Tulsa Women's Soccer Final Weekly Release
11/7/2000 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Nov. 7, 2000
Tulsa Falls to San Jose State in WAC Championship:
The Tulsa Golden Hurricane capped off the 2000 campaign with its best effort in postseason play at the Western Athletic Conference Tournament in Fresno, Calif.
After earning a first-round bye, second-seeded Tulsa squared off against the fifth-seeded Fresno State Bulldogs. After a scoreless first half, senior Julie Davidson (St. Charles, Mo.) put the Hurricane on the board with a goal at the 45:35 minute mark. After a Fresno State goal at 54:52, the two teams battled for the final 36 minutes of regulation, a 15-minute overtime period and finally at the 110:03 minute mark in the second overtime, sophomore Marcie Ferguson (San Antonio, Texas) took a pass from classmate Julie Twellman (Columbia, Mo.) and nailed the game-winning goal from the left side to send Tulsa to its first-ever WAC Championship game.
After a scoreless first half in the title match against San Jose State, the Spartans scored three straight goals to defeat Tulsa, 3-1. TU's lone goal came at the 82:47 minute mark when Julie Davidson lofted a shot over the head of the Spartan goalkeeper.
Two Tulsa players were named to the WAC All-Tournament team including Julie Davidson and junior Beth Taruscio (Tulsa, Okla.).
Noonan, Twellman receive All-Conference Honors:
Tulsa senior Kelly Noonan (St. Louis, Mo.) and sophomore Julie Twellman were each selected to the all-WAC second team by the league's head coaches.
Noonan, a two-time selection to the all-WAC second team, received second-team honors as a sophomore in 1998. She is TU's 10th all-time leading scorer with 52 points. Noonan also ranks 10th for goals scored with 19 and sixth on the school's career assists list with 14.
In just under two seasons, Twellman ranks ninth on the school's chart for goals scored with 20 and 11th among TU's career scoring leaders with 50 points. She is a repeat selection to the all-WAC second team.
Tulsa Wraps-Up Second-Place in WAC Play:
With its victory over UTEP on Oct. 22, Tulsa finished in second place in WAC play with a 5-2 record. After being picked to finish seventh in the preseason coaches poll, TU recorded the best conference season in its five years as a WAC member. Prior to the 2000 campaign, Tulsa had finished no higher than third overall. Tulsa's five league wins is a also a single-season best.
McCormick Completes Season as WAC's Top Assists Leader:
Tulsa junior Melissa McCormick (Omaha, Neb.) posted the best season of her career in 2000. McCormick not only led the team in assists with nine, but she was also the assists leader in the WAC with 0.45 per game McCormick was also the conference leader in game-winning goals with five. She shattered the school's single-season assists record and finished second on the team with eight goals for 25 points, both career-highs. For her career, she has posted 18 goals and 13 assists for 49 points. The 13 assists ranks eighth on TU's list for career assists, while her 49 career points is the 12th-best total in school history.
Player Notes:
Sophomore Marcie Ferguson had a breakout season for Tulsa. She recorded a career-high six goals and six assists for 18 points. Her six assists were the second-most on the team. She recorded the first multiple-goal game of her career with two goals against Arkansas (9/27).
Freshman Pam Devore's (Derby, Kan.) 109 saves this season are the second most in school history. Former Hurricane goalkeeper Liz Fowler (1987-90) owns the school record of 120 set in 1989.
Julie Twellman is the first TU player to lead the team in scoring in back-to-back seasons since Jenny Simms (1993-96) accomplished the same feat during the 1995 and 1996 seasons.
Team Notes:
TU won seven consecutive games in 2000, which is the second-best effort in school history . . . three of Tulsa's 2000 opponents were selected to the 2000 NCAA Tournament, including top-ranked Notre Dame, San Jose State and SW Missouri State . . . TU had a combined record of 2-2 against the NCAA teams . . . TU returns all but two players for the 2001 season.
