UTSA at Houston
Friday, Aug. 22 ? 7 p.m.
Robertson Stadium (32,000)
UTSA at Rice
Sunday, Aug. 24 ? 1 p.m.
Rice Soccer Stadium (5,000)
SAN ANTONIO ? The UTSA soccer team kicks off its 2008 season this weekend with a pair of road matches. The Roadrunners begin play at Houston on at 7 p.m. on Friday before visiting Rice at 1 p.m. on Sunday.
Series Meeting: This will be the third meeting between the Roadrunners and Cougars and the two programs have split their previous two matchups. UTSA and Rice will meet for the first time this weekend.
On the Web: This weekend's matches can be followed through live stats at goUTSA.com.
2008 Season Outlook: Head coach Steve Ballard and associate head coach Kristin Boeker begin their third season with the UTSA soccer program and are poised to make a run at the Southland Conference Championship and a trip to the NCAA Tournament. The Roadrunners have finished second in the league standings in each of their first two years of competition.
Ballard welcomes back a veteran squad that features 16 letterwinners, including nine starters. Among those starters are juniors Veronica Najera, Ezinne Okpo and Chelsea Zimmerman and sophomore Allison Dillon, who all were all-conference performers a year ago and greet 17 newcomers that were ranked 22nd in the Central Region and first in the Southland Conference in recruiting according to soccerbuzz.com.
“This team has grown together over the last two seasons.” Ballard said. “They have been within a stride of a championship and I think they’re using it as a motivation tool in order to reach their ultimate goal. Now that they’ve been playing together for two seasons, they’re starting to realize that they have what it takes to win it all.”
| Rachel Francis |
Goalkeepers
UTSA will have the luxury of four goalies this season. Leading the way is the lone senior, Rachel Francis. She has appeared in 30 matches, including 26 starts the last two years. The Lancaster native posted one shutout and a team-high 46 saves in 2007.
Junior Kasi Hebert and sophomore Allison McCabe look to see more action this year. Hebert made 14 appearances and tied Francis for the team lead with 46 saves. Meanwhile, McCabe came on late in the season and made eight starts in 10 matches of action. She also recorded a team-best four shutouts and a 1.01 goals-against average.
Freshman Nicoline Joergensen also will be in the mix for playing time.
“We’re fortunate to have three goalies coming back that have seen action and will be ready to play when called upon.” Ballard said. “All of our goalies want to be on the field, so we know all four of them are going to compete against each other and make themselves better every day.”
| Ezinne Okpo |
Defenders
After posting six shutouts in 2006, the Roadrunners defense upped that total to a school-record seven shutouts a year ago.
First-team All-SLC performer Okpo, juniors Celeste Carruth and Kim Selman and sophomore Jenna Pawelek were the main catalysts behind last year’s success on defense and again will be looked upon to lead the rest of the defenders on this squad.
Okpo, who recorded a career-high four goals, was named second-team ESPN The Magazine/CoSIDA Academic All-District VI and earned first-team Capital One Bank/SLC All-Academic honors. Carruth started all 20 matches and played in 1,514 minutes, second to Okpo, who played in 1,551.
Also looking to see action are junior Carly Chudej and freshmen Kacey Cherry, Jodi Leroy, Erin MacKay, Stephanie Ogilvie and Nelle Thomsen.
“We have a lot of options at this position, but I’m looking for Ezinne to be the leader of our defense.” Ballard said. “Along with her, we have two outstanding defenders in Celeste and Kim. They are the type of players that can shut down sideline to sideline and make it difficult for the opponent to score. Jenna also will have a huge role this season.”
| Chelsea Zimmerman |
Midfielders
Despite an injury-shortened 2007 season for junior Chelsea Zimmerman last fall she looks to lead UTSA’s midfield along with fellow juniors Kim Gonzales, Halee Hamm and Kari Weiland.
Zimmerman missed the last six matches of the season due to injury but still managed to collect second-team All-SLC honors last season. The Mansfield native played in 14 matches and collected four assists. Hamm received second-team Capital One/SLC All-Academic accolades. Weiland appeared in all 20 contests, including 15 starts in 2007. Meanwhile, Gonzales competed in all 20 matches and responded with one goal and an assist.
“One area that was addressed this year was the midfield position, because we suffered some misfortunes last season.” Ballard said. “Since some of our key players are coming back, we have an experienced group. I also think we have good players coming in can step into key situations and we will not miss a beat on offense.”
Looking to see action at midfield are sophomore Laurel Dierking, who played in 19 matches, redshirt freshman Lauren Schultz and freshman Bonnie Caufield, Katie Dugan, Katelyn Fray, Jacqueline Nance, Stephanie Ogilvie, Sheri Olayiwola and Brittany Wilson.
| Allison Dillon (top) Veronica Najera |
Forwards
Providing the one-two punch on the offensive side will be junior Veronica Najera and the 2007 SLC Freshman of the Year Allison Dillon. Najera and Dillon combined for 19 winners, which was more than 50 percent of the team’s goals. Dillon led the way with 10 goals, while Najera was one behind with nine.
“Our strikers are very good at attacking and putting pressure on the defense.” Ballard said. “We are expecting great things from them, because when their game is on, they are unstoppable.”
Junior Jenny Munoz played valuable minutes off the bench a year ago and will be looked upon to play more this year. A quartet of newcomers in Callie Angel, San Antonio native Hannah Collazo, Nelle Thomsen and Taylor Padia will see some action as well.
Schedule
Since the program’s inception two years ago, the schedule has become more of a challenge. This season’s version is no walk in the park as it is highlighted by eight home matches and two teams ? Stephen F. Austin and Texas ? that advanced to the 2007 NCAA Tournament.
“We’re looking forward to a very competitive schedule both in non-conference and conference.” Ballard said. “Playing these teams confirms our commitment to building a championship program.”
The Roadrunners’ non-conference schedule features three teams from the Big 12 Conference in Baylor, Texas and Texas Tech.
UTSA opens its season on the road at Houston on Aug. 22 and plays at Rice two days later. The Roadrunners return to the Alamo City for their home opener against Texas Southern on Aug. 29 and host Texas Tech on Aug. 31.
The Runners will be tested when they hit the road for a season-long five-match swing beginning at nationally-ranked Texas (Sept. 5) and North Texas (Sept. 7). The road trip ends when they travel to Utah for a pair of matches at Utah State on Sept. 18 and at Southern Utah on Sept. 20. UTSA closes out its non-conference schedule at home against TCU on Sept. 28.
UTSA begins its conference season on the road at Lamar on Oct. 3 and at SLC regular season champion McNeese State on Oct. 5. The Roadrunners return home to host Nicholls and Southeastern Louisiana on the weekend of Oct. 10-12. The team then visits SLC Tournament champion Stephen F. Austin on Oct. 17 and Sam Houston State two days later. The Roadrunners conclude their regular season with a three-match home stand against I-35 rival Texas State on Oct. 26, Central Arkansas on Oct. 31 and Northwestern State on Nov. 2. UTSA then heads to Lake Charles, La., for the SLC Tournament from Nov. 6-9.