Well, the cancellation of last Friday's local derby between Rice and the University of Houston, while understandable in the inclement weather, was still quite a let-down. It was to be the only opportunity we have this year of seeing these two intra-city rivals on the pitch now that they are once again competing in different conferences. I dream of one day seeing a pre-season tournament for the Houston-area schools, a Houston College Cup, if you will, in which U of H, Rice, Texas Southern University, Houston Baptist, Sam Houston State, Prairie View A&M, Lamar and the newly established University of St. Thomas women's teams go head-to-head for local supremacy. Until then, we will have to be content with the occasional non-league derby pitting schools within the city against each other, though none is as heated as the Cougars-Owls series that has gone on for a long time.
North Texas may be newcomers to Conference USA, but winning in the city of Houston is nothing new to the Mean Green. Over a one-week period last August, North Texas played a trio of Houston-area schools and pummeled them by an aggregate 9-1. Indeed, the green means have yet to compile a losing record since the program was established in 1995, and the northerners are coming off one of the most successful campaigns they have ever had, tying their single-season record of 16 wins, with two draws and five losses, on their way to a double Sun Belt Conference league and cup championship. One of those draws was against eventual Big 12 tournament champions Baylor who made it all the way to the national round of 16, and two of the losses were against teams ranked in the nation's top twenty, including #16 Long Beach State with Philippine National Team Maldita All-American Nadia Link, whom they took into overtime. UNT has been on a roll for almost twenty years, and the way things look now, it ain't stopping any time soon. Three fourths of the attack largely responsible for producing last season's staggering +26 goal differential is still around. Together, Karla Pineda, Kelsey Hodges and Amber Haggerty contributed 22 of the Green's 48 total goals. Even without the Sun Belt's third leading goalscorer Michelle Young who graduated with a team-high 10 goals, these three may still pose an even meaner threat than last year. Attacking from her center-back position, Kelsey managed seven goals while striker Amber finished second on the team with eight. But the most dangerous player on the green will continue to be center-midfielder Karla, who not only scored seven goals herself, but assisted on another seven as a freshman. The Green defensive line features three senior returning starters - Hodges, Tori Adame and Shelly Holt. Sophomore Tess Graham accrued so much valuable experience winning the Sun Belt double and seeing significant action in the national tournament, she may play like a senior. With 6'1" junior keeper Jackie Kerestine, I am predicting this UNT squad to be the cinderella team of Conference USA.
Karla's Mean Green generation will no doubt be coming to Houston with loads of confidence. Since the 2010 season, UNT has outscored its next Houston-based opponent 19 to zero. But they will be met by a TSU squad quite different from the one they saw last year. The Tigers began the season struggling through two wins and a spate of defeats. But as their schedule wore on, they caught their groove and finished strong, stringing together four wins in their final six matches. This TSU squad is on an upward trajectory, and this young team is aggressive, persistent and operates at a level of intensity that matches anyone out there. The center of TSU's Durley Field is Marlyn Campa's turf. Whatever intention Karla Pineda is coming home to Houston with, the Aldine High School product will have to get through Marlyn to do it. There is no other center-midfielder in this city I can think of with more ability and intensity to neutralize a playmaker like Karla than the Tigers' Marlyn, who I suspect will harass the Mean Karla tightly to slow and limit her turns, forcing her to dish the ball laterally rather than forward and diagonally towards Amber. I look forward to seeing Marlyn's takeaways in the middle, releasing the ball quickly to Sarah Glenn or Briona Reid down either flank.
This is shaping up to be an explosive showdown between two young but very effective sophomore midfielders in the middle of the park.
 |
| The center of Durley Field belongs to Marlyn Campa (white 3), as Southern's Jami Blackston (blue 3) discovered last season. |
It is always interesting to me to see a soccer team from a school that is known to be a traditional powerhouse in a different sport. This matchup on Sunday pits the Bulldogs of Georgia, giants in the American football arena, against the Houston Cougars, whose basketball program has produced some of the greatest players to ever grace an NBA court (Hayes, Hakeem, Drexler). But American football and basketball will be far from the minds of those of us sitting in the stands this Sunday at the Carl Lewis International Complex, the new home of the University of Houston soccer team since the demolition of Robertson Stadium at the end of last season. What we will witness are two programs bouncing back from the disappointments of 2012.
Georgia will be coming to Houston looking to start fresh after an injury-plagued season that finished with the second worst record in school history at only seven wins, 11 losses and two draws. The Bulldogs are not accustomed to winning percentages of less than 50. They have experienced losing season records only three times since 1995. They have qualified to the national tournament eight times in the past two decades. Their two-game stand in the Lone Star State starting in Austin on Friday against the University of Texas and culminating at Houston on Sunday will see the long-anticipated return of Laura Eddy, one of Georgia's most prized recruits, coming back from two torn ACLs that sidelined her for entire back-to-back seasons. If their pre-season 9-0 annihilation of The Citadel last week is any indication, Georgia is taking a no-prisoners approach to 2013.
What the Bulldogs will encounter this Sunday will be a Cougar squad which is also out for blood. A team brimming with quality, Houston underachieved last season (see my blog entry dated Nov 18, 2012), and senior center-midfielder Kylie Cook will be determined to turn it around before she graduates. A rebuilt backline with one returning starter in Danielle Muñoz will play like they have alot to prove against a young Bulldog striking unit that includes just one senior in its ranks, Nigerian Chika Ibiam. I have a feeling that the real battle in this match will be in the Cougars' offensive third, where Houston's forward rotation packs plenty of experience, senior Sami Sackos leading a junior trio of Kayla Walker, Alexis Weaver and Kelsey Zamora against a Georgia defense anchored by All-Southeast Conference senior Torri Allen and classmate Nikki Hill, both on the SEC Academic Honor Roll. They will have to apply their cognitive skills very effectively in order to keep up with the quick Cougar attack.
These are some magnificent matchups to start the new season of Kokoy's Women's College Soccer Blog.
 |
| Senior goalkeeper Cami Koski (0) will be rallying her Houston Cougar teammates when Georgia comes to town on Sunday. Cami holds the school record of most career shutouts. She was selected to the All-Conference first team by CollegeSportsMadness.com for the 2013 preseason. |
(All photos by Kokoy Severino.)
(Most current national rank in parentheses, by the National Collegiate Athletic Association http://www.ncaa.com/rankings/soccer-women/d1/ncaa_womens_soccer_rpi)
UPCOMING MATCHES OF THE WEEK:
Friday Aug 30 Stephen F. Austin University (#31) @ U of H 7:00 pm
Sunday Sep 1 Texas Christian University (#72) @ Houston Baptist University (#205) 7:00 pm
Friday Sep 6 Southern University (#323) @ Lamar University (#161) 7:00 pm
Friday Sep 13 University of Texas at El Paso (#185) @ HBU 7:00 pm
Sunday Sep 15 Louisiana State University (#66) @ Rice 1:00 pm
Sunday Sep 15 University of Houston @ HBU 7:00 pm
Friday Sep 20 University of Louisiana at Lafayette (#238) @ U of H 5:00 pm
Friday Sep 20 Oklahoma State University (#76) @ Rice OR
Howard University (#310) @ TSU 7:00 pm
(depending on time constraints)
Sunday Sep 22 South Carolina State University (#292) @ TSU 7:00 pm
Friday Sep 27 Northwestern State University (#260) @ HBU* 7:00 pm
Sunday Sep 29 Vanderbilt University (#114) @ Texas A&M University (#15)* 1:00 pm at College Station
Thursday Oct 3 University of Cincinnati (#227) @ U of H* 7:00 pm
Friday Oct 11 TSU @ Prairie View A&M University (#303)* 7:00 pm
Sunday Oct 13 Texas Tech University (#21) @ Baylor University (#10)* 1:00 pm
Friday Oct 18 Oral Roberts University (#124) @ HBU* 5:00 pm
Friday Oct 18 Colorado College (#50) @ Rice* OR
Alcorn State University (#321) @ TSU* 7:00 pm
(depending on time constraints)
Sunday Oct 20 Mississippi Valley State University (#275) @ TSU* 1:00 pm
Thursday Oct 24 University of Central Florida (#20) @ U of H* 7:00 pm
Friday Oct 25 Grambling State University (#322) @ TSU* 7:00 pm
Sunday Oct 27 East Carolina University (#97) @ Rice* 1:00 pm
Friday Nov 1 Sam Houston State University (#233) @ HBU* 5:00 pm
Wednesday Nov 6 Conference USA Tournament Quarter-Finals @ Rice*
Thursday Nov 7 Southwestern Athletic Conference Tournament @ Houston Amateur Sports Park*
Friday Nov 8 Conference USA Tournament Semi-Finals @ Rice*
Saturday Nov 9 Southwestern Athletic Conference Tournament @ Houston Amateur Sports Park*
Sunday Nov 10 Conference USA Tournament Final @ Rice*
(Kokoy's Matches of the Week are those which I plan to attend.)
Kokoy Severino has been coaching junior high school soccer in the public school system of the Greater Houston area for 19 years. He holds a National Youth Diploma from the National Soccer Coaches Association of America, two coaching certifications from the United States Soccer Federation, and a Master in Educational Leadership degree from the University of St. Thomas in Houston, Texas. His research focuses on the relationship between interscholastic competitive soccer and the academic success of at-risk students. He returns regularly to his native country of the Philippines and conducts soccer training sessions for economically disadvantaged youths.
"This blog is to document the intensity, the depth, the passion, the strategic and tactical nuances, the stars, the spectacular play that I witness in the women's teams at the college level. And in doing so, it is my hope that others might be inspired to discover for themselves the beautiful game brought by the women." (Kokoy, from blog entry dated Nov 4, 2012)
No comments:
Post a Comment