Soccer Fact Sheet #9

Another Split: The Lady Razorbacks once again split their weekend series, this time at Tennessee and Georgia. Contrary to last weekend, Arkansas won its Friday night contest against Georgia, and then lost on Sunday afternoon to Tennessee.
Another Three Points: Arkansas’ win against the Georgia Bulldogs was a huge victory because it gave the Lady Razorbacks another three points in the team standings giving them six. Typically it has taken 10 points to qualify for the SEC Championships.
First Since 1996: Arkansas has been knocking on the door for several years, but their victory against Georgia last Friday night was their first against the Bulldogs since the 1996 season and only their second in the all-time series.
Another Streak: Although it was short lived, Arkansas victories against Mississippi State and Georgia could be considered another winning streak for the Lady Razorbacks. The pair of conference wins put the Lady Razorbacks right into the thick of things in the SEC standings.
Welcome Aboard: The Lady Razorbacks welcome La Tremenda into the family of Arkansas soccer broadcasting. La Tremenda is the third entity that will be broadcasting Lady Razorback soccer action in 2006 joining KXUA, 88.3 FM in Fayetteville and LADYBACKS.COM.
Career Game: Sophomore Lindsay Patterson had herself a career night in Arkansas’ victory against Georgia as she netted both Lady Razorback goals. The scores were her third and fourth of the season and allowed her to notch the first game-winning goal of her young career.
Big Target, Big Threat: At 5-9, Lindsay Patterson is a big target for the Lady Razorbacks at forward and following her game against Georgia she is emerging as a big target for Arkansas offense. Her four goals on the season are a career high and her play during practice allowed her to become a constant in the Arkansas starting lineup.
Nine Wins: We can’t state it enough but Arkansas’ nine wins are the most by any Lady Razorback team since the 1996 season when the Lady’Backs posted an 11-7-3 overall record. That team also tied Arkansas’ all-time mark for wins in a season.
Four in Conference: While we are at it, we should also mention that Arkansas’ all-time best for wins in a Southeastern Conference season is four which it set two times, the first being in the 1996 season and the most recent in 1999. The Lady’Backs best winning percentage in SEC play is .563, set in 1996.
Alabama: The Alabama Crimson Tide enters the weekend with a 5-9-0 overall record, but has struggled mightily in SEC play, going 1-5-0. The Crimson Tide’s lone win came against Mississippi State, a 1-0 affair and Alabama has been outscored in SEC action by 13 goals, allowing 16 while scoring just three.
Arkansas vs. the Crimson Tide: Alabama dominated the all-time series against Arkansas in the early years of the program, but as of late, the Lady’Backs have begun to even the series. Because of their early successes, the Crimson Tide holds an 8-4-1 advantage against the Lady Razorbacks.
Success as of Late: As dominating as Alabama was in the early going, that hasn’t been the case since 1999. Just before the millennium, Arkansas won a 3-2 contest in Tuscaloosa in overtime and since then has played Alabama relatively even. Since Arkansas’ first win, the Lady Razorbacks have gone 4-3 against Alabama including a two-match winning streak in 1999 and 2000.
Last Season: Following a tough double overtime loss at Auburn, the Lady’Backs went to Tuscaloosa looking for a win. After falling behind in the 28th minute, that win appeared to be a long way off, but then freshman Abbey Wilburn turned things on, scoring the game-tying goal before halftime, then assisting on Sarah Gwisdala’s game winner in the 78th minute.
The SEC Standings: With conference play in full swing, the SEC standings have been jumbled from the non-conference standings. Ole Miss holds a commanding lead in the western division followed by Auburn, LSU and Arkansas. In the east, Florida sits atop the division with Vanderbilt and Tennessee on its heels and South Carolina lingering not far behind.
The Road to Orange Beach: While it may be still a little early to tell you who is going to the SEC Championship Tournament in November, we can tell you who is in right now. Currently it takes seven points to qualify for the tournament and over the years it has taken 10. Arkansas’ six points place it in the unenviable ninth position. The only team that can clinch a berth into the SEC Tournament this weekend is Florida and it would need a pair of wins and a pair of Arkansas losses.
Magic Number: It is talked about in baseball, but we’ve applied the magic number formula to women’s soccer in the SEC. Rather than basing our math on the second-place squad to see who will win the division or wildcard, we’ve based it off the ninth-place team to see who gets to the SEC Tournament and because of that we know that Florida is the only team that has an opportunity to clinch a spot in the tourney this weekend as they have a magic number of 12.
The Auburn Tigers: Once ranked in the top 15, the Auburn Tigers are a nationally ranked squad that is chasing the Ole Miss Lady Rebels for the top spot in the western division. They enter the match with an 8-3-3 record and are 2-2-2 in SEC action.
All-Time Series: What once belonged to Arkansas is now dominated by Auburn. The Lady Razorbacks used to hold a decisive advantage in the all-time series with Auburn, but the Tigers rise to prominence in the SEC and nationally has allowed them to take control of the series, 7-5-1. Arkansas’ last victory against Auburn came during the 2000 season, a 3-2 win in Fayetteville. Since then, the Tigers have rattled off five consecutive victories.
In 2005: Megan McCool scored in the sixth minute to put Arkansas ahead, then the Lady’Backs weathered a tremendous assault on their goal as Auburn took 25 shots in the two-overtime affair. Following the Arkansas score, Auburn would be dumbfounded for the next 50 minutes before tying the match on an eight-yard shot. The two teams would then go to double overtime before Auburn netted the game-winning tally in the 105th minute.
Number Five: Last weekend Carrie Dillsaver broke her fifth Arkansas Lady Razorback school record last weekend when she faced multiple shots against Georgia. Her 31 shots faced on the weekend place her at 813 for her career surpassing Molly Myers mark of 798.
The Five Records: With her surpassing of the shots faced record, Carrie Dillsaver now owns five Lady Razorback school records. Those are games played, games started, wins, minutes and shots faced.
Next: It may be hard for Carrie Dillsaver to break any more Arkansas school records, but the senior will certainly try. The next mark in her sights is the shutouts record of 17.5. Dillsaver currently has 16 career shutouts.
The Actual Numbers: A breakdown of Dillsaver’s accomplishments and what could be next on the Arkansas all-time record books:

Defensive Player of the Week: For her efforts in Arkansas’ wins over Tulsa and Memphis, senior goalkeeper Carrie Dillsaver was named the SEC’s Defensive Player of the Week. On the weekend she posted a pair of shutouts, made 11 saves and eclipsed Arkansas’ all-time records for games started and wins. It is Arkansas’ first ever defensive player of the week honor in the four years of the award.
Carrie Dillsaver: In 2005, Carrie Dillsaver was considered a senior by her coaches and teammates as she was scheduled to graduate with her nursing degree in May of 2006, despite the fact that she redshirted her true freshman season and was on her third actual season of playing. She indeed received her bachelor’s degree last May, but the call of the soccer pitch was too great for the Claremore, Okla., native and she chose to delay her professional career by six months in order to play her final season of eligibility with the Lady Razorbacks.
A Close Call: Without realizing it, Carrie Dillsaver and the Lady Razorback defense nearly broke another school record this season, the one for shutout minutes. Over the course of five matches beginning with Louisiana Tech and ending with Vanderbilt, Arkansas held its opponents off the scoreboard for 357:55, less than four minute shy of the school record of 361:20 set between Nov. 3, 1991 and Sept. 20, 1992.
Scoring Prowess: More than halfway through the 2006 season and the Lady Razorback are in some unfamiliar territory. This team is ranked fourth in the conference in terms of goals scored in all games played, a position that it has not been in for some time. The Lady’Backs are also tied for third in assists and are fourth in points.
A Dangerous Team: One thing that makes the Lady Razorbacks such a threat is the fact that their scoring can come from anywhere. In years past it has been one person that has supplied the pop for Arkansas, but this season 10 Lady Razorbacks have scored at least one goal, 15 have points and seven have multiple scores on the year.
Moving up the Career Charts: It may be impossible for Christina Burger to catch Julie Williford and break Arkansas’ all-time school records for goals and points, but the Southlake, Texas, native is certainly placing her name high on the books for others to catch. With her seven goals, assist and 17 points this season, Burger is currently fourth on the goals scored charts, fifth on the points list and tied for fourth on the game-winning goals top 10.
Second-Team All-SEC: Christina Burger’s 2005 season, in which she was third in the SEC in goals scored, allowed her to be named second-team all-SEC, her first conference honor and just the 10th in Lady Razorback history.
Tournament MVP: Thanks to her efforts in Arkansas’ wins over the weekend, Christina Burger was named the Lady Razorback Classic’s most valuable player and a member of the all-tournament team.
Five Straight at Home: Christina Burger’s score against Vanderbilt is her fifth consecutive home match with a goal. Julie Williford was the last to accomplish the task when she tallied goals in four straight home matches during the 2003 season. It is also the longest streak in UA history that we can currently locate going back to 1993.
Five Straight: Christina Burger scored goals in five consecutive games between Southeastern Louisiana and Tulsa to set a Lady Razorback record for consecutive matches with a score. The previous record was four straight by Julie Williford in 2000.
Assist Leader: Abbey Wilburn’s six assists on the year are tops on the 2006 Lady Razorback roster and are among the league leaders as well. She is second in the Southeastern Conference assists, three behind the leader, Chrissy Strini of Mississippi.
10th: Abbey Wilburn has been an assist machine for the past two seasons. Her six assists this season coupled with her six from last year place her in a tie for 10th on Arkansas’ all-time list. Wilburn could move steadily up the charts with her next seven assists all the way to second.
First Game Winner: Abbey Wilburn’s goal against Louisiana Tech was the first game-winning strike of her career. In fact it was just her second career goal.
Welcome Back: The Lady Razorbacks received some much appreciated help on Sunday afternoon when sophomore Megan Fawley took the field for the first time this season. One of the Lady’Backs main players in 2005, Fawley has been recovering from an achilles injury.
Scoring First: In 13 matches this season, Arkansas has been the aggressor and to prove it, you only have to look at one stat, first goals. The Lady Razorbacks have scored the first goal in 11 of the 13 matches they have played in this season putting pressure on opposing teams to match Arkansas’ efforts.
Playing From Behind: Thanks to its knack for scoring the game’s first goal the Lady Razorbacks have been ahead for most of their playing time this year. In fact, Arkansas has only played 94:54 of 1196 total minutes down by a score.
Lady Razorback Classic All-Tournament Team: Four Lady Razorbacks were named to the Lady Razorback Classic All-Tournament Team over the weekend. Christina Burger was the MVP of the weekend and was joined by Carrie Dillsaver, Devon Burger and Abbey Wilburn on the squad.