WE ARE MOVING......The CSUB Women's Soccer Blog will now be at http://blog.gorunners.com/womens-soccer/ be sure to keep following us!!!

Beach Day :)

The CSUB Women’s Soccer team is gearing up for the start of season after their vigorous preseason training. Having said this it wasn’t all work and no play with beach day providing plenty of laughter. The morning session consisted us of a tough series of races and duels in the hard and soft sand. Fortunately through some grit and hard work combined with a majority of passing fitness test times the players were able to have a little bit of fun in the afternoon session. We played Swedish hand soccer ‘dip-it’, head/catch, and tic/tac/toe.

Our smart kids!!

Pre-Season BBQ!!

The 2011 pre-Season, as always, kicked off the year with an annual BBQ at Kristen and Steve Barnes’ house. This years BBQ involved what we compare to a mini Olympics. The players were split into pairs and found themselves competing against each other in multiple activities. The variety of events provided entertainment for the coaches and hosts as well as competitive spirit from the players. The five activities were water polo to pugs with two minute half’s, ping pong to a score of 21, a penalty kick shootout, a Swedish brick game called block and, a bean bag toss game. The prize – time off of the coopers test!! Sophomore Tyler Shirk and Freshman Haley Hatfield were the outright winners finishing undefeated in all five activities.

Block!!

Oh the egg toss :)

CSUB Alumni Game 2011

The Roadrunner Women’s Soccer team got their pre-season underway with a friendly clash against the CSUB Alumni on Saturday August 6th. The match was a huge success with 25 alumni present helping to bring in a respectable crowd. The alumni held there own for the first 25 minutes and kept the runners from finding the back of the net. Unfortunately with the constant knocking on the door Sam Pena was able to break through and give the runners a 1-0 lead which they kept till half time. Fresh legs coming out of the break kept the battle alive with the alumni being awarded a penalty for handball in the box. It was neatly tucked away to level the score line. As fatigue became a factor with the alumni then runners battled on creating numerous chances. Freshman Emily Noethe finally found the back of the net to pull back the lead. From here on out it was well executed soccer until the final whistle but not before the runners were awarded a penalty for a bad challenge in the box. Captain Jessica Fogeltanz stepped up to tuck it away and put the game out of reach. It was great to see fans out there and we hope to see you and the alumni throughout the season.

Women's Soccer vs. UCLA - Aug 13th 7:00pm

Dressed to Impress!!

Coach John decided to dress the part on his first day in the women's soccer office. It may not have been voluntary, but he sure cleans up from the normal soccer apparel. Coach Mel and Coach Tucker decided to play a clever trick for John's first day. John was informed that he had a big meeting to go to and needed to come into the office in a suit! Naively he believed the women on staff and came in ready for his big meeting! Needless to say the female coaches put a point on the board. Now John is asking for a soccer tennis match so he can redeem a point on the coaches board. He has challenged both Mel and Tucker vs. him. We will keep you posted on the results.........

July Soccer Camp

A big thank you to all of the parents and kids that participated in last weeks camp to make it a huge success! The weather cooperated perfectly to allow for a very successful week. We look forward to seeing you again next year and for many years to come! To those parents who returned campers, thank you for your continued loyalty. To those parents who sent their child for the first time, you should know that your son or daughter's safety and well being are our top priority. We hope that you feel that your child received professional instruction from a team of outstanding coaches. Again, thank you for attending the CSUB Soccer Camp and we are looking forward to seeing you at a future camp!!

Don’t forget to come out and support the Men and Women’s soccer teams this fall season! The Women open with UCLA at Roadrunner field on Saturday, August 13th at 7pm.

Smith and Tucker Complete Coaching Staff

Head women's soccer coach Melissa Phillips will return former Roadrunner men’s and women’s assistant John Smith to Bakersfield for the upcoming 2011-12 season. Smith coached at CSUB from 1999-2006 before taking over as head coach the last four seasons at the University of the Icarnate Word in San Antonio, Texas. At UIW, Smith led the Cardinal’s men’s soccer program to a 62-22-7 record including three conference championships and 3 NCAA Division II Regional Tournament appearances.

A native of Wigan, England, Smith played professionally both overseas and in the United States becoming the first foreign player ever drafted out of college when he was selected with the 13th pick in the 1997 Major League Soccer Draft by the Columbus Crew. While playing at Rollins College in Florida, Smith was a Division II All-American and the Tars’ all-time career points leader with 142 and was inducted in 2003 to the Sunshine State Conference Hall of Fame.

“I was fortunate enough to have coached here five years ago and to be honest with you this school and this program has never left me,” Smith said. “When this opportunity came up it was going to take something good for me to leave where I was at and this was just too good of an opportunity for me to turn down and I jumped at the opportunity really.”

Joining Smith on the women’s soccer staff will be former Roadrunner player Leanne Tucker. Tucker was a four-year letter winner at CSUB from 2006-2010 making 11 starts as a defender during her senior year playing in 1,156 minutes for the Roadrunners. A native of Cambridge, England, Tucker’s defense-first mentality as a player will serve as a key area of responsibility as an assistant coach along with recruiting and other daily operations of the program.

While this will mark her first collegiate coaching opportunity, Tucker is no stranger to the coaching ranks, having not only obtained several national licenses, but also serving as an assistant with Bakersfield’s Centennial High School last season as well as being the head coach of the Runner United U-14 FC club team.

“This is a pretty amazing opportunity, I played here for four years and absolutely loved it,” said Tucker. “Mel’s a great new head coach and she’s been putting a lot of time and effort into the program so all I want to do now is come in and further the team more, make them better and see what we can do this season.”

Tucker graduated with honors with a degree in physical education and kinesiology at CSUB and is currently pursuing her master’s in special education.

“John and Tucker both bring unique ideas and something fresh and something new from to the direction that we’ve been going with this program,” said Phillips. “John’s been a head coach so he has a lot of experience in that area and Tucker was a great leader on the team and one of our captains so both of them have a lot of different ideas about how we can move forward and both of them have an excellent knowledge of the game so I’m very excited to have them on board.”

CSUB women’s soccer opens up play for the 2011 season August 13, hosting an exhibition against UCLA at the Main Soccer Field.

June Soccer Camp

A big thank you to all of the parents and kids that participated in last week's camp to make it a huge success! Last week's camp recorded over 140 kids, which is the second most successful camp that Cal State Soccer has ever had. We look forward to seeing you again in mid July as well as next year! To those parents who returned campers, thank you for your continued loyalty. To thos parents who sent their child for the first time, you should know that your son or daughter's safety and well being are our top priority. We hope that you feel that your child received professional instruction from a team of outstanding coaches. Again, thank you for attending the CSUB Soccer Camp and we are looking forward to seeing you at a future camp! Remember the best way to say thank you to the staff of coaches is support our teams this coming fall. Both schedules can be found at gorunners.com. An album of pictures will be up shortly on here and gorunners.

Don't forget to register for the July 11-15 Camp!

Thanks again!

CSUB Athletics Crab Fest 2011

CSU Bakersfield Athletics is proud to partner with the Kern County Shrine Club for the Inaugural 'Crab Fest' happening this Saturday at 6 p.m. at Noble Park presented by Gold Star Construction and Lakeview Homes. The event's namesake is of course a dungeness crab dinner, but ticket prices also include several beer tasting opportunities from several area breweries, live entertainment and raffle and auction prizes.Proceeds from this inaugural event benefit Shriners Hospitals for Children, Masonic charities and the CSUB Student Athlete Scholarship Fund. Tickets are $50 and available now on our website www.gorunners.com We'll see you this Saturday at 6 p.m. at Noble Park for 'Crab Fest 2011.'

Top Gun Champion

Every Spring season the women's soccer team competes for an Top Gun Champion. This is an individual competition where points are garnered in a team setting. Each day at training when you are placed on a team if your team wins, then you will receive a point as an individual. Teams are comprised of different members each day. The individual who can affect change to facilitate their team winning daily will receive the most amount of points. Therefore, collecting a 'Top Gun' title. This year we had a Top-Gun-Off. At the conclusion of spring we had a tie with Senior Kym Gause and Junior Daisy Vazquez. The winner was determined through the best of three events. The first event was 'Dip it' a version of hand soccer, which Kym's team won in a 5-4 battle. The second event was a crossbar challenge where in round 8 Daisy hit the crossbar to win, but kym followed with a shot right off the crossbar. In round 9 Kym again pinged it off the bar for the win. There was no need for a final event as Kym Guase is the Top Gun Champion for 2011.

W.Soc Wins CSUB Highest Team GPA Award

The all-sports banquet was held this past Saturday to recognize student-athletes and teams for their achievements on the field and in the classroom. Dr. Jacquelyn Kegley presented the annual Kegley-McCall Award to the women's soccer team for earning the highest aggregate grade point average. It's the third time in four years they've taken home the honor. The team earned a 3.25 aggregate GPA, knocking off defending Kegley-McCall Award winners women's tennis who captured the honor last season with a 3.21 mark. Prior to that women's soccer had earned a 3.17 GPA in 2009 and 3.01 GPA in 2008 taking the award in both years. Head Coach Melissa Phillips noted as she accepted the award from Dr. Kegley on behalf of the team ..."This award goes directly to the players on this team. These young women work tirelessly in the classroom to be just as competitive as they are on the soccer field." In addition to this award, senior-captain Faith Perry was Co-Female Roadrunner of the year for her efforts in the community, classroom, and on the field.

Soccer Tennis Championships

The CSUB Women’s Soccer team ended their spring season this year with a soccer tennis tournament at the campus tennis courts. Teams consisted of two players, which the girls picked themselves as well as designing their own attire for the event. The competition involved each pair competing in four games to rack up as many points as possible. Each game had three points up for grabs for the team who hit eleven points first. Rules were set out beforehand and restricted each player to three touches as well as only one bounce on each side of the net. The top four teams based on the points played off in the semi-finals to fifteen and the two winners rallied it out in a championship game to twenty-one points. The semi-finalists consisted of Sam Pena and Raquel Gervas who lost 15-7 to Coach Melissa Phillips and Tucker as well as Jessica Fogeltanz and Maritza Rumbo who were defeated 15-6 by Daisy Vasquez and Adriana Valdez.
The championship game was watched by all the spectators and was what eventually separated the champions from the girls. The girls were unable to get past the coaches as Coach Mel and future Coach Tucker were victorious and remained undefeated in a 21-18 win over Daisy and Adriana.

Soccer Camp Open Registration

Hey Campers,

Head out to the CSUB Main Soccer Field on Monday, May 16th for open soccer camp registration! We will be holding a free skills session if you bring your child with you to register. The session will run from 5:30-7:00pm. In order to participate in the free clinic you must sign your child up for one of the two summer youth soccer camps. You are only required to pay a $75 deposit on Monday night with the rest payable as the camp nears or on the first day. Registration flyers will also be available on monday night, but I have attached one for your convenience. This Clinic is designed to get your kids excited for the summer camps and get quality training from the Cal State coaching staff for an evening. Don’t miss open registration!!!

Hope to see you there!

Two Seniors earn NSCAA Scholar All-Region

BAKERSFIELD, Calif.--Two CSUB Women's Soccer players have earned National Soccer Coaches Association of America Scholar All-Region honors.

Faith Perry (Sr., Glendora, Calif., Glendora HS) and Leanne Tucker (Sr., Cambridge, England Cambridge City) both met the minimums of 3.30 or higher cumulative grade point average and started at least 50 percent of the time during their careers at CSUB. Both Perry and Tucker are physical and education and kinesiology (PEAK) majors. Perry maintained a 3.59 GPA while Tucker maintained a 3.32 GPA

"Both Faith and Tucker are excellent models of what the women's soccer program strives to produce," said CSUB Head Coach Melissa Phillips. "On the field they were team captains and integral members in creating a foundation for the success of CSUB soccer at Division I. Off the field they excelled in the classroom and it is excellent to see their efforts rewarded. To be named Scholar All-Region by the NSCAA is a great honor. I am very proud to have these two in the soccer family of alumni."

CSUB Announces New Head Women's Soccer Coach

BAKERSFIELD, Calif.-CSUB Athletic Director Jeff Konya has announced the hiring of Melissa Phillips as Roadrunners' Head Women's Soccer Coach. Phillips became the interim head coach at CSUB this past Spring when Nicole Van Dyke took an assistant's job at Stanford.

"It became apparant throughout this Spring that Melissa is mature beyond her years," Konya said. "Yes, she is young, but she brings a lot to the table. Through Melissa's guidence, the team has performed well on the field and the team has strengthened its academic credentials as well."

"I'm very grateful for Jeff's confidence in offering me the position," Phillips said. "I am very excited to take on the responsibilites of head women's soccer coach at CSUB. I look forward to continuing to work with this tremendously talented group of women, as CSU Bakersfield is a place that holds such promise and opportunity."

In Phillips's two years as an assistant coach at CSUB, she has been able to make strides both on and off the field. In 2010, the Roadrunners beat one NCAA tournament team, Sacramento State, while drawing against two others, San Diego and Fresno State. In the classroom, her team has earned the athletic departments highest GPA as well as NSCA All-Academic team honors in 2009 and 2010. She has experience in all facets of the program including co-directing the CSUB summer youth soccer camps for all age and skill levels that produce over 300 kids per summer.

"In recent years, women's soccer has attained success in terms of athletcs, academics, and community involvement and support," Phillips said. "I plan to maintain the continuity of the program, while bringing unprecedented momentum to keep going forward."

Phillips will be earning her national C coaching license in June 2011. Phillips has coached the U12 and the U16 girls soccer teams with the Bakersfield Gunners. She also served as an assistant coach at Hilmar High School and with the Turlock Tornados club soccer team.

Prior to arriving in Bakersfield, Phillips was a standout defender for Cal State Stanislaus. As a member of the Warriors' squad, she was slected first-team All-CCAA three times. During her senior season, she garnered Daktronics/CoSida first team All-West Region and Adidas/NSCAA second team All-West Region honors. Phillips served as team captain her junior and senior seasons and was voted team MVP both years. Phillips graduated from Roseville High School and played for the Placer United club team and the District VI ODP team.

Phillips graduated in 2009 with her bachelor degree in physical education and kinesiology. She received the CCAA All-Academic Award three times, maintaining a 3.5 GPA. She will finish her masters of education degree in curriculum and instruction at CSUB in the Spring of 2011.

Women's Soccer Gets Rowdy About Reading!

Women's Soccer joined Mrs. Cole's first grade class at Rio Bravo Elementary School today to celebrate winning the 'Rowdy About Reading' Competition. Now entering its fifth year, Rowdy About Reading is a read-for-rewards program is available for all Kern County students in grades K-6. The five-month program is designed to encourage kids to read in order to contribute to their classroom “team” score. Rewards for reading achievement are made to each student in the participating classrooms. Mrs. Cole's class successfully read 1,320 books in the five month span therefore winning a end of the year pizza party with one lucky CSUB team. Women's Soccer players enjoyed an afternoon with the first graders teaching them soccer skills, reading them a book, and eating some delicious pizza! We hope to see these kids at our summer soccer camps in a couple months.

CSUB Soccer gets involved in the Community!

The CSUB Women’s coaching staff and a collection of men and women’s players participated in a day of celebration at Thompson Junior High. Student-athletes were involved in the recognition of the all-star intramural soccer teams from seventh and eighth grade. Brian explained; ‘The intramural program is simply another tool to get students physically active by providing a variety of sport activities that may not be offered as an after school sport.’ Soccer, as well as other sports such as basketball, is offered in a competitive yet fun environment for all students to participate. Thompson Junior High believes ‘It is a great way to keep kids on tract behaviorally. If a student has to serve a lunch detention then they will not be able to play on their team, so it encourages the students to stay out of detention.’ The men and women’s soccer players enjoyed a fun day with the junior high school students and look forward to challenging them again next year.

Coach Van Dyke Joins the Stanford Staff

BAKERSFIELD, Calif.-CSUB Head Women's Soccer Coach Nicole Van Dyke has announced she is leaving the Roadrunners' program to take a position on the women's soccer coaching staff at Stanford. Van Dyke will replace Theresa Wagner, who took over the head coaching job at Dartmouth.

"It is a bittersweet departure as I am leaving a very dedicated group of girls that I have enjoyed watching develop into not only good soccer players but wonderful young ladies," Van Dyke said. "I wish them success in both soccer and in life and will be routing for them as a former player at the institution."

"We wish Nicole will on her new endeavor," said CSUB Athletic Director Jeff Konya. "As an alum, she has much to be proud of as she helped get the program on the right track."

Assistant coach Melissa Phillips will serve as the interim head coach in the transition for the Roadrunners.

Van Dyke, a 2002 CSUB graduate, finished her fifth season as Head Coach this past Fall. The 2010 season was the first year all CSUB teams were post season eligible after the school completed its five-year transition period. On their way to posting a 4-9-5 overall record in 2010, the Roadrunners earned impressive wins over WAC members Hawai'i and Sacramento State as well as WCC member St. Mary's and earned an impressive draws with WCC powers Pepperdine and San Diego.

To view the full article please visit:

http://www.gorunners.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=58109&SPID=6326&DB_LANG=C&DB_OEM_ID=13300&ATCLID=205111491

2011 Spring Schedule Announced

CSUB Men's BBall vs. Fresno 2/16/11

The Women's Soccer team got festive Wednesday night at Rabobank arena as they showed up painted with 'GO RUNNERS!!' painted on their stomachs and all in royal blue sports bras. The men's basketball team did not get the result, but it was a great atmoshphere with nearly 6,000 fans present.

4v4 Tournament Champions

A big thank you everyone that made this past Saturday’s 4 A-Side Tournament a huge success! We look forward to seeing you again this summer for our youth soccer camps! To those parents who have previously participated in our camps and tournaments, thank you for your continued loyalty. We hope that you feel that your kids/team enjoyed a professional and fun environment along with quality competition. The Tournament yielded 28 teams with over 175 kids. We would also like to send out CONGRATULATIONS to the winning teams:

Girls U-10 Bracket - Inferno

Boys U-10 Bracket - Gunners Blue

Girls/Boys U-11 Bracket - Green Team
Girls U-12 Bracket - South Valley #1

Combined U-13 Bracket Kydz

4 A-Side Tournament

Deadline to register is Wednesday, February 9th! Please get your teams in ASAP. Hope to see you Saturday!

CSUB Women's Soccer Signs 8 for 2011

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. -- The CSUB women's soccer team will add eight players for the 2011 season, head coach Nicole Van Dyke announced Wednesday. The eight players, who all signed National Letters of Intent on February 2, will be Van Dyke's fifth recruiting class at the helm of the Roadrunner program. The class features one goalkeeper, three defenders, three midfielders and one forward.

All eight of the incoming players have played for elite clubs teams from strong soccer states (California, Nevada, Arizona) and they have all been playing with and competing against some of the best players in the region. Van Dyke anticipates some of the rookies to make an immediate impact in the fall. 'They all have athletic ability, personality and enthusiasm, that I feel will give us the final push that we need to become a top team,' says Van Dyke. 'I am looking forward to seeing the development of this class with our core group of players.'

For a detailed release and information about each of the players please visit:

http://www.gorunners.com/

Coachisms of Coach Van Dyke

Choose your favorite coaching moment of Coach Van Dyke for the Fall 2010 Season and vote on the sidebar to the right. Hurry to vote the poll ends 1/31/11!!

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