W-D-L: 1-0-0 0-0-2
September 2, 2013
2:00 pm @ Town and Country Field, Austin
The behemoth that is the University of Texas overwhelmingly eclipses any other school in the city of Austin as far as sports attention is concerned. With seemingly bottomless resources, the state's flagship university is in perpetual expansion, constantly building new facilities, including state-of-the-art athletic complexes that draw world-class athletes in numerous sports, swallowing up property like an uncontrollable corporation. Austin has room for only one Division I school, and the University of Texas makes sure of that. But UT is by no means the only entity that can boast of a competitive soccer program in the state capital. An intra-city tournament pitting the four schools within Austin city limits, like the one I dream of for Houston (see my blog entry dated August 21, 2013), would be closer than one might assume. Include Southwestern University in Georgetown just north of Austin and Texas State in San Marcos just south of it, and you have a pretty nice little "Hill Country Cup."
One of those four schools in Austin would be Concordia University. Established by the Lutheran church as a high school in 1926, long before an interstate highway slicing along the campus's eastern border was even conceived of, it had thrived right next door to UT for 82 years, through its growth into a junior college, then four-year college. Now a full-fledged university, it sought more space that was no longer available, UT gobbling up all the available land around I-35 and 26th Street. In 2008, the Concordia University-Texas campus opened on over 380 acres in the northwest outskirts of Austin, now occupying a former private technology complex. Despite the 1600% increase in area however, the women's soccer team claims no home field on their campus, with 225 acres of it a nature preserve which is part of Concordia's urban environmentalism program. Instead, they host matches at various locations in the city, mostly at the elite St. Stephen's Episcopal High School. This season-opener was played at Town & Country Field, home of the Lone Star Soccer Club in far north Austin. Another travel advisory must be issued - if you search for directions to Town & Country Field on Google Maps, you will be shown streets which are, as of this writing, still under construction and inaccessible, and you will be delayed because you will think that you can get to the field through a newly-developed neighborhood right next to it, but which is in actuality fenced off.
The Concordia Tornados women's soccer program had a rocky start in 1999, posting zero wins through the first two seasons, and struggled with losing percentages until 2010, when they began their current run of three straight berths in the American Southwest Conference post-season tournament. This makes the 2013 class of Tornados the winningest generation in the history of the program. Seniors Adrianne Ambrosy, Marcia Kaiser and Chastity Carrillo, who led the team in assists last year, have tasted the post-season in all three of their previous letter years. In 2011, this current crop of juniors helped the Tornados get past the second round of the ASC cup for the first time, including center-midfielder Lena New, team high-scorer Jordan James and her striking partner Alex Price who made the all-conference second team despite sitting out the last six matches of the season due to a torn ACL.
Concordia went into this match looking to extend their streak over former ASC rivals Texas Lutheran, who had won the first ten outings in the series. The Tornados have taken the last four, outscoring TLU 11-3 since 2009. While these Tornado seniors have known nothing but making the post-season tournament, this Bulldog graduating class have yet to get there. Indeed, TLU is bouncing back from their worst season since before 2010. But Head Coach Larry Schaffer, who took over last year after coaching successfully at the high school level, winning two state championships with San Antonio Churchill, has put in place some serious plans to interrupt this downward slide. The current squad consists of 14 freshwomen, many of whom were All-District stars, and nine sophomores, including last year's leading scorer Sioned Kirkpatrick who netted 11 overall goals. The future of Texas Lutheran does look very promising indeed as the newest member of the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference, but this year, Concordia's streak continues.
The Tornados took control of this match from start to finish, driving the ball with effective passing up the field. Alex Price, storming back with a vengeance from her season-ending injury last fall, spearheaded CTX's offensive drives, receiving feed after feed from Chastity Carrillo on the right, and Lena New and Jordan James up the middle, capping two of those drives with goals. With an effective passing game, the Tornados had plenty of time and space both on and off the ball, the TLU defenders often scrambling to recover.
One thing is for certain, however - TLU has a future. The underclasswomen came out to play in the second half. With sophomore midfielder Sioned getting more determined touches deeper into CTX territory, the Lady Bulldogs' four total shot tally all came after the interval. Particularly impressive were freshwomen Claudia Treviño, whose aggressive runs created some important forward possessions for this young team, and Krystel Wolfe, who at 5'1" was the smallest player on the field, but her toughness was nothing to belittle. Krystel was the Bulldogs' most solid and most intelligent back, choosing her forward runs judiciously and providing TLU with some effective offensive drives on the right flank.
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| Alex Price (15) comes back from a season-ending torn ACL last year and scores two goals to start the year. |
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| Captain Jennifer Kopetic (11), one of only four seniors on the TLU squad, has her hands full marking Alex Price (15). |
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| Alex cuts the ball in as Krystel Wolfe (black) pressures. Alex employs some nifty moves and is very busy in the top third, last year's injury obviously all but a distant memory. |
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| Center-midfielder Lena New (10) cuts the ball in as Kelly Lochte (black) pressures. Lena is instrumental in possessing the ball and creating penetration for the Tornados. |
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| Chastity Carrillo (7) and Courtney Brooks (black) fight for the ball in the air. Chastity dominates the midfield for Concordia. |
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| Chastity Carrillo (7) breaks loose from Jennifer Kopetic (black)... |
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| ...makes a move upfield... |
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| ...looks to the middle for her strikers, Jennifer determined to chase her down... |
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| ...lines the ball up... |
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| ...and crosses in the face of pressure from Jennifer. |
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| Chastity Carrillo (7) makes numerous encroachments deep into Texas Lutheran territory, her effective ball-control often leaving Bulldog defenders out of position. |
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| Chastity challenges TLU keeper Erin Rose (00). Chastity not only sets up scoring threats, but is one herself. |
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| Christina Odom (17) provides Concordia with yet another offensive option. The Tornados have plenty of space and time to work with in the first half. |
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| Courtney Brooks (12) takes Christina on in the midfield... |
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| ...and forces her to the outside. |
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| Jordan James (13) leads the Concordia Tornados on the break, shoulder to shoulder with Lauryn Nelson (15). |
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| Many of Concordia's offensive drives involve Jordan James. |
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| Jordan keeps Tara Armstrong (8) busy on the Tornados' right wing. |
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| Tara and Jordan fight shoulder to shoulder for the ball deep in the TLU end of the park. |
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| The first goal by Concordia striker Alex Price since her injury last year gets by Texas Lutheran keeper Erin Rose's outstretched hand. |
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| Texas Lutheran takes to the offensive in the second half. |
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| The Bulldogs' Sioned Kirkpatrick (black) asserts herself against Nicole Young (2). Sioned was last season's top scorer for TLU. |
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| Sioned's takeover of the midfield shows why Texas Lutheran will be dangerous for another two years as they break into the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference. |
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| Forward Claudia Treviño (24) takes matters into her own hands to give the TLU offense a much needed spark, as she turns the ball away from Briana Saldaña (6) towards goal, forcing Lena New (10) to make a risky tackle. Claudia is one of several freshwoman Bulldogs who impress with some stellar play in the second half. |
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| Claudia gets down low to receive the ball. |
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| Maegan Idrogo (26), another TLU freshwoman forward, gets past Bieonna Wall (8) and into the Concordia third before Nicole Young (2) slows her progress. |
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| Chastity Carrillo (7) runs into Krystel Wolfe (black), TLU's toughest and smartest defender, despite her relatively diminutive size. |
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| Krystel Wolfe's (26) dangerous runs from the back cause all sorts of problems for Lindy Mendoza (18), Nicole Young (right white) and the Concordia defense. Nicole Henderson (12) comes back to help. |
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| Goalkeeper Megan Frontiera preserves the shutout for Concordia, as the Tornados get through the TLU pressure. Concordia is poised to have the best season in school history this year. |
(All photos by Kokoy Severino.)
While this is Concordia's year to set new records and new heights for the program, Texas Lutheran's best is yet to come. Coach Scheffer is right to have some very high expectations in TLU's run in the SCAC.
UPCOMING MATCHES OF THE WEEK:
Friday Sep 13 Lamar University (#161) @ Rice (#82) 7:00 pm
Sunday Sep 15 Louisiana State University (#66) @ Rice (#82) 1:00 pm
Sunday Sep 15 U of H (#126) @ Houston Baptist University (#205) 7:00 pm
Friday Sep 20 Oklahoma State University (#76) @ Rice 7:00 pm
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)* 2:30 pm in 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 in Waco
Friday Oct 18 Oral Roberts University (#124) @ HBU* 5:00 pm
Friday Oct 18 Colorado College (#50) @ Rice* 7:00 pm
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
Saturday Oct 26 University of Texas-Tyler @ Concordia* 5:00 pm at St. Stephen's HS, Austin
Sunday Oct 27 East Carolina University (#97) @ Rice* 1:00 pm
Thursday Oct 31 LSU @ Tx A&M* 7:00 pm in College Station
Friday Nov 1 Sam Houston State University (#233) @ HBU* 5:00 pm
Friday-Saturday Nov 1-9 Red River Athletic Conference Tournament* @ Houston Amateur Sports Park
Monday Nov 4 Conference USA Tournament Quarter-Finals @ Rice* 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)
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