Kats face Texas, Rice on the road
9/1/2016 8:00:00 AM | Soccer
With a weekend in Austin behind them, the Sam Houston State soccer program returns to the Mike A. Myers Stadium and Soccer Field, this time to face the University of Texas.
The Bearkats (0-4) and Longhorns (2-1) get underway at 5 p.m. on the Longhorn Network as Sam Houston seeks its first win during the third weekend of play. The squad will also visit Rice (1-1-0) on Sunday at 7 p.m. as part of the program's nine nine-game road trip.
“We know that both opponents will be very tough,” ninth-year head coach Tom Brown said. “This last week we had an opportunity to play quite a few players. I think we saw some places we can improve on with our defending and a little bit of our ability to possess.”
A weekend ago, Sam Houston fell 2-1 to Detroit and 3-0 to College of Charleston. The Bearkats took a lead for the first time this season on Friday but could not hold off Detroit. Sophomore forward Micaela Birt struck just before halftime, slotting a ball from 10 yards out and through a defender's legs.
The sophomore, who provided the match winner in the squad's exhibition against Houston, is joined by Allie Johnson and Kaylee Davis among those who have scored thus far this season. Transfer Beryl Smith has logged a pair of assists while Madison Cannon has notched one.
“There are players who have been able to get in and have a big impact, like Taylor Pritchard, Hayden Oswalt and Kaylee Davis,” Brown said of the impact from its younger players. “They have done a good job. For some of the others, it's a little longer process to understand tactics. They may have older players who are ahead of them. I think the team understand that and are dealing with that.”
Meanwhile, the Longhorns own wins against Detroit and College of Charleston after dropping the season opener, 1-0, against Seattle. Texas was picked sixth in the Big 12 entering the season one season following an 8-6-4 campaign overall.
After playing Samford on Friday, Rice will conclude its three-game home stand against the Bearkats. The Owls, who had their season opener cancelled, were picked second in Conference USA during the preseason.
“I think we'll be a lot better,” Brown said of playing a challenging early-season schedule. “We're having to deal with a lot more pressure as far as speed of play and athleticism and ability than we normally see in the conference. Any time you move up from high school to college or college to the pros, play gets better. Players are having to deal with that. Hopefully as we get to conference, they will have adapted and be able to recognize things in the game faster and react to it.”
The weekend set will also conclude a streak of five straight games within the state of Texas. Sam Houston will travel to Pacatello, Idaho, to face Idaho State one week from Friday before taking on Utah State in Logan, Utah, on Sunday.
