Weekly Release No. 8>

First place in Conference USA's West Division will be on the line when Colorado College plays host to the University of Tulsa at Stewart Field on Saturday, Oct. 12, at 11 a.m. MT. The Tigers currently hold the top spot with 12 points, followed by the Golden Hurricane with 10.

CC improved to 9-3-0 overall and 4-0-0 in C-USA with victories over Florida International University (3-0) and the University of North Texas (3-2) last week. The Tigers are riding a seven-game winning streak and have prevailed in all six of their home games by a combined score of 17-2 so far in 2013.

Tulsa is 9-3-1 overall and 3-0-1 in league play after winning twice on the road last week. The Golden Hurricane posted identical 1-0 victories at Southern Miss and Rice last Friday and Sunday, respectively, and now is 5-2 away from home this season.

Colorado College holds an 11-2-2 lead in the series that began on Sept. 7, 1990. The Tigers are 8-0 in games played at Stewart Field, having outscored the Golden Hurricane 28-7 in those contests. The teams last played to a 1-1 tie in a semifinal at last year's Conference USA Championship in El Paso, Texas, but Tulsa advanced 5-4 on penalty kicks.

Colorado College ranks fourth in C-USA scoring an average of 2.0 goals per game and is tied for second giving up 0.67. Sophomore midfielder Sarah Schweiss and junior midfielder Kaeli Vandersluis lead the Tigers' balanced offense with 13 points apiece, while junior midfielder Jessie Ayers is close behind with 12 points.

Ayers owns a team-high six goals, while Vandersluis leads the way with seven assists. Twelve different players have scored at least one goal for CC, while four others have recorded an assist. Sophomore Kate Scheele (Seattle, WA) has started all 12 games in goal, where she owns a glittering 0.67 goals-against average and a .837 saves percentage.

Tulsa ranks ninth in Conference USA scoring 1.54 goals per game, but leads the league surrendering only 0.46 goals per contest. Senior forward/midfielder Brady Hinch paces the offense with six goals and 12 points, while senior midfielder Jordan O'Brien has a team-high five assists and is one of three players with seven points. Senior Hayley Harryman, who has not allowed a goal in five games, ranks first in the league with a 0.46 GAA and second with a .872 saves ratio.  
 
Colorado College continued to move up in the national rankings after last week's home victories. In this week's NCAA Women's Soccer RPI, the Tigers climbed one spot to No. 24. All three of CC's losses this year occurred on the road against teams ranked in the top 25 –  No. 11 Marquette (3-1), No. 13 Denver (2-1 OT) and No. 19 Colorado (1-0). In the NSCAA/Continental Tire NCAA Division I Women's Central Region rankings, the Tigers moved up one spot to No. 5. Tulsa is No. 60 in the RPI and No. 8 in the Central Region.

During the last three seasons, a stingy defense has been a major factor in CC's success. Since the beginning of the 2011 campaign, the Tigers are 32-3-2 when holding an opponent to one goal or less. Included in that record are 26 shutouts, one of which was a 0-0 tie. So far this season, the formidable back line of seniors Kecia Morway, Haizlip, and Uyenishi, along with defensive midfielder Jennifer Stoot have kept the program's defensive tradition intact.

During their first 12 games, the Tigers allowed only eight goals, one on a penalty kick in the 2-1 overtime loss at Denver and another that came on a lucky bounce in the 1-0 defeat at the University of Colorado. CC did not allow a goal in eight of its nine victories so far this season and recorded six consecutive shutouts for just the second time in program history, joining the 1987 squad that did not surrender a goal in the first six games of the season. When Marquette struck for three goals on Sept. 8, it marked just the fourth time in the last 53 games that an opponent has scored more than two goals against the Tigers.

After Saturday's showdown with Tulsa, Colorado College heads back out on the road for a pair of games in the Lone Star State. The Tigers play under the lights for the third time this season at Rice University on Friday, Oct. 18. Two days later, they visit Texas San Antonio for the first-ever meeting between the schools.