Lady Ags to open season on the road
For the second straight season, the Utah State soccer team will begin nonconference season play on the road, with matches against Texas State, Friday at 6 p.m. and Texas Christian University, Sunday, Sept. 2, at noon.
Armed with a new style of play in the attack, the Aggies look to claim their first win of the season against a TSU squad they have never played before.
This will also mark the first time the Aggies have opened season play under the hot summer sun of Texas.
“I think in both of the games we’re certainly going to have to adjust to the conditions in each place,” USU Head Coach Heather Cairns said. “It’s going to be hot and humid, and we’re not going to be used to the humidity. Both of the teams are going to be good solid teams for us.”
Last season, Texas State finished with a 7-13-2 record and nearly reclaimed their 2005 Southland Conference title but fell 1-0 against NcNeese State in the Southland Conference title game, finishing third in the conference.
The TSU Bobcats return just five starters, including sophomore forward Lindsay Tippet, the second-leading scorer for the Bobcats last season with 45 shots and five goals. Tippet will be joined up top by Nicole Kinard, who tabbed three goals and two assists last season.
Defensively the Bobcats are young. Last season the defense allowed 156 shots on goal, 48 of which resulted in goals. The goaltender position is a potential weak spot for TSU, as both of last season’s goaltenders graduated. This season the goaltender position will be fought over by a freshman and a sophomore.
But inexperience does not necessarily mean the Bobcats will be an easy win.
“They’re going to be a very blue-collar team, a very physical team,” Cairns said. “They’ve been on the verge of winning seasons. They’re in the upper part of their conference.”
Following Friday’s match against TSU, the Aggies will travel north more than 200 miles to face TCU. The Horned Frogs definitely don’t have it easy as they will have faced two Top 25 teams before taking on the Aggies. On Saturday, Aug. 25, TCU tied No. 23 Oklahoma State 0-0. The Horned Frogs next take on No. 9 Texas on Friday.
TCU returns eight starters from the 2006 season, including its second-leading scorer, midfielder Lauren Pope, who missed the last 11 games of the season with an injury. Last season TCU posted a 6-8-4 record in the extremely competitive Mountain West Conference, which is dominated by rival schools Brigham Young University and University of Utah.
Even though TCU might not be as good as BYU, Cairns said the MWC “is pretty strong head to toe.”
The Aggies will be led by senior forward Dana Peart, who took six shots on goal in USU’s exhibition game against Dixie State, and freshman forward Lauren Hansen, who scored the lone goal for the Aggies against the Rebels.
“We’re really going to have to rally behind that road warrior mentality to come away with two wins,” Cairns said. “We’ve done so much work on our system. We’re itching to test it against somebody else. We’re ready to test it for real.”
-seth.h@aggiemail.usu.edu