Texas Tech Hits the Road in Crucial Big 12 Weekend
October 22, 2009 | Women's Soccer
Oct. 22, 2009
LUBBOCK, Texas - Texas Tech looks to solidify a spot in the Big 12 Championship this weekend when it travels to face Texas at 7 p.m. Friday and Texas A&M at 1:30 p.m. Sunday.
THE TEXAS SERIES
Winner of the last nine contests, Texas maintains an 11-3-1 all-time advantage in the series. The Red Raiders have not won in Austin since the 1996 season. Both matches during Tom Stone's two years have been close, however, as the Longhorns have edged Tech, 1-0, in each of the last two seasons.
SCOUTING TEXAS
Texas enters this weekend in a similar situation as Tech with both schools still needing points in the Big 12 standings. The Longhorns are 3-2-2 in conference play after a 2-1 win against Nebraska and 1-0 loss at Iowa State last weekend. Texas' only common non-conference opponent with Tech is TCU, who topped UT, 2-1, in the season opener in Austin. Tech edged the Horned Frogs, 4-3, in double-overtime on Sept. 4.
Kylie Doniak leads all scorers for the Longhorns with 12 points off five goals and two assists. Hannah Higginis trails with seven points off three goals and an assist. Alexa Gaul has played the majority of minutes in goal, allowing 15 goals for a 1.12 goals-against-average, while collecting 48 saves and posting two shutouts. Chris Petrucelli is in his 11th season as the head coach in Austin, going 141-71-20 during that time. Texas faces Colorado at 1 p.m. Sunday to close the weekend.
THE A&M SERIES
The Red Raiders have only defeated the Aggies once in their 15 previous meetings, with Texas A&M holding a 14-1 all-time advantage. Tech's lone win came off a 1-0 victory in 1999 in Lubbock. The Red Raiders are 0-8 all-time at Aggie Soccer Stadium.
SCOUTING TEXAS A&M
Texas A&M is still contending for the Big 12 regular season as the Aggies enter the weekend third in the conference with 13 points. The Aggies (10-5-1; 4-2-1) had gone unbeaten in their last five matches until last Sunday's 2-1 defeat at Nebraska.
The Aggies are led offensively by Rachel Shipley and Whitney Hooper, who have 17 and 16 points, respectively. Hooper leads the squad with seven goals, while Shipley has posted a team-high seven assists. Kristin Arnold and Kelly Dyer have split time in goal, combining to allow 21 goals, while collecting 49 total saves. The duo has held opponents scoreless six times this season. G. Guerrieri is in his 17th season as A&M's head coach, going 183-83-16 during that stretch. The Aggies face Colorado at 7 p.m. Friday in College Station.
PLAYER SPOTLIGHT - Dawn Ward
With goals in seven of Tech's last nine matches, Dawn Ward has helped fill the scoring hole left when Brittney Harrison suffered a season-ending knee injury. The redshirt freshman has a team-leading 12 goals, including six during Big 12 play.
RECAPPING LAST WEEKEND
Tech dropped its only match last weekend, a 2-1 defeat to Oklahoma State in the home finale at the John Walker Soccer Complex. Dawn Ward had Tech's only goal that tied the match in the 72nd minute, but Oklahoma State responded soon after with a goal off a penalty kick that sealed the Cowgirls' victory.
LOOKING AHEAD
The Red Raiders close the regular season in Boulder next weekend against Colorado at 4 p.m. CT Oct. 30. The match will be shown live on FSN Rocky Mountain.
FANS SET NEW ATTENDANCE RECORD
The 1,728 fans in attendance at Tech's final home match of the season against Oklahoma State not only set a new John Walker Soccer Complex, but it also broke the school record that was previously set in 2004 against Notre Dame. The John Walker Soccer Complex attendance record was broken three different times this season as the program averaged 908 fans per match.
TECH IN THE BIG 12 STANDINGS
Heading into the final two weekends of Big 12 play, the Red Raiders currently sit seventh in the conference standings with 10 points. The top eight schools advance to the Big 12 Championship, held Nov. 4-8 in San Antonio, based off a points system with three points rewarded for conference wins and one for ties. The Red Raiders are seeking their third-consecutive berth into the conference championship.
TECH-COLORADO SELECTED FOR FSN
The Red Raiders will make their first appearance on television in the Tom Stone era when they face Colorado on FSN Rocky Mountain Oct. 30. Kickoff is set for 4 p.m. CT from Prentup Field in Boulder.
RED RAIDERS PROTECT THIS HOUSE
With only eight of 19 regular-season matches at the John Walker Soccer Complex, Tech has protected its home field, going 5-2-1 after last weekend's loss to Oklahoma State in the home finale. Tech's only other loss came Sept. 18 against Alabama when the Crimson Tide scored the game-winner with two second remaining in the second overtime.
LYTLE DROPS ON NCAA ASSISTS LEADERBOARD
After missing last weekend's match against Oklahoma State, Taylor Lytle dropped into a tie for second on the national assists leaderboard. Lytle's 11 assists trail Wisconsin-Milwaukee's Kate Megna's 14. Lytle has already snapped the Tech single-season record for assists in a single season and has moved into sole possession of second on the career chart with 19. The school record for assists over a career is 26, set by Kristy Frantz.
TECH STILL AIMING FOR MORE POINTS
While Tech already has 10 conference points with four matches to play, the Red Raiders might need more points to assure themselves a spot in the Big 12 Championship for the third-consecutive season. The fewest points a team has had to enter the tournament is nine (Baylor in 2006; Tech in 2008).
WARD HITS DOUBLE-DIGIT GOALS
Dawn Ward is the first Tech player to post double-digit goals in a season since Amy Rutstein did so in 1998 as the redshirt freshman now has 12. Ward is tied for the second-most goals by a freshman, trailing the single-season record holder Kristy Frantz who netted 18 in 1996. Her 12 goals ranks third in the Big 12 and among the top 30 nationally.
OFFENSE CONSISTENTLY PUTTING UP GOALS
For the first time in school history, the Red Raiders have not been shutout in its first 15 matches as Tech is averaging 2.31 goals per game. Tech's offense is ranked 20th in the nation in scoring offense as the Red Raiders has scored at least two goals in all but five matches this season.
McCALL PLAYING BIG MINUTES
Playing all 90 minutes has become a regular happening for Casey McCall as the sophomore has played every minute in 13 of 15 matches this season. She netted her only goal of the season against Oklahoma that put the Red Raiders ahead 1-0 early into the match.
