Houston Cougars 2, Sam Houston State Bearkats 2
W-D-L: 0-1-0 0-1-0
August 17, 2014
7:00 pm @ University of Houston
American Athletic Conference vs Southland Conference
National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) Division I
We're ba-ack...
...just when you thought
that this crackpot blogger had fallen off the edge of the pitch. Just
like those of you who kept clicking to check for new entries over the
past 12 months or so, I couldn't resist it any longer. The lure and
intrigue of this blog's subject matter is just too powerful to ignore.
When life happens, and continues to happen, one must celebrate or mourn
with, take refuge in or seek joy from the people and things that matter
the most. Atop my short list of things is this game which has served as
the catalyst to so much meaning in life, meaning that demands
expression, the perfect medium of which is the beauty of the game as it
is manifested by the women who have committed their lives to it. Thus we
play, we fall, we rise and play on to seek the next opportunity to
penetrate into the offensive third, to receive the next cross, to come
back, pressure and defend, to pass, to take off down the line and to
strike. The game is never-ending.
If you are no
stranger to this blog, then you are probably familiar with my
fascination with the idea of a cup competition between the colleges in
the greater Houston area. My post-graduate alma mater the
University of St. Thomas inaugurating their women's team this year makes eight college soccer programs in the fourth largest municipality
in the country, including five inside the Sam Houston Beltway and three
within a 90-minute drive of downtown. Eight teams is perfect for a
three-day single-elimination tournament. Now that Houston has its own
professional women's soccer franchise, the Dash, it makes so much more
sense that such a tournament be held at BBVA Compass Stadium which both
the Dynamo and the Dash call home, and proceeds from ticket and
merchandise sales can go towards local charities. Alas, in the words of
Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie in his famous speech during a state visit to the United States in 1968, I suspect my vision for a single tournament to determine the
champions of the city "will remain but a fleeting illusion to be pursued
but never attained."
In know that I've attempted
this before (see blog entry dated October 19, 2013 "Underdogs Swarmed
on the Road"), but in the absence of a central city-wide tournament,
this blog is willing to venture nonetheless into the uncharted territory
of deciding the champions of Houston using overall results and
head-to-head competition. With eight college teams distributed over five
different conferences, head-to-head matchups will be few. That just
makes them all the more valuable and meaningful, even if the match is
slated as a preseason friendly, like the opening match on this blog, a
local derby pitting the inner city's flagship university against the
suburban school from the northern edges of town.
Click Houston v Sam Houston State to view the full match photo album by Kokoy.
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| Two sophomores, Sam Houston's Jordan Jarzombek (orange 16) and Houston's Megan Goh (white 16), engage in an aerial battle. Jordan was a member of the Klein Oak High School squad that won three District championships and went all the way to the Texas State Finals in 2012. Megan graduated in the top 1% of her North Crowley High School class in Fort Worth, and her intelligence manifests itself through her creative decision-making on the field. |
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| Sydnie Green (left) contains Maddy Panozzo (9). After transferring from Missouri at the end of her freshwoman season, Sydnie earned her spot in the Cougars' starting defense last year with hustle, intelligence and aggressiveness. Now a junior, Sydnie will have to assert some leadership to improve upon a -27 overall goal differential from her sophomore year. |
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| This ain't no friendly. The Houston-Sam Houston derby gets physical. Ashley Fluty (26) hits the deck as Kelsey Zamora (7) plays through her. Kelsey is part of the all-senior trio in UH's striker rotation, which also features Kaylah Walker (13) and Alexis Weaver (5). The lone senior in the Bearkats' backfield, Ashley will lead a defense on a mission to win more than half of its conference matches, a feat she has yet to see since donning an SHSU jersey as a freshwoman. |
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| Junior Mariah Titus (6), tussles with Alexis Weaver (5) and Gabrielle Rodriguez (15). Mariah was the centerpiece of Sam Houston's offense last season, netting eight for 39 shots on goal. |
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| Local derbies such as Houston v Sam Houston State often pit former high school teammates against each other. Gabrielle Rodriguez (15) was also a member of that high-achieving Klein Oak High School team with Jordan Jarzombek. |
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| Hannah Dauzat (8) chases Emily Edenstrom (13) in the midfield. Hannah is part of the senior contingent at Sam Houston intent upon finishing their college career with a winning record. Hannah's transfer from Louisiana Tech should bolster the Houston midfield. Hannah still holds the Cy-Fair District high school record for most career (51) and single-season (21) assists. |
A
double-overtime goalless draw - the Coogs' rebuilding defense
containing junior Mariah Titus, a product of the US Olympic Development Program who finished last season with eight tallies to
spearhead the Sam Houston State offense. Is this an indication of how
evenly this upcoming season will unfold? That is just one of the many
questions this blog ponders as we embark on a fresh new campaign. Will
Quinney and Gabi, Lauren and Holly finally realize the destiny which
Kokoy had predicted for the Rice Owls two years ago? Are they and the
gelling Roadrunners of UTSA on the collision course for the Conference
USA championship, as Kokoy foresaw? Will Natalie and company revive
HBU's drive towards another conference championship? Will
Marlyn and her crew weather yet a third coaching change in
two years and finally bring TSU to the level their hustle and heart
deserve to be? Will Kokoy's alma mater UST defy the odds they face in
their inaugural season and surprise us all? Is this the season that a
championship comes back to the
inner Beltway of the fourth largest municipality in the world's most
powerful country?
Or is
Kokoy just full of it?
Kokoy's full match observation schedule:
Sun Aug 17, 7:00 pm NCAA Women Division I friendly
Houston 2, Sam Houston State 2 (2OT)
American Athletic Conference (AAC) vs Southland Conference (SLC)
@ Carl Lewis Field, University of Houston, Houston
Game 1 of Space City Cup
Fri Aug 22, 7:00 pm NCAA Women Division I Interconference
#251 Houston 0 vs #309 Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 0 (2OT)
AAC vs SLC
@ Carl Lewis Field, University of Houston, Houston
Sun Aug 24, 1:00 pm NCAA Women Division I Interconference
#157 Rice 2 vs #70 Dayton 2 (2OT)
Conference USA (C-USA) vs Atlantic 10 Conference (A-10)
@ Holloway Field, Rice University, Houston
More overtime
Sun Aug 31, 11:00 am NCAA Women Division I Interconference
11:00 am #51 Stephen F. Austin 2 vs #38 Arkansas 4
SLC vs Southeastern Conference (SEC)
@ Mike A. Myers Stadium, University of Texas, Austin
Sun Aug 31, 2:00 pm NCAA Women Division I Interconference
2:00 pm #50 Texas 5 vs #262 Nevada 1
Big XII vs Mountain West Conference (MWC)
@ Mike A. Myers Stadium, University of Texas, Austin
Fri Sep 5, 7:00 pm NCAA Women Division I Interconference
#157 Rice 2 vs #174 Vanderbilt 1 (OT)
C-USA vs SEC
@ Holloway Field, Rice University, Houston
Sat Sep 6, 7:30 pm Major League Soccer
Houston Dynamo 3 vs Montreal Impact 2
@ BBVA Stadium, Houston
Sun Sep 7, 1:00 pm NCAA Women Division I Interconference
#245 Houston Baptist vs #57 Oral Roberts
SLC vs Summit Conference
@ Sorrels Field, Houston Baptist University, Houston
(Cancelled 1-2 after 20 minutes due to lightning)
Wed Sep 10, Copa Centroamericana group stage
5:00 pm Panama 2 vs Nicaragua 0
7:00 pm El Salvador 2 vs Belize 0
9:00 pm Honduras 0 vs Guatemala 2
@ BBVA Stadium, Houston
Fri Sep 12, 7:00 pm NCAA Women Division I Interconference
#251 Houston 1 vs #245 Houston Baptist 1
AAC vs SLC
@ Carl Lewis Field, University of Houston, Houston
Sat Sep 13, 7:30 pm Major League Soccer
Houston Dynamo 2 vs Columbus Crew 2
@ BBVA Stadium, Houston
Sun Sep 14, 1:00 pm NCAA Women Division I Interconference
#245 Houston Baptist 0 vs # North Texas 2
SLC vs C-USA
@ Sorrels Field, Houston Baptist University, Houston
Fri Sep 19, 5:00 pm NAIA Women Interconference
St. Thomas 1 vs Concordia-Texas 0
Red River Athletic Conference (RRAC) vs American Southwest Conference (ASC)
@ Houston Sports Park
Sat Sep 20, 7:00 pm NCAA Women Division I Interconference
Rice 3 vs Air Force 2
C-USA vs MWC
@ Holloway Field, Rice University, Houston
Fri Sep 26, 7:00 pm NCAA Women Division I Southwestern Athletic Conference
Texas Southern 2 vs Alabama A&M 2 (2OT)
@ Alexander Durley Stadium, Texas Southern University, Houston
Sun Sep 28, 2:00 pm Major League Soccer
Houston Dynamo vs Chicago Fire
@ BBVA Stadium, Houston
Fri Oct 3, 7:00 pm NCAA Women Division I Southland Conference
Houston Baptist 0 vs Stephen F. Austin 2
@ Sorrels Field, Houston Baptist University, Houston
Sat Oct 4, 1:00 pm NAIA Women Red River Athletic Conference
St. Thomas 1 vs Wiley 1 (2OT)
@ Houston Sports Park
Sun Oct 5, 1:00 pm NCAA Women Division I Southland Conference
Houston Baptist 2 vs McNeese State 1 (OT)
@ Sorrels Field, Houston Baptist University, Houston
Sun Oct 12, 2:00 pm Major League Soccer
Houston Dynamo vs DC United
@ BBVA Stadium, Houston
Thu Oct 16, 7:00 pm Major League Soccer
Houston Dynamo 1 vs New England Revolution 3
@ BBVA Stadium, Houston
Sun Oct 19, 2:00 pm NCAA Women Division I Southwestern Athletic Conference
Texas Southern vs Howard
@ Alexander Durley Stadium, Texas Southern University, Houston
Thu Oct 23, 7:00 pm NCAA Women Division I American Athletic Conference
Houston vs Memphis
@ Carl Lewis Field, University of Houston, Houston
Fri Oct 24, 7:00 pm NCAA Women Division I Conference USA
Rice vs Old Dominion
@ Holloway Field, Rice University, Houston
Sat Oct 25, 5:00 pm NAIA Women Interconference
St. Thomas vs Houston-Victoria
@ Houston Sports Park
Sun Oct 26, 12:00 noon NCAA Women Division I Conference USA
Rice vs Charlotte
@ Holloway Field, Rice University, Houston
Sun Oct 26, 2:00 pm NCAA Women Division I Southwestern Athletic Conference
Texas Southern vs Southern
@ Alexander Durley Stadium, Texas Southern University, Houston
Fri Oct 31, 7:00 pm NCAA Women Division I Southwestern Athletic Conference
Texas Southern vs Prairie View A&M
@ Alexander Durley Stadium, Texas Southern University, Houston
Game 3 of Space City Cup
Sun Nov 2, 1:00 pm NCAA Women Division I Southland Conference
Houston Baptist vs Southeastern Louisiana
@ Sorrels Field, Houston Baptist University, Houston
Tue Nov 25, ASEAN Football Federation Suzuki Cup group stage
4:00 pm Philippines vs Indonesia
7:00 pm Qualification Runner-Up vs Vietnam
@ My Dinh National Stadium, Hanoi, Vietnam
Wed Nov 26, ASEAN Football Federation Suzuki Cup group stage
5:00 pm Malaysia vs Thailand
8:00 pm Qualification Winner vs Singapore
@ National Stadium, Singapore Sports Hub, Kailang, Singapore
Fri Nov 28, ASEAN Football Federation Suzuki Cup group stage
7:00 pm Philippines vs Vietnam
@ My Dinh National Stadium, Hanoi, Vietnam
Kokoy
Severino has been coaching junior high school soccer in the public school system of the Greater Houston area
for 21 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)
Check out Coach Kokoy's blog about implementing the beautiful game as an academic and social-emotional intervention at an inner-city junior high school for new immigrants to the United States - Coach Kokoy's Las Americas Soccer Blog. 
