Soccer opens at Rice Friday
8/21/2008 1:00:00 AM | Soccer
The Sam Houston women's soccer team begins its sixth season Friday at 7 p.m. when the Bearkats take on the Rice Owls in Houston.
New Kat head coach Tom Brown is looking forward to the opener.
"It will be good to get the opportunity to see what our team can do against quality competition," Brown said. "The team has been extremely eager to learn. We've been working for two weeks to get ready for the opener."
The August 22 start date is the earliest a Sam Houston State soccer team has begun a season. The match also marks only the second time the Bearkats have opened the year on the road. Sam Houston began its second season in 2004 with a victory over Texas Southern at a tournament in El Paso. The Kats are 1-3 in their season openers at home, defeating Mississippi State 1-0 in 2006 and falling to SMU, Texas Tech and Texas-El Paso in 2003, 2005 and last year, respectively.
Rice will be a challenging opponent for the Kats with 17 letter winners returning including 2005 Conference USA "Offensive Player of the Year" midfielder Anne Candeer and junior forward Erin Scott, who has scored 11 goals in her first two seasons.
Sam Houston returns nine starters and six other letter winners from last year's squad that won four of its final six regular season matches to earn the Bearkats their second Southland Conference post-season tournament berth.
Two Brazilian players who earned honorable mention All-Southland Conference honors last year highlight the list of returnees for the Bearkats.
Raquel Bueno, a senior forward, begins her senior season ranked third in all-time Sam Houston soccer scoring with 16 career goals. Kim Brown holds the Bearkat career record with 19 playing on Sam Houston's first three women's soccer teams in 2003 through 2005.
Bueno has been an All-SLC selection each of the past two years and, in 2005, was the “Most Valuable Player” at the Southland Conference post-season tournament in Natchitoches, LA, after leading the Kats to the tournament finals. She is a second team preseason All-Southland selection this fall.
Luana Miessa also earned All-SLC mention as a true freshman. She was the only player to start in all 17 matches in 2007. She scored four goals and assisted on five years last year.
Other starters returning include forward Alison Oakland who scored six goals last year for the Kats, midfielders Debbie Campbell and Laera Gattoni, defenders Carla Campbell, Nicole Watkins and Ashley Simmons and goalkeeper Jenny Pence.
Brown, who was named to take the reins of the five-year-old SHSU women's soccer program in June, brings a 130-118-25 head coaching record in 15 seasons at Angelo State, Sterling College and William Carey College. He stands 23rd among NCAA Division II active head coaches in total victories.
“The Southland Conference has become an extremely competitive NCAA Division I league and we're looking forward to the opportunity to compete this year,” Brown said.
Sam Houston State will play its home opener Friday, August 29 at Pritchett Field at 7 p.m. against the Houston Cougars.
