contact: Pete LaFleur, editor@collegesoccer360.com
This update includes Friday and Saturday's games involving 14 of the team's listed below. Two senior classes – Milwaukee (5-1 vs. Loyola Chicago) and North Texas (2-0 vs. Louisiana-Lafayette) – posted their 50th career win on Friday, becoming two of the 22 current senior classes with 50-plus career wins. Also on Friday, UCLA's talented seniors picked up their 70th career win (2-0 vs. Cal State Northridge), joining North Carolina and Notre Dame as the only current senior classes with 70 or more career victories (UCLA is the only team with 20-plus wins each of the past three seasons).
UCLA (70-7-5; .874) actually owns the second-best win pct. over the past four seasons ('06-'09), narrowly ahead of ND's .871 (76-10-3). UNC's seniors have racked up a .910 career win pct. (79-6-4), including national-title seasons in 2006 and '08.
Lauren Cheney (left) and UCLA's other seniors have helped the Bruins compile a 70-7-5 record (.884) over the past four seasons.
It's rare to have all members of a senior class in the regular starting lineup, but such is the case for UCLA's current group of five seniors (who have played lead roles in the Bruins outscoring the opposition 203-51 from 2006-09). The class is headlined by U.S. National Team member Lauren Cheney. The Indianapolis native is on her way to becoming a rare four-year All-American and has amassed 116 career points (58G-23A) with the Bruins, with her role this season including duty as both a forward and attacking midfielder (opening a spot up top for UCLA's other talented frontrunners).
Fifth-year senior Kara Lang (left) in 2001 became the youngest player (15) ever to compete with the Canadian National Team.
Two other starting forwards – fifth-year player Kara Lang (Oakville, Ontario) and 2008 leading scorer Kristina Larsen (Mission Viejo, Calif.) – also are seniors, combining this season with Cheney to total 15 goals and six assists between them (Larsen 7G-3A, Cheney 5G-2A, Lang 3G-1A). The senior forward trio combine with sophomore sensation Sydney Leroux (8G-1A) in giving the 2009 Bruins the potential for having four double-digit goalscorers.
Kristina Larsen (left) has emerged as a starter for UCLA this season, after leading the '08 squad with 13 goals (as a part-time starter).
Lang – who missed the '06 season due to a knee injury – has been a member of Canada's full National Team for several years and (like Cheney, in '06) was considered by many to be the nation's top recruit when she began her college career (in '05). Larsen started for UCLA as a freshman and provided an offensive spark as a top reserve/part-time starter in both 2007 and '08 (when she led the team with 13 goals).
Defender Lauren Wilmoth (left) has started all 83 games for UCLA spanning the past four seasons.
On the opposite end of the field, senior defender and 2008 all-Pac 10 Conference performer Lauren Wilmoth (Garland, Texas) has started all 83 of UCLA's games during the past four seasons. Fellow senior Dea Cook (Acampo, Calif.) also has been a four-year starter in the UCLA defense, making 70 starts from '06-'09. Wilmoth and Cook were part of the 2008 Bruins defense that led the nation with a 0.23 season goals-against avg., as UCLA outscored its '08 opponents by a huge 60-6 margin (with 19 shutouts). During the Wilmoth-Cook era, the Bruins defense has allowed only 51 goals spanning 83 total games (0.61 goals allowed per game; 49 shutouts).
Dea Cook (left) has combined with classmate Lauren Wilmoth to help UCLA post 49 shutouts during their four-year career.
Here's the complete updated list of the nation's winningest senior classes, with many of the teams set to return to action on Sunday (Texas A&M's seniors are one shy of their 60th career win).
Current Four-Year Records in D-I Women's Soccer (top senior classes; '06-'09)
(research compiled by CollegeSoccer360.com)
76-10-3 (.871) ... Notre Dame (25-1-1 ... 19-5-2 ... 26-1-0 ... 6-3-0)
70-8-5 (.874) ... UCLA (21-4-0 ... 20-2-2 ... 22-1-2 ... 7-1-1)
64-11-3 (.840) ... Portland (17-4-3 ... 18-4-0 ... 20-2-0 ... 9-1-0)
57-18-9 (.732) ... Florida (14-6-5 ... 17-5-3 ... 19-4-1 ... 7-3-0)
56-13-10 (.772) ... Oklahoma State (17-3-3 ... 14-6-3 ... 18-1-4 ... 7-3-0)
56-14-9 (.766) ... Denver (19-3-1 ... 12-5-5 ... 19-3-2 ... 6-3-1)
56-15-7 (.763) ... BYU (13-3-4 ... 17-4-2 ... 18-6-0 ... 8-2-1)