SAN ANTIONIO — A quick glance at a roster breakdown for the UTSA women's soccer team could prove to be deceiving in 2016. With just three seniors and a total of five upperclassmen on third-year head coach Greg Sheen's squad, it would be easy to label the Roadrunners as inexperienced.
However, a closer look would show a sophomore class that saw plenty of minutes on the pitch a season ago mixing with a talented 10-member crop of freshmen, along with those five upperclassmen, to form the deepest team in Sheen's tenure.
Eight of the 10 returning sophomores appeared in at least 10 matches last season — led by Brittany von Schneidau, Channing Machen and Olivia Nicholls, who played in all 18 contests — while all hit the field in at least five tilts. The 2015 freshman class not only played a high quantity of minutes, but they were quality minutes, as the Roadrunners faced stiff competition against the likes of North Carolina, Baylor, Oklahoma and Texas Tech in non-conference action.
Leading up to the 2016 season, which will kickoff at 7 p.m. on Friday night at Abilene Christian, all 25 student-athletes benefitted from extensive work with Strength & Conditioning Coach Lexi Beeson. The Roadrunners reported to San Antonio in July for a head start on classwork and conditioning, which Sheen believes has already paid dividends in the team's preparation for the upcoming year.
"Getting everyone in early for class and working with Coach Beeson has made a world of difference," Sheen said. "The work that was put in during that month was a critical part of our players' readiness factor. It's a physically demanding game and for our young team to get a leg up on preparing for that, it's been invaluable. A lot of our freshmen are further along physically than any team I've been associated with at UTSA."
That conditioning also will play a major factor in the Roadrunners' more aggressive offensive attack. The strategy was showcased last Thursday when they piled up four goals on the strength of a Kaja Skare hat trick in an exhibition shutout of Incarnate Word. The team was able to control the tempo from the outset of the match and utilize its athleticism and skill to push the ball up the field quickly, while also demonstrating an ability to close on the ball defensively with speed and aggressiveness when possession was lost.
"We're now able to play higher up the field and with a greater number of players ahead of the ball when in possession," Sheen said. "We'll be playing more of an attack-oriented style where we can push the ball and not worry about teams running behind us because we have athleticism all over the field."
With the belief that every good team is built from the backline, Sheen is happy to have senior Alexis Alaniz return to the defense after redshirting last season. The San Antonio native not only possesses the athleticism and speed that the coaching staff covets, but Sheen points to her leadership as something that will aid the young group as well.
"We are so excited to have Alexis back," he said. "She is a difference-maker on the field with a winning attitude and she demands that intensity from her teammates and herself."
Joining Alaniz in the back will be von Schneidau, who was one of just two players to start all 18 contests in 2015. The Westlake Village, Calif., native was forced to play midfield last season, but she will move back to her natural position on the backline. Fellow sophomore Melissa Finley will help anchor the defense, while freshmen Sarah Bayhi and Marianne Hernandez can add an attacking dimension to the group.
In the midfield, the Roadrunners will benefit from the return of redshirt freshman Nicole Galan, whose 2015 season was cut short by injuries. Another San Antonio product out of Reagan High School, Galan was named the area's Player of the Year by the San Antonio Express-News following her senior campaign with the Rattlers. As evidenced by UTSA's exhibition win, Skare can provide a scoring option from the midfield and the group also features Rebekah Kensing (15 matches in 2015) along with newcomers Katieanne Lochte and Camrynne Hoover.
Perhaps UTSA's most experienced group comes at the forward position with returning seniors Lauren Hodgdon and Brianna Livecchi.
Hodgdon, a fifth-year senior out of Rosenberg, is the team's top returning scorer from a season ago when she appeared in all 18 matches and logged 1,345 minutes on the pitch, while Livecchi is the squads most seasoned forward with more than 2,800 minutes in a UTSA uniform. Sophomore Olivia Nicholls also is back after appearing in every match as a freshman last season and the position will get a boost from freshman speedster Christine Modrall and fellow rookie Jordyn Lacy.
Lacy comes to San Antonio from La Cueva High School in Albuquerque, N.M., where she set school records for career goals (74) and assists (25). In February, she was named the Gatorade New Mexico Girls Soccer Player of the Year after she recorded 28 goals and 10 assists during her senior campaign.
All three goalkeepers saw action in the exhibition match and the group — consisting of sophomores Michelle Cole and Isabella Sanchez and freshman Hannah Weisse — has impressed the coaching staff with their efforts in the preseason.
"As excited as I have been with our team as a whole, I have been most impressed with the quality of our three goalkeepers," Sheen said. "I feel confident that this very important position is in very good hands, regardless of which one takes the field."
The schedule will see UTSA on the road for four of its first five matches of the season.
Following Friday's matchup at Abilene Christian, the Roadrunners will face Sam Houston State on Sunday night and Houston Baptist on Aug. 28 before returning to the Park West Athletics Complex for their home opener against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (Sept. 2). Other non-conference matchups include road tilts at Stephen F. Austin (Sept. 4), Oklahoma State (Sept. 11) and Houston (Sept. 18), while UTSA will host Northwestern State (Sept. 9) and UC Santa Barbara (Sept. 16) before the start of Conference USA play.
In league action, the Roadrunners will host Middle Tennessee (Sept. 24), Rice (Oct. 7), North Texas (Oct. 9), FIU (Oct. 23) and Louisiana Tech (Oct. 28) and road matches include fixtures at Old Dominion (Sept. 30), Charlotte (Oct. 2), UTEP (Oct. 14), UAB (Oct. 16) and WKU (Oct. 20).
The top eight teams in the conference will meet in Charlotte, N.C., for this year's C-USA Tournament, which will be contested from Nov. 2-6.
