 25 shots on goal and five game-winning goals.
Nationally, ISU is ranked 68th in win-loss percentage, 86th in scoring offense, 122nd in goals allowed average, 136th in shutout percentage and 200th in save percentage.
NCAA TOURNAMENT NOTES
This is the fifth time Idaho State has advanced to the NCAA College Cup. The Bengals made NCAA appearances in 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2006.
In 2006, ISU led No. 11 Utah 2-1 in the first round with 30 seconds left in the contest but lost 3-2 in double overtime.
In 2003, ISU advanced to the second round after tying with No. 14 Utah and advancing after defeating the Utes in penalty kicks 5-4. ISU faced BYU in the second round, falling 2-0.
ISU lost to Portland in the first round in both 2002 (3-0) and 2001 (5-0).
The second-round matchup will pit the Stanford-Idaho State winner against Santa Clara (11-3-6) or Long Beach State (12-7).
TICKET INFORMATION
Tickets for the first round will be sold beginning Tuesday at 9 a.m. They can be purchased by phone at 1-800-STANFORD, online at
gostanford.com, or in person at the ticket office at Gate 4 of Stanford Stadium from 9 a.m.-4 p.m.
Ticket prices are $17 for reserved seats. For general admission, adults are $10 and students, youths, and seniors are $8.
EVENT COVERAGE
Friday's contest with the Cardinal will be broadcast live on 91.1 KISU as well at the audio link at
www.isubengals.com. The voice of the Bengals,
Jerry Miller will cover the action. Live stats for the contest are available at
www.gostanford.com.
BENGALS NAMED ALL-TOURNAMENT
The Bengals had five players named to the all-tournament team. Junior defender
Allyson Stainbrook, sophomore forward
Amanda Ellsworth, freshman defender
Vanessa Cabilan and senior midfielder
Anna Pingree were named Big Sky All-Tournament. Freshman goalkeeper
Sheridan Hapsic was named all-tournament MVP after making big saves in penalty kick situations to advance the Bengals in the semifinals and win the championship title.
BENGALS HONORED BY CONFERENCE
The Big Sky Conference has announced the 2012 all-conference selections. Last season's co-Newcomer of the Year is this season's co-Offensive MVP as
Amanda Ellsworth earned the honor along with Montana's Erin Craig. Ellsworth and teammate senior forward
Rachel Strawn were named all-conference first team at the forward position. Junior defender
Allyson Stainbrook and senior midfielder
Anna Pingree were named all-conference second team while freshman defender
Vanessa Cabilan and sophomore defender
Taylor McBride were named all-conference honorable mention.
LAST WEEK IN BENGAL SOCCER
Last week, Idaho State tied with Weber State and Montana but overcame both in pentaly kicks. ISU advanced from the semifinal round after defeating WSU 4-3 in penalty kicks after tying 1-1 in regulation and double overtime. ISU's match-up with defending Big Sky Champion Montana was scoreless through 110 minutes. The Bengals won the conference crown after winning 4-3 in penalty kicks.
STRAWN AMONG NATION'S BEST
Senior forward
Rachel Strawn led the conference this season in goals (10) and game-winning goals (5). She is among some of the top players in the nation as well as she is 12th in game-winning goals, 69th in total goals, 71st in goals per game, 131st in points per game, and 130th in total points.
Strawn continues to climb the ISU record lists. With 10 goals this season, she is one goal away from tying the ISU single-season record for goals made and is six away from tying the very same Big Sky record. Strawn is now fourth in ISU single-season points (21).
Career-wise, Strawn is now second all-time in ISU history for career points (47), goals (16), game-winning goals (9) and shots on goal (71). She is fourth in shots with 130 total.
ELLSWORTH STEPPING UP FOR ISU
Sophomore
Amanda Ellsworth has been a huge play-maker for Idaho State in the last three weeks. She has scored five goals over the last six contests and was named Big Sky Player of the Week following her performances against Portland State and Sacramento State as well as Big Sky Conference All-Tournament.
Ellsworth led the conference this season in points (23) and points per game (1.21). She was second in goals with nine and second in assists with five. She is tied for third in game-winning goals with three.
In the ISU career standings, Ellsworth is third in goals (16), fourth in game-winning goals (6) and fourth all-time in points (38) as a sophomore. For the single-season all-time ISU results she is third in points at 21 as well as in goals with nine.
Nationally, Ellsworth is 89th in points per game, 95th in total goals, 97th in goals per game, 98th in total points and 113th in game-winnin goals.
HAPSIC NAMED TOURNAMENT MVP
Freshman goalkeeper
Sheridan Hapsic was named all-tournament MVP Sunday afternoon after playing a key role in helping ISU claim the tournament title.
Hapsic made a big save in Friday's semifinal game against Weber State to help ISU advance on penalty kicks 4-3. She did the same again on Sunday when the championship game went into a shootout situation. Hapsic made two big saves in the shootout, leading ISU to a tournament title.
After recording her first two collegiate shutouts in back-to-back performances, Hapsic was named Big Sky Defensive Player of the Week on Tuesday, Oct .23. This season, Hapsic has played in 17 games and recorded 58 saves. She has allowed just 15 goals on her way to an 8-3-3 record in her freshman season. She finished the season ranked fourth in goals allowed average (1.05) and seventh in shutouts (3.3). Hapsic is currently ranked 98th in the nation for her 1.05 goals against average and 133rd in save percentage (.792).
GIBSON NAMED COACH OF THE YEAR
The Big Sky Conference announced today that ISU Head Coach
Allison Gibson has been named the 2012 Big Sky Coach of the Year. This is Gibson's third Big Sky Coach of the Year award. She was also named Big Sky Coach of the Year in her first year at ISU when she led the 2006 team to the NCAA Tournament. She was honored again in 2009.
ABOUT STANFORD
The Cardinal (17-1-1), which captured its fourth consecutive Pac-12 title, will be playing in its 15th consecutive NCAA tournament and is seeking to advance to its fifth consecutive College Cup, fourth consecutive final, and successfully defend its national championship.
Stanford is ranked third nationally in win-loss percentage, ninth in scoring offense, 19th in goals allowed average, 36th in save percentage and 43rd in shutout percentage.
Stanford went 17-1-1 this season and 11-0 in Pac-12 action. The Cardinal has won 15 straight contests. The team's only loss came against West Virginia on Aug. 26 in a 1-0 decision. Stanford's only tie came against then ranked No. 7 Boston College on Aug. 31 in a 1-1 final score after two overtimes.
Courtney Verloo leads Stanford with 23 points from seven goals and a team-high nine assists. She also has a team-leading four game-winning goals. Verloo is ranked nationally at 19th in assists per game, 24th in total assists, 43rd in game-winning goals, 71st in points per game and 98th in total points.
Goalkeeper Emily Oliver is ranked ninth nationally with a .501 goals allowed average and 12th in save percentage (.875). Oliver has allowed just five goals this season on her way to an 11-0-0 record. She has recorded 35 saves and four shutouts this season.
This is the fourth consecutive year that the winner of the Big Sky Conference has faced Stanford in the first round. Stanford defeated Montana (3-0) in 2011, Sacramento State (3-0) in 2010 and Northern Arizona (2-0) in 2009.
This is the first meeting between the two programs.
We Are Your Bengals
