Women’s Soccer: Rockhurst brings 3-0 record into home opener

Rockhurst hosts Wisconsin-Parkside in its home opener Friday night at 5:00. The Rangers lead the all-time series by a 5-1-2 margin. The two schools battled to a 1-1 tie last year at Parkside. The Rangers, 3-0-1, opened conference play at home last weekend with a 2-1 win over Missouri S&T and a 2-0 victory over Drury. The game can be followed on .

IMPRESSIVE START: The Hawks have outscored their opponents 10-1 in winning their first three games of the season. Rockhurst opened conference play with a 5-0 win at Saint Joseph’s last Friday and a 1-0 victory at Indianapolis on Sunday. Freshman forward Brandi Van Booven scored the game-winning goals in both games. Nicky Alfonsin, Taylor Skala, Nicole Keeve and Haley Long added goals in the win over Saint Joseph’s. Skala totaled a game-high five shots. Senior goalkeeper Lucy Sullivan posted four saves. Ally Rodriguez led the Hawks with six shots at Indianapolis. Sullivan posted five saves. The Hawks opened the season with a 4-1 victory over 20th-ranked Lynn in St. Louis on Sept. 2.

REGIONAL RANKINGS: Rockhurst is ranked fourth in this week’s NSCAA Division II Midwest Regional rankings. 2011 national runner-up Grand Valley State leads the Midwest Region poll, followed by GLVC members Bellarmine and Quincy. The GLVC has seven of the top 10 teams in the region.

COACH GREG HERDLICK: Rockhurst head coach Greg Herdlick enters his 14th season at Rockhurst as one of the winningest coaches in the GLVC. He currently ranks third in career victories (132) and fourth in winning percentage (.591) among active GLVC women’s coaches. Herdlick stands 39th in wins and 52nd in winning percentage among active NCAA Division II women’s coaches.

NCAA STATISTICS: The Hawks rank in the top 25 nationally among NCAA Division II schools in scoring (3.33 per game), goals against average (0.33), shutout percentage (0.67) and save percentage (.923). Brandi Van Booven is tied for fifth in the nation in game-winning goals (2). Sophomore defender Kasey Lierz is fourth in the nation in assists (4), while Lucy Sullivan stands 23rd in save percentage (.923).