Tuesday, Oct. 18, 2005 | 9:17 a.m.
The longest consecutive shutout strings in NCAA women's soccer:
16 -- Santa Clara, 1998
13 -- North Carolina, 1989
12 -- North Carolina, 1987
12 -- North Carolina State, 1984
10 -- Holy Cross, 1999
10 -- Brown, 1984
10 -- North Carolina, 1986
10 -- Notre Dame, 2003
* UNLV has shut out its last six opponents.
UNLV women's soccer coach Katherine "Kat" Mertz has not been surprised by senior goalie Jenna Huff's outstanding recent play because Mertz has been watching Huff snuff out foes for years.
A former UCLA assistant coach who took the UNLV job in April, Mertz started watching Huff during Huff's club team days in Southern California and tried recruiting her to the Bruins' program.
Mertz finally saw Huff play on UCLA's campus at the end of last season, albeit as UNLV's junior goalie in the Rebels' first trip to the NCAA tournament. San Diego defeated UNLV in two overtimes.
"There was lots of history," Mertz said of her familiarity with Huff's career. "I already knew coming into it what kind of goalkeeper we had. I've talked to her about making strides on making the Under-21 national team."
Huff, 21, has been helping UNLV make national headlines. The Rebels (9-4-3, 4-0 in the Mountain West Conference) have recorded a school- and conference-record six consecutive shutouts, the country's current longest streak.
Huff, who missed the first 10 games of the season with a broken bone in her left foot, has started the past three games. During the first three games of the streak, she played in the second half as a substitute.
"She's just a kid who makes great saves," Mertz said. "She's very resilient, very quick and very agile. She's tall, but she's hard to beat low."
From Sept. 5, 1987, to Sept. 3, 1988, North Carolina's Anne Sherow established an NCAA record with 1,669 minutes, 25 seconds of shutout goalkeeping. Three others have streaks of at least 1,000 minutes.
UNLV has also found a rhythm on its back line, where senior defender Nickie Olson anchors a staunch quartet that includes sophomore Ashley O'Harrow, freshman Brie Kuhne and junior Heather Killoch. The four have started the last 10 games.
The Rebels end their regular season with three home games starting Thursday against Brigham Young (14-1-1, 3-1). Utah (11-5, 4-0) visits Saturday.
"Those are great opportunities," Mertz said. "But we can't get caught looking forward to Utah or San Diego State (on Oct. 29). We have to concentrate on BYU right now."
UNLV, which won the regular-season Mountain West title a year ago, will host the league tournament beginning Nov. 2 at Johann Field.
With four more shutouts, UNLV would put itself in stellar company. Only eight teams have held at least 10 consecutive opponents without a goal. Santa Clara, with 16 in a row in 1998, holds the all-time mark.
"I'm hoping (it lasts) for a while," Mertz said. "We're finally believing in each other and having fun. That's the key ingredient right there."
Rob Miech can be reached at 259-4087 or [email protected]
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