Local grads anchor WSU women’s soccer team

Published 10:12 pm Thursday, October 2, 2008

Led by second year head coach Dan Tobias, the Washington

State University women’s soccer team is hoping for bigger and better things

in its upcoming campaign.

Last year the Cougars finished with an overall record of 6-10-3

and 4-4-1 in the Pac-10, good for sixth place in the conference. The

team’s highlights included a “Northwest sweep,” with victories over

Eastern Washington, Portland State, Oregon State, Oregon and arch-rival

Washington.

This year’s squad features 14 returning letterwinners, including

eight starters and seven new freshmen. Two of the returnees are 1997 Mount

Si graduates Beth Childs and Lindsey Jorgensen.

Childs started last season as a mid-fielder. Her seven assists during

1998 were the most by any Cougar in a single season and moved her

into eighth spot among all time women’s soccer-assist leaders at the school.

She started every game, with the exception of the Oct. 11 match against

UCLA, and finished the year as a member of the WSU All-Academic team.

“Beth has all the qualities we look for in a sweeper,” said coach

Tobias in this year’s Cougar media guide. “She is a very intelligent player

and distributes well out of the back.”

Childs lettered all four years during her high school career, and

served as the Wildcats’ team captain her senior year, leading her team to a

10-2-1 record. She was a also a member of the National Honor Society, with

a GPA of 4.0.

She is the daughter of Nikki Childs of Snoqualmie. Her “little

sister,” Katie, is a senior at Mount Si this

year and a member of the Wildcats’ cross country team.

Teammate and starting goalkeeper Lindsey Jorgensen also rang up

an outstanding freshman year, being one of only two frosh to start all 19

games. During the course of the season, she collected 120 saves and six

shutouts, including one over eventual Pac-10 champion USC on Oct. 9. Named

the team’s Co-MVP and Co-Rookie of the Year, Jorgensen finished her first

year ranked third in career saves and fourth in shutouts and minutes in goal.

According to Tobias, Jorgensen is continuing to work hard on honing

her skills in the net.

“I think that is a big key for her,” he commented. “Lindsey is not

going to get complacent. That, coupled with her physical ability and her

intelligence, is what sets her apart.”

The goalie, who also finished her freshman year on WSU’s

All-Academic team, is the daughter of Frank and Becky Jorgensen of North

Bend. During her four years at Mount Si, she lettered four times in soccer and

twice in basketball. She completed her senior year as the top-ranked

goalkeeper in 3A, with a 0.69 goals-against average and seven shutouts.

The Cougars played their first two games on Sept. 4, beating Boise

State in Moscow, Idaho, 1-0, before dropping the nightcap to the University

of Idaho, 2-0. The soccer team opens conference play on Sunday, Oct.

11, against the Huskies at UW.

“My standards and expectations for the soccer program at WSU

are very high,” said Tobias. “We know we made tremendous progress last

season, particularly in the Pac-10.”

“We now aspire to take another big step and join the elite teams of what

I believe is one of the most outstanding conferences in the country. It

would be an understatement to say that we are excited about our

program’s growth and direction.”