Soccer Begins Conference Play on the Road
September 26, 2007 | Women's Soccer
Sept. 26, 2007
LUBBOCK, Texas - ON TAP FOR THE RED RAIDERS
Following an off-weekend, Texas Tech returns to the road to begin conference play Fri., Sept. 28, in Boulder to face Colorado and Sun., Sept. 30, at No. 6 Texas.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
Friday's match will be the 11th all-time between Tech and Colorado. The Buffaloes control the overall series, 9-1-1, and have won the past eight meetings.
Heading into the Texas match-up, the Red Raiders are 3-9-1 all-time against the Longhorns and have lost the last seven matches.
RED RAIDERS UNDER NEW DIRECTION
Following a stint as an assistant at Clemson, Tom Stone comes to Texas Tech for his first season as a collegiate head coach. This is not Stone's first time to be a head coach, however. He led the Atlanta Beat of the WUSA for all three years of its existence from 2001-2003. Stone has also worked as the lead soccer analyst for CSTV, Fox Sports and ESPN, while also serving as a guest columnist for various soccer websites.
GOALS BY COMMITTEE
Through six matches, the Red Raiders have followed a goal by committee approach. In the UTSA match, four different players scored goals, one of which was sophomore Jennifer Kammerer's first career. Seven different players have goals, with sophomore Emmie Bennett and senior Priscilla Esquivel leading the team with two each.
DID YOU KNOW?
- The last time the Red Raiders ended a match tied at nil before the SMU match-up was against Colorado in 1998.
- The Red Raiders began the 1999 season 2-3-1 and won its next match versus North Texas, 3-0.
- Tech is 3-8 all-time in Big 12 Conference openers.
CLOSE COACHING TIES
Despite now being conference rivals, Tech head coach Tom Stone and Colorado head coach Bill Hempen have a long history that reaches on a personal level. Hempen was a groomsman at Stone's wedding, while Stone serves as Godfather for Hempen's daughter, Emma. The two have met twice in their careers, once in the youth league and then last year when the Buffaloes faced Stone's previous school, Clemson. The series stands at 1-1 entering Friday's match.
ESQUIVEL MOVING UP CAREER GOALS LIST
Through six matches this season, senior Priscilla Esquivel has two goals tying her for the team lead with Emmie Bennett. The Fort Worth native has 12 career goals and is three from tying Julie Clement and Melanie Brosnahan for fifth place overall.
THE GREAT WALL
With her eight saves against TCU, junior goalkeeper Tina Rincon moved into fifth on the school's career saves list. Rincon has 28 saves on the season and has 149 over her three seasons. After her shutout against SMU, Rincon is one shutout away from tying Lizzie Pruitt for third on the career all-time list.
REZAIE LEADING BIG 12
With 32 shots through six matches, sophomore Zhaleh Rezaie leads the Big 12 Conference in shots per game with 5.33. The Plano native also scored her first goal of the season against UTSA.
RED RAIDERS FACE TOUGH ROAD AHEAD
With four Big 12 schools (Texas A&M, Texas, Oklahoma State and Missouri) ranked among the nation's top 25 in soccer's four main polls, the Red Raiders will be forced to battle every match. Conference play begins Sept. 28, at Colorado. Tech will face two ranked opponents at home, Missouri and Oklahoma State. The Red Raiders close the regular-season in College Station against No. 3 Texas A&M.
HARRISON PLAYING BOTH ENDS
Despite being last season's leading scorer, sophomore Brittney Harrison has spent the majority of this season as a defender because of her speed and athleticism. In some instances, however, Harrison has played her old position, forward. In the Sept. 2 match against Vanderbilt, Harrison nearly tied the game in the closing seconds. At TCU, she pulled the Red Raiders closer to the Horned Frogs with her second half goal.
FROM THE METROPLEX TO LUBBOCK
Of the Red Raiders' 21 players, 11 hail from the Dallas Metroplex making the September weekend trip to face TCU and SMU a homecoming of sorts. Additionally, all three Red Raider coaches grew up in the Dallas area. Before their hire at Tech, assistants Aaron and Ashley Gordon directed and coached the youth soccer club FC Dallas.
SECOND HALF WONDERS
Although the Red Raiders have the fourth-most shot attempts per match in the conference, all nine of the Red Raiders goals have come in the second half. The Red Raiders have even taken more shots and corner kicks in the first half compared to the second.
CYPERT NAMED CHICK-FIL-A COMMUNITY CHAMPION
For her work off the field, senior forward Kim Cypert was named the Big 12 Conference's Chick-Fil-A Community Champion on the Sept. 15 edition of FSN's Big 12 Showcase. Besides being a regular on the President's and Dean's list, Cyprus is involved with Habitat for Humanity and the American Cancer Society.
