2006 Game
Recaps
Official Texas Homepage
2006 Schedule
2006
Statistics
Last year's seniors Julie Gailey and Melissa Adrouny have now departed the squad, as have Erin Davis, who has transferred to Florida, and Callie Raymond, a goalkeeper who red-shirted last year, who also left. Texas has not yet announced the incoming recruiting class, making it two years in a row that they are the last Big 12 team to release this information. However, this class seems to consist of Avery Allen, a goalkeeper from Mississippi, Greta Carter, a transfer from SMU, Yobel Gaski, who has been a star of the Texas women's club team, Casey Mogk, a defender from Dallas, and Tina Vaughn, a midfielder from Pennsylvania. The coaching staff will be quite different, as Kelly Lindsey has moved on to be the head coach at Saint Mary's, and Greg Sheen has also left. Replacing them will be Matthew Mott and Nicole Nelson.
Stephanie Logterman will miss the first few games of the season, as she plays with the U-20 National Team in the FIFA U-20 Women's World Championship in Russia. Stephanie played every minute of every game in the previous U-20 championship, in Thailand. The tournament ends on 3 Sep, so she will probably rejoin the team around the New Mexico or Rice game.
UT San Antonio (exhibition) - W 3-0 - Fri 18 Aug 2006
This first match on the schedule was an exhibition home game against UTSA, which was UTSA's first ever game, as they have a brand new program that starts this year. Kasey Moore sat out this game, with Caitlin Kennedy taking her place in the back line, while Leslie Imber took the place of Stephanie Logterman, and Stephanie Gibson also joined the back four. About fifteen minutes into the game, the Longhorns started to get their first good scoring chances. First, a cross from the left side from Ashley Foster just missed Amy Burlingham in front of the net. A couple of minutes later, Foster took a shot from near the same place, which the UTSA keeper did a good job of stopping, although she gave up a rebound. The UTSA defense was able to clear the rebound, however, before Texas could convert. Just a couple of minutes later, Foster took another shot from the same spot, which the UTSA keeper saved as before, but this time Burlingham was right there to put the rebound into the net for the first goal. Carrie Schmit added a second goal with six minutes to go in the first half, to make the score 2-0.
As the first half wore down, the Longhorns started to dominate all the play, by this time looking like they were facing a team who was playing their first game. UTSA held their own ok for the first fifteen minutes or so, but things started to slip out of their control after that. The second half was played almost entirely in the UTSA side of the field, and Texas fired off lots of shots. The eventual shot tally was 32-1 for Texas, but a lot of those 32 were from long distance, and not that dangerous. It would have been nice to see more plays to get shots from inside the penalty area. With 8:30 left in the second half, Jill Gilbeau sent in a cross from the right side, which failed to find a Texas player but it did deflect off a UTSA defender into the goal, making the score 3-0, where it remained.
Recap by Texas
Photos by Texas
Recap
by UTSA
Auburn - L 0-1 - Fri 25 Aug 2006
Preview by Texas
Preview by Auburn
The real season started with a road game at Auburn. New Texas assistant coach Matthew Mott comes from Auburn, so his first (real) game was against his old team. Kasey Moore is back in action, starting the game. Texas had the better count of shots on goal, 7-2, but Auburn claimed the only goal, 15 minutes into the second half, off an own goal by the Texas defense.
Recap by Texas
Recap by Auburn
Penn State - W 2-1 - Fri 1 Sep 2006
Penn State ended last season ranked as the #2 team in the nation by NSCAA. They lost to the eventual champions, Portland, on penalty kicks, in the semi-finals, and Portland went on to steamroller UCLA for the title. The Nittany Lions have, however, lost some important players to graduation. All-American, and Canadian National Team goalkeeper Erin McLeod has departed, as well as Big 10 all-time leading goal scorer, Tiffany Weimer. They also miss midfielder Allie Long, is with Longhorn Stephanie Logterman on the U-20 team in Russia, now facing Brazil for third place.
A good crown of 2614 showed for this game, and got to hear the Smokey the Cannon as well, the first time I remember seeing it at a soccer game. (They ought to get the band sometime.) The game started with Penn State keeping the possession, and forcing goalkeeper Diana Pfenninger into collisions with Penn State attackers, to shut down scoring chances. The Longhorns got their first shot 17 minutes in, as Amy Burlingham got a one-on-one chance with the Penn State goalkeeper, and put the shot just by her and into the corner of the net for a 1-0 Texas lead. After 40 minutes, a Penn State attacker bounced a shot off the left post, but the rebound rolled into the net, evening the score at 1-1. Just 3 minutes into the second half, Kelsey Carpenter chipped a shot just over the charging Penn State keeper to make the score 2-1 for Texas. Penn State had lots of chances to even the score in the second half. Ten minutes after the goal, some misplays by the Texas defense gave Penn State a great 1-on-1 chance, but Pfenninger made a spectacular save to keep the Horns in the lead. Seven minutes later, when the Texas defense is having trouble clearing the ball away from the goal., Ashley Foster raced into a sliding tackle that knocked the ball towards midfield, and Carpenter. At the time, the Penn State keeper was very far forward, and Kelsey conceivably had could have scored from midfield by chipping over the goalkeeper. In fact, she sent it into a huge empty space where Greta Carter was headed, but the Penn State keeper was able to run to the ball, well outside the penalty area, and clear it away. Just two minutes after that, Penn State just missed, with a ball off the post. As the second half continued, there was a lot of play around the Texas penalty area, with the defense seeming to have a hard time clearing the ball out of danger. With 9 minutes left, Texas had one more opportunity, as Burlingham dribbled nicely into position, took two shots, which were both deflected, then picked up by Foster who forced the keeper to make a diving save to stop. Penn State continued to threaten, with 6 minutes left, a Texas defender cleared a shot away from goal, but Texas held on for the win. Note: Caitlin Kennedy sat this match out.
Recap by Texas
Photos by Texas
Recap by Penn State
Illinois - W 1-0 (2OT) - Sun 3 Sep 2006
In the second overtime, Kelsey Carpenter knocked in the only goal of the game for a Longhorn win. Just before the winner, Illinois had put the ball in the net, but that was called offside. For some sadistic reason, UT decided to start this game at 1 pm, ensuring very hot conditions, although the weather was a little cooler than has been typical lately. (Supposedly, Illinois wanted an early game so they could get home early. By now, they probably realize why this was a bad idea for an early September game in Texas.)
Recap by Texas
Photos by Texas
Recap by Illinois
New Mexico - W 2-1 (OT) - Thu 7 Sep 2006
This was a mid-week game, on Thursday, 7 pm local time. I expected a large crowd for this one, New Mexico out-drew Texas last year, and this was the home opener. There were, however, heavy thunderstorms passing through Albuquerque at the time, and this may have scared away the fans, the attendance was only 848. The soccer stadium, at an altitude of 5335 ft, is kind of grafted onto the football stadium, and features curved plastic shells for the benches, which proved to be handy as protection from rain and missiles tossed by obnoxious fans.
Despite the threatening weather, the conditions were excellent for most of the game, as the rain stayed away, although lightning flashes in the distance added a small light show. Stephanie Logterman made her return to the Longhorns for this game, after concluding the U-20 World Championship in Russia. New Mexico got on the scoreboard early, 4 minutes into the game. The Lobos got the ball to an attacker, who beat the offsides trap, who was alone in the Longhorn backfield. Logterman chased her down, and then looked to have her well covered, at the right corner of the penalty area. The New Mexico player, despite the tight defense, managed to turn and fire a perfectly placed shot towards the upper left corner of the net, where the keeper couldn't get to it, to put Texas down 0-1. Texas had a couple of really good chances as the half went on, when crosses from the right side turned into short-range shots, but the Lobo defense managed to stop both of these, and the half ended at 0-1. Six and a half minutes into the second half, Texas evened the score, when the Lobos failed to completely clear a free kick from Kasey Moore, and Carrie Schmit picked up the ball and knocked it into the net to tie the game. About halfway through the second half, the skies finally opened up, and the rest of this half was played in heavy rain. The rain started driving away much of the crowd, and some of the retreating New Mexicans, not sturdy enough supporters of their team to handle a little rain, hurled some insults (and more physical missiles) at the Longhorn bench on the way out. With about 7 minutes left in the second half, Texas had a good chance to take the lead, with an Amy Burlingham breakaway against the Lobo goalie, but she was up to the challenge, and regular time ended with a 1-1 tie. Just over 4 minutes into the first overtime, Ashley Foster found some space in front of the New Mexico goal, and fired a fantastic shot into the upper left corner of the net to give Texas a 2-1 win.
Recap by Texas
Recap by
New Mexico
There is a photo gallery link on the New Mexico recap page, which, as is typical, requires the lame Flash plug-in to view. I couldn't figure out how to make a direct link to it, but you can find it from that recap page.
Rice - L 0-1 - Sun 10 Sep 2006
Preview by Texas
Preview by Rice
The Rice stadium, in downtown Houston, features the skyline as a backdrop to the field. Rice handed out trading cards for the team, which made a handy sun-shield. The Longhorns didn't start out with that much intensity, and both sides had some chances in the first half. With 11 minutes to go in the half, after the Longhorn defense failed to clear away a ball, and a Rice player claimed it and sent a low shot into the right side of the net to put Texas down 0-1. Texas had several chances to even the score by halftime, including a Kasey Moore free kick, which the Rice keeper cleared over the bar, and a shot by Priscilla Fite, which the Rice keeper superbly stopped with a diving save. The Rice goalkeeper was outstanding in this match. The Longhorns picked up the intensity in the second half, and put on a lot of pressure as the game went on, but they were not able to find the equalizer. In the last few minutes, as Texas pushed forward, Rice had two great chances to seal the deal with a second goal, but they didn't convert. However, as Texas failed to come up with the tying goal, they didn't need to, and handed Texas the 0-1 loss.
Preview by Texas
Driving directions to the LSU soccer complex
This was another mid-week game, this time on Wednesday. Texas scored two goals in the final 15 minutes, both by Kelsey Carpenter, which completed a hat-trick for her, to claim the victory. Carpenter also assisted on the first goal scored, by Carrie Schmit. The promised live stats did not seem to exist, unfortunately.
Recap by Texas
Recap by LSU
Photos by LSU - Delightfully, this doesn't require that damn Flash viewer.
Nicholls State - W 5-0 - Fri 15 Sep 2006
Texas mixed up the lineup a bit for this game, as Casey Mogk, Emily Anderson and Yobel Gaski all got their first starts. Nicholls State was outmatched the whole game, but the Longhorns played a fairly sloppy first half, and could have done better. Just over 20 minutes into the game, Texas had a series of shots that culminated in a bounce off the post, but no goal. Four minutes later, however, Ashley Foster burst through the Colonel defense, and sent a cross to Kelsey Carpenter, who finished the easy chance, which was all the Longhorns would need. In the second half, Texas got their rhythm together better, and put the game away quickly. Less than 30 seconds into the half, Jill Gilbeau sent in a nice service to Foster, but her header was over the bar. Foster was not to be denied, as less than a minute later, she sent in a shot that was deflected twice, the second time off of the goalkeepers feet, and into the net to make the score 2-0. About two minutes later, an Amy Burlingham cross was deflected to Ash, and she finished to make the score 3-0. With 26 minutes left, Leslie Imber fired a rocket from the top of the box, just under the crossbar, to make the score 4-0. By this point, the Nicholls State defense was exhausted, and the Longhorns controlled everything. With 24 minutes left, Jill Gilbeau headed in a corner kick to make the score 5-0. Texas continued to have chances, and with about 4 minutes left, Nicholls State managed their only shot of the game, a long range effort easily handled by Dana Hall. Just seconds after that, however, Emily Anderson had a breakaway towards another Texas goal, and the Colonel goalie had to trip her up in the box, giving Texas a penalty kick. That effort was saved, however, and the score ended 5-0. Texas finished with a 36-1 advantage in shots, 12-1 in shots on goal.
Recap by Texas
Recap by Nicholls State
Cal State Fullerton - W 3-2 - Sun 17 Sep 2006
Cal State started off the scoring quickly, with a goal six minutes into the game, putting Texas down 0-1. The Longhorns came back with numerous chances, however. With 37 minutes left, after a foul against Kelsey Carpenter just outside the penalty area, Priscilla Fite hammered the free kick off the right post. Three minutes later, the Horns converted with an Amy Burlingham shot that the keeper got a touch on but was not able to keep out of the net. Four minutes later, Kelsey Carpenter sped past her defender to reach a long pass, and fired a shot that the Titan goalie was able to get a hand to, but not well enough to stop the shot, which rolled into the net putting Texas up 2-1. With a little more than 12 minutes left in the half, Emily Anderson outran her defender to earn a corner kick, and the set piece from Stephanie Logterman found the back of the net to make the score 3-1. This margin lasted less than 30 seconds however, as Cal State immediately responded with a goal to make the tally 3-2, where it remained until the interval. Texas continued to create numerous scoring chances in the second half, with Kelsey Carpenter, Amy Burlingham, Ashley Foster and Carrie Schmit frequently combining for good chances, but the shots were either off target or well saved by the Titan keeper. On two occasions, Burlingham was taken down in the penalty area, which could easily have been called for a penalty kick, but the referee held his whistle on both occasions. Unlike some previous games against strong teams, the Longhorns never fell back into a bunker defense, and continued to push forward and create offensive opportunities, which was nice to see. The Titans, who seemed to wear out towards the end, perhaps from a combination of the humidity and that they had to play the Aggies two days previously, managed to create some danger a couple of times near the end of the game, threatening to make Texas regret failing to convert on any of the second half chances, but the Longhorns managed to run out the clock and claim a good win.
Recap by Texas
Photos by Texas - Requires lame-ass Flash viewer to view
Recap by Cal State Fullerton
Weekend recap by the Daily Texan
Press Box Perspectives with Jessica Stamp - Sep 19
Texas Tech - W 2-0 - Fri 22 Sep 2006
The Big 12 season opened with a win at Texas Tech, whose coaching staff includes two ex-Longhorns, in head coach Neil McGuire and volunteer assistant coach Kelly Wilson-Schmedes, who is the Texas all-time leading point scorer. Carrie Schmit scored both goals for Texas to secure the win, in front of a crowd of 1231, which I think is a lot bigger than Tech has had in the past.
Recap by Texas
Recap
by Texas Tech
Baylor - W 2-1 - Sun 24 Sep 2006
The Longhorn offense fired lots of shots at the Baylor defense, and finished just enough of them to claim a 2-1 win. Ten minutes into the game, Kelsey Carpenter hit the crossbar, and on the ensuing corner kick, Kasey Moore just missed with a header. Seven minutes later, Moore came closer with a header, which hit the goal again, but did not go in. Soon after this, however, Baylor was the first to score, as an attacker ran past her defender and beat the Texas keeper to put the Bears up 1-0. Texas had more chances in the half, one of the best being a Carpenter breakaway with 5 minutes left, which was saved for a corner kick. On the kick, Texas again hit the post. The Longhorn pressure continued in the second half, and Texas had several excellent opportunities in the first 3 minutes, but was not able to convert them. Finally, 7 minutes into the second half, Kelsey Carpenter got to a poorly cleared ball from the Baylor defense, and got free for an open shot which beat the keeper to tie the match at 1-1. Texas continued to have the better of the play, and had a lot more scoring chances than Baylor did. The Bears did, however, come close with 15 minutes left in the game, but Jill Gilbeau cleared the ball of the line to safety. About a minute after that, Amy Burlingham fired a shot, which the Baylor keeper did get a hand to, but not well enough, as it bounced into the net just past the pursuing defense, giving Texas a 2-1 lead. With about 10 minutes left, Burlingham was fouled just outside the penalty area, and on the resulting free kick, Kasey Moore did her best to break the crossbar with a rocket which bounced high into the air. In total, Texas hit the woodwork at least four times. Although she didn't figure into the official scoring, Ashley Foster had a good offensive game, doing lots of work slicing through the Baylor defense, and earning several good shots.
Recap by Texas
Recap by Baylor - There is a link to photos on this page
Press Box Perspectives with Jessica Stamp - Sep 25
Oklahoma State - L 0-1 - Fri 29 Sep 2006
Quite a large crowd came to see the Longhorn open conference play against the OSU Cowgirls, who have quite an international roster, with four players from Germany and one from Sweden. They were treated to a lackluster, and not very exciting match. Texas started out with a quick chance, with a Kelsey Carpenter shot three minutes into the game, that the OSU goalie had trouble handling, but the Horns did not convert this into a goal. Ten minutes into the game, the Cowgirls picked off a goal, with a shot from the left side of the field that beat the Texas keeper and ended up in the upper right corner of the net. Just seconds later, the Longhorns had their best chance of the game, from an Ashley Foster shot that hit the crossbar. The Longhorns didn't seem to play with much enthusiasm in this game, and Oklahoma State didn't offer much either, although they did a fine job shutting down any offensive threat that Texas tried to put together. Although Texas had the best of the possession, they didn't turn this into good scoring chances. The only other shot on goal, by either side, happened with 15 minutes left in the second half, a very long range effort from Carpenter. About two minutes later, Leslie Imber did knock the ball into the net, but as she was offside when she received the ball, the goal was disallowed. For the match, Foster seemed to have the best offensive threats for Texas, but her shots were consistently high. The final statistics had Texas with just two shots on goal, and OSU only one, which unfortunately for Texas, went in.
Recap by Texas
Recap by Oklahoma State
Oklahoma - T 3-3 - Sun 1 Oct 2006
The second home conference game of the season offered another not-particularly inspired performance by the Longhorns, but at least this one provided some goals. Texas went on the scoreboard first, ten minutes into the game, when a cross from Amy Burlingham bounced around until it found Kelsey Carpenter who finished to put Texas ahead 1-0. With just over 8 minutes left in the first half, Oklahoma even the margin, when a Longhorn defender was caught upfield, leaving a Sooner attacker all by herself in the Texas end. The Texas keeper made the initial save on the resulting shot, but gave up a rebound which found another player in red, who converted for the equalizer. About two and a half minutes later, Texas regained the lead with a pass from Emily Anderson to Leslie Imber into the back of the Sooner net. Ashley Foster started out the second half nicely, with a shot that bounced off the post and into the net, making the score 3-1, but the Longhorns really didn't seem to 'click' much in this half, on offese or defense. Fifteen minutes into the half, Oklahoma picked up a second goal, and another 26 minutes in, tying the game at 3-3. With three minutes left in regular time, Foster came close to claiming the winner, with a shot off the bottom of the crossbar that bounced down at the goal line. I thought this went just over the goal line, but the referee did not agree and the match remained tied, and went on to overtime. Neither team looked like they were going to come up with a winner in the overtimes, and neither did, and the game ended with a 3-3 draw. This game was broadcast on ESPNU. Texas TV Schedule
Recap by Texas
Photos by Texas - Sucky Flash viewer required
Recap by Oklahoma
OU Ties Texas in OT - Daily Texan
Press Box Perspectives with Jessica Stamp : Oct 3
Kansas - W 1-0 - Fri 6 Oct 2006
Priscilla Fite scored a second half goal to give Texas a win over the Jayhawks. The game was in Lawrence for the second year in a row, and was broadcast on CSTV. Texas TV Schedule
Recap by Texas
Recap by Kansas - There is a photo link on this page
Photo by the Kansan
- The student paper didn't really have a story about the game, but they did have
one photo.
Preview by the Kansan - The Jayhawks were looking for revenge after last year, when Texas was chosen for the NCAA tournament while Kansas was not, despite beating the Longhorns and finishing with a better Big 12 record.
Recap
by Lawrence Journal-World
Photos by Lawrence Journal-World
Photo by Thad Allender
(Lawrence Journal-World)
Colorado - W 2-1 - Sun 8 Oct 2006
Texas finished a successful road weekend with a win at Colorado. The Longhorns did give up an early goal, which has been unfortunately common this year, but made up for this by nabbing a pair of goals just before halftime. With three minutes to go in the first half, Kelsey Carpenter found Carrie Schmit for the first score. Just over a minute later, when the Colorado keeper failed to hold on to a ball, Emily Anderson claimed it instead and hit the open net from the side to make the score 2-1. The scoreless second half featured some 'bunker-mentality' defense by Texas, where the Longhorns made little attempt to form any kind of attack, but several diving saves by Dianna Pfenninger did keep the ball out of the Texas net, allowing the Longhorns to hang on to the victory. The Texas all-time leading goal scorer, Kelly McDonald, was there to witness the win.
The soccer stadium, Prentup Field, is a new addition. Colorado used to play off-campus, at the Pleasant View soccer complex. The new facility, with a much nicer playing surface, is a few blocks east of the main CU campus, about in the middle of the 'square' bordered by Arapahoe Avenue to the north, Foothills Parkway to the east, Baseline Road to the south, and 28th street to the west. Confusing map to Prentup Field (pdf)
In the two days after the game, I made an attempt on Pikes Peak, where the weather gods provided a beautiful 'winter wonderland' of new snow up to the treeline, but a solid slap in the face up above. If the Big 12 had just scheduled this game on Thursday instead, I would likely have had no problem. Ah well.
Recap by Texas
Recap by Colorado
Press Box Perspectives with Jessica Stamp : Oct 10
Sam Houston State - W 7-0 - Fri 13 Oct 2006
After a slow-scoring first half, the Longhorns did eventually deliver the goal-fest that one expected from this match, against an overmatched Sam Houston State opponent. Five minutes into the game, a Stephanie Logterman corner kick found the head of Kasey Moore, and then deflected off the side post into the net, but this was somehow called offside. Five minutes later, Amy Burlingham (who, according to the UT program, would like to be a flying squirrel) fired a shot into the net to give Texas a 1-0 lead. Despite having near complete control of possession, the Longhorns were not able to put away any more goals in the first half, as many of their 21 shots in the half were off target. The Bearkats did have a little bit of a chance with a minute left in the half, when they got the ball to an open player, who then fired a shot, deflecting off a Texas defender, which was just barely grabbed by Dana Hall in front on an onrushing Bearkat attacker. This score held until about halfway into the second half, when the Longhorn goal floodgates finally opened. First, Stephanie Logterman worked her way through most of the Bearkat defense, then beat the goalie, to make the margin 2-0. Logterman spent a lot of time on the attack during the game, and did a nice job sending in service to Texas players. Less than a minute later, Caitlin Kennedy hit the upper right corner of the net to make it 3-0. Caitlin looked like she was offsides on the play, but this was not called, kind of making up for the mysterious offside corner kick play early in the game. With just under ten minutes in the game, Yobel Gaski sent in a cross to Jill Gilbeau, who headed the ball into the net to make the score 4-0. With five minutes left, a Priscilla Fite free kick, from an interesting position on the endline just outside the penalty area, found Kasey Moore for a fifth goal. Two and a half minutes later, Fite dribbled through most of the Sam Houston defense and finished to make the score 6-0. Finally, with a minute left in the game, Megan Upah added a goal to make the final score 7-0. Texas dominated on the statistics, with a 46-3 edge in shots, 20-1 in shots on goal, and 14-1 in corner kicks.
Recap by Texas
Photos by Texas
Recap by Sam Houston
Nebraska - W 2-1 - Sun 15 Oct 2006
About 12 minutes into the game, Texas gave up a goal, but, with 12 minutes left in the half, Caitlin Kennedy responded with a score for Texas, with Kelsey Carpenter serving the assist. Just over 10 minutes into the second half, Kelsey and Caitlin reversed themselves, with Kennedy serving Carpenter for a second goal, making the score 2-1 where it remained.
With the win, as well as the rest of the day's results, Texas has qualified for the Big 12 tournament, with the 5th seed or better. (The Longhorns are sure to finish with more points than Missouri, Texas Tech, Oklahoma, and Iowa State, and will at least tie Nebraska and Colorado who Texas has the tiebreaker over.)
The game was presumably played at Nebraska's new on-campus soccer stadium. It is located between Memorial Stadium and the Nebraska Coliseum. Directions to the new stadium
Recap by Texas
Recap by Nebraska
Big 12 Tournament Picture - The tournament seedings are just starting to come into view. The Aggies and Oklahoma State have both claimed one of the top 3 seeds, while Texas will be in the top 5. So far, nobody else has qualified for the postseason, and nobody has been eliminated.
Although OSU leads the conference in points, they have only one game remaining, Nebraska at home. As a result, they will very likely finish behind the Aggies, who have three left to play. If OSU does beat Nebraska, they will almost certainly finish ahead of Texas, as they own the head-to-head tiebreaker. (There is a mathematical possibility of Texas, OSU and A&M all ending up with 25 points, in which case goal differential would resolve this three-way tie, which could conceivably favor Texas.) Texas would ensure at least the fourth seed with another win, and the third with two more (or one win and a Kansas loss).
Press Box Perspectives with Jessica Stamp : Oct 17
Missouri - W 1-0 - Fri 20 Oct 2006
This game saw Caitlin Kennedy get her first start since coming back from knee surgery. In the first half, Texas had easily the better of the play, doing a good job connecting on their passes. Stephanie Logterman also stood out as very solid. With about five minutes left in the first half, picked up a corner kick after Emily Anderson hustled to win the ball. On the ensuing play, the ball bounced around for a while before Carrie Schmit sent in a rolling ball that went through everything and into the net, to put Texas up 1-0. The second half was more even, as the Longhorns didn't seem to be in sync as much, but Priscilla Fite did fire off several very good shots, including one that hit the post with just over 14 minutes left to go in the game. The Horns did manage to hold the Tigers off the board, however, and preserved the 1-0 win, which marked the 100th for Coach Chris Petrucelli at Texas.
Texas has now clinched at least the 4th seed in the conference tournament. They are still mathematically able to claim the top seed, but it will be extremely difficult. With the A&M and Oklahoma State wins today, the only way Texas can claim the #1 seed is if all the following occur: First, Texas must beat Iowa State and the Aggies must tie Missouri, on Sunday. Then, if the Longhorns beat the Aggies by 9 goals or so next Friday, Texas would win the three-way tiebreaker on goal differential, and claim the top seed. If A&M beats Missouri, then Texas will certainly finish behind the Aggies and Oklahoma State. If A&M loses to Missouri, Texas would beat them out with a win next Friday, but would still finish behind OSU.
In any case, Texas would claim at least the 3rd seed with a win on Sunday against Iowa State, or a win against the Aggies next Friday, or if Kansas doesn't win both of their next two games (Texas Tech and Colorado). Kansas will end up at least the 5th seed, no matter what. Missouri started out the season well, but more-or-less collapsed upon hitting conference play. With the loss to Texas, they become the first team to be eliminated from the conference tournament.
Recap by Texas
Recap
by Missouri
Iowa State - W 4-1 - Sun 22 Oct 2006
The Longhorns started out this game with full control of the play, and they were able to convert this into a couple of first half goals, to take control of the game. Amy Burlingham had a number of plays early, where she beat her defender down the right side of the field to create chances, and with 25:45 left in the half, she converted with a nice shot that went over the ISU keeper and into the net, to make the score 1-0. About five minutes later, Texas doubled the margin on score from a Kelsey Carpenter breakaway. (Carpenter may have been offsides on the play, but the linesman, lagging behind the play, was in no position to make the call.) In the second half, the Longhorns let up in their intensity somewhat, but fortunately to no harm. Fifteen minutes into the half, Caitlin Kennedy had a great chance on a breakaway, but fired her shot wide to the right. About two minutes later, Iowa State had a good chance of their own, but missed left. With 16 minutes left in the half, a Texas pass from the left side found its way into a crowd of players right in front of the goal, and Emily Anderson nudged it home to make the score 3-0. Four minutes later, the Cyclones erased the shutout with a great shot from the left side that went over the Texas goalkeeper's head, making the score 3-1. Five minutes later, however, Stephanie Logterman erased any doubt of the victor, as she dribbled upfield, then cut towards the center, beating her defender to earn open space, and then fired a ground ball into the net to set the final margin at 4-1. Logterman has been consistently dangerous when she moves forward into the attack this season. With the game-winner, Carpenter is now in sole possession of third place for career game-winning goals, with 9, behind only Kelly McDonald and Kelly Wilson.
Recap by Texas
Photos by Texas - Sucky Flash viewer required. I can't even see these
anymore (must have changed some security setting on my machine somewhere) so I
am assuming that there are actually photos here.
Recap by Iowa State
Weekend Recap by The Daily Texan
Press Box Perspectives with Jessica Stamp : Oct 24
With the win (along with today's other conference results), Texas will certainly be the 3 seed in the Big 12 tournament, and will play the 6 seed (Nebraska or Colorado) at 7:30 pm on Wed 1 Nov, in San Antonio. If Colorado gets a tie or a win against Kansas next Fri, they will claim the 5 seed and Texas will face Nebraska. If they lose to the Jayhawks, however, Texas will see Colorado instead. Iowa State, on the other hand, is now eliminated from the playoffs, along with Texas Tech and Missouri
EDIT: Previously, I said that the Buffs could lose by 3 and still keep the 5 seed, this was a mistake. I think I confused the conference goals scored/allowed statistics with the full season ones. In fact, any loss by Colorado would drop them to the 6 seed.
Tournament seedings, as determined so far, are:
1 - Texas A&M
2 - Oklahoma State
3 - Texas
4 - Kansas
5,6 - Colorado, Nebraska (If Colorado gets a tie or better next Fri at Kansas, they
will get the 5 seed. If they lose, they will get the 6 seed.)
7,8 - Baylor, Oklahoma (If Baylor gets a tie
or better next Fri at Texas Tech, they will get the 7 seed. If they lose,
they will get the 8 seed.)
If Texas were to advance to the second round, that game would also be at 7:30 pm (on Friday), and the final would be at 1:00 pm on Sunday. The final will be televised (on tape delay) by Fox Sports Net.
Texas A&M - W 1-0 Fri 27 Oct 2006
While this game meant nothing for the Big 12 standings, both sides showed up to play, giving fans the most exciting game of the season, so far. A recent cool front made for perfect weather, cool and dry. Meanwhile, 4311 people filled the stands, plenty wearing maroon, one of largest home crowds in Texas history (and now the largest crowd ever to have seen Texas win.) The first half had the teams alternating in bouts of ball possession and chances for goals. Texas had a couple of defensive giveaways in the first 15 minutes, one with 32 minutes left led to an Aggie pass finding an attacker right in front of the Texas net, but the shot was volleyed high. Four minutes later, Texas nearly came up with one, when a corner kick was sent well back to Kasey Moore, who fired in a hard, low shot, which went through the defense, bouncing off the A&M goalkeeper, Kristen Arnold. It was a long rebound, and Caitlin Kennedy got to it in great position, but the goalie was able to save this away for a corner, which came to nothing. Five minutes later, another corner kick almost paid off, when the service from Stephanie Logterman was headed down by a Texas attacker, but Arnold made a great save to stop this as well. With about 20 minutes left in the half, A&M nearly capitalized on a Texas foul, to the right of the penalty area. The free kick turned into a shot that looked sure to hit the back of the net, until Dianna Pfenninger fade a fabulous fingertip save to knock it wide. With 10 minutes left, the Aggies had another good chance, but shot off-target. Kelsey Carpenter showed plenty of nifty offensive moves in the game, including a strike on the crossbar with about 5 minutes left. The Aggies went on the counterattack after the crossbar hit, and should have scored, but the attacker couldn't get the shot on target. Texas continued to threaten in the final seconds of the half, with a late corner kick play, which Arnold bobbled, but didn't let into the net, and the half ended at 0-0.
Four minutes into the second half, Kasey Moore came up with a big defensive stop, saving the ball off the goal line, off an Aggie corner kick play. As the second half continued, the Aggies seemed to be taking control of the game. Texas wasn't holding possession well, weren't winning the 50-50 balls, and generally didn't seem to have the spark that they did in the first half. The only plays that the Longhorns could put together, really, were free kick setpieces. Happily, they made good use of these. With 27 minutes left, Moore sent in another hard, ground ball which the goalie just barely saved. With 18 minutes left, after another A&M foul, Stephanie Logterman sent a free kick across to the right side of the field, to Amy Burlingham, who sent in a ball towards two Texas players in front of goal, which Kasey Moore eventually tipped in, to give Texas a 1-0 lead. The score seemed to spark the Horns, and they got their energy back. Soon, Texas was settling in with defense and trying to grind down the clock. This was stressful, as the Aggies continued to threaten, while Texas didn't create much offense. As the last 10 minutes wore down, Pfenninger came up big, first with a nice save with 6 minutes left. With 3 minutes left, an Aggie cross found an attacker right in front of the goal, who chipped the ball on frame, but Pfenninger snagged this one as well. Meanwhile, the clock kept ticking down... As the clock went through the final minute, passing through the magic 37 second mark, the Longhorns held on to a game of keep-away, and then the buzzer sounded on the 1-0 Longhorn victory.
Player of the game: Dianna Pfenninger - She had several magnificent saves, which kept the Aggies off the board, letting the single goal hold up, which were the difference in this game.
Since this game was in Austin for the second year in a row, my guess is that it will be in College Station the next two years. The Aggies have not won in Austin since 2001, but the Longhorns have never beat A&M anywhere else, either. With a 4-0 win at Kansas, Colorado claimed the 5 seed in the tournament, while Nebraska will be 6 and will play 3 seed Texas at Blossom Soccer Stadium in San Antonio, 7:30 pm on Wed 1 Nov. Directions to Blossom. With a loss to Texas Tech, Baylor dropped to the 8 seed, so Oklahoma will be 7 and will face in-state rival 2 seed Oklahoma State in the playoffs.
Recap by Texas
Recap by Texas A&M
History of the Series, by Texas
Recap by The Daily Texan
Kasey Moore
Texas 1 - Aggies 0
Dianna Pfenninger came up with huge saves.
Big 12 Conference Tournament
Big 12 Tournament - First Round - 3 TEXAS vs 6 Nebraska - W 1-0 (OT) - 7:30 pm Wed 1 Nov 2006
The first day of tournament play ended with this match with the Cornhuskers, in decidedly cool and windy conditions. Texas had lots of chances, but wasn't able to put anything away until overtime, partially due to missed shots, and partially due to excellent goalkeeping by Nebraska keeper Jamie Klages. In the first fifteen minutes, Texas created plenty of offensive play, and Amy Burlingham figured into several good scoring chances, but the Longhorns were not able to convert. For the next fifteen or so, Nebraska came back and put pressure on the Texas defense, and a few miscues by Texas let the Cornhuskers keep at it, but Nebraska didn't break through for a goal. Texas had perhaps their best chance of the half with 9:30 left with a fabulous Priscilla Fite shot, which was tipped away with an equally fabulous save, and the half ended 0-0. During the second half, Texas started to take nearly full control of the game. Nebraska had an dangerous corner kick just 2 minutes into the half, but after that, the Longhorns put on some serious offensive pressure. Caitlin Kennedy figured in on much of this, first with a bendy shot, headed for goal until it was saved, 2:30 into the half. Just after that, Kennedy sent in a great pass to Kelsey Carpenter, who touched the ball passed the diving Klages, but Kelsey couldn't get to the ball until it nearly reached the endline, and wasn't able to do more than hit the side post. In the next few minutes, Kennedy forced Klages to make a couple more critical saves, to keep the game scoreless. The Longhorns kept on the offensive, and had the better of the play in the second half. The Huskers did manage a dangerous play with 9:30 left, getting a ball deep into the box and past Dianna Pfenninger, but a defender saved this away. After a little trouble finally clearing this ball out of danger, Texas went on the attack again. Finally, in the final minute of the half, a flurry of activity in front of the Nebraska net let to a Texas shot bouncing off the post, but not into goal, and the game went to overtime.
In the overtime, Texas continued to have the better of things, and finally, with 3:31 left in the first period, Caitlin Kennedy sent a pass to Kelsey Carpenter, who got around the diving Klages, and hit the back of the net, to claim the win. This would have been a tough game to lose, or even just to sent to penalty kicks, as the Longhorns, who easily had the better of the play, deserved this one. Nebraska had their moments for some of the first half, but not much after that. Brittany Timko did indeed play for the Cornhuskers, for almost the entire game, even though just days ago she was playing hard in Korea with the Canadian National Team, competing in the Peace Queen Cup. She wasn't a major factor today, however. She must have been worn out from everything.
Recap by Texas
Recap by Nebraska
Recap by The Daily Texan
Big 12 Tournament - Second Round - 3 TEXAS vs 2 Oklahoma State - W 2-0 - 7:30 pm Fri 1 Nov 2006
In this semifinal, Texas faced the only conference team that they lost to in the regular season, 2 seed Oklahoma State. For most of the first half, Oklahoma State was having the better of the game, breaking up lots of Texas passes, playing with more energy, and generally 'clicking' better. Meanwhile, the early shots that the Longhorns took were off-target. On the other hand, when OSU threatened, often due to runs by #4 Jesyca Rosholt, Texas keeper Dianna Pfenninger was up to the task of smothering them. With about 5 minutes to play in the first half, Amy Burlingham beat an offsides trap and made a nice run down the left side of the field, and looked to have a good chance at the goal. Instead of going for the shot, she sent the pass to the middle, where it went awry, and looked like it would become another wasted chance. However, in moments Burlingham got the ball back, and sent in a pass to Kelsey Carpenter in front of the goal, and Kelsey used her head and nicely flicked the ball down, past the OSU keeper, and into the goal, at 4:41, for a 1-0 lead. As the second half started, the Cowgirls still seemed to be sharper, despite being behind, but just four minutes into the half, Emily Anderson poached a goal to give the Longhorns a 2-0 lead. This seemed to energize the Texas side, who now started to play much sharper. As the half continued, Oklahoma State kept trying to mount attacks, but the Texas defense was not having any of it. Quite a lot of these attacks were blasted out of danger by Kasey Moore, who was outstanding in shutting down the OSU attack. The Cowgirls kept trying, but never seemed to get close to a score, and with a two goal deficit, their hopes slipped away, and Texas held on for the win.
The game had a strange ebb-and-flow to it, with kind of a shaky start for the Longhorns, followed by two opportunistic goals near the half, while after that the Texas defense put the clamps on hard. Texas now has a chance for the conference tournament championship, against Colorado. Colorado looked fantastic against the Aggies in the earlier game, at least in the second half, which they completely dominated. This was the first win for Colorado against A&M. Neither Texas nor Colorado has won the tournament before, so there will be a new winner this year.
Recap by Texas
Recap by Oklahoma State
Big 12 Tournament - Final - 3 TEXAS vs 5 Colorado - W 1-1 (5-4 on penalty kicks) - 1:00 pm Sun 3 Nov 2006
The first half of the game had both sides with some chances, but neither scored any goals. Just three minutes into the second half, Kelsey Carpenter took a pass just past midfield, and cut through all the defense for a fantastic breakaway which she finished to put Texas up 1-0. For the next ten or fifteen minutes, the Longhorns continued to put pressure on the Colorado goal, but after that, they seemed to lose their aggressiveness and energy. For the rest of the half, the Buffalos were the aggressors, pushing the attack and making Texas chase them, while the Longhorns were having a tough time closing down on the Buffs. With about 12 minutes left in the half, Colorado answered the Texas goal, with a header off a free kick to tie the score at 1-1. There were a few scoring chances after that, possibly the most dramatic with 9 minutes left, when Texas earned a free kick near the box. The ensuing setpiece provided several chances for Texas, but then Colorado mounted a counterattack on the play, and found some chances themselves. Nobody found a second goal, and the game went to overtime. The two 10 minute overtimes both passed without any scores, so the match, now officially a tie, went to penalty kicks to determine who got the trophy (and the automatic NCAA bid).
Texas shot first, and made their first three, as did Colorado. Texas missed with the fourth shot, however, and so when Colorado made their fourth, Caitlin Kennedy came to the line needing to score to keep Texas alive. Her shot bounced off the upper crossbar, and just into the net, so Texas had life. Next up for Colorado was Brittany Dornseif. If she converted, Colorado would win. Instead, Dianna Pfenninger made the save, and the game advanced to sudden-death penalty kicks. Greta Carter made her shot for Texas, so Nikki Marshall came up for Colorado, needing a score to keep the Buffs alive. However, she missed the target, and the Longhorns had the trophy in hand.
Dianna Pfenninger was the tournament defensive MVP, while Kelsey Carpenter won the offensive award. In addition, Kasey Moore and Amy Burlingham were named to the all-tournament team.
This game will be televised on Fox Sports Net, on tape-delay. The time
depends on your local flavor of FSN. For FSN Southwest, there are two
showings, 11 am Fri 10 Nov and 2 pm Sun 12 Nov.
FSN National
Broadcast Schedule Notice that the FSN schedule does not specify which
time zone is assumed, so check carefully.
Recap by Texas
Recap by Colorado
Recap
by Big 12
Press Box perspectives with Jessica Stamp : Nov 7
If Colorado had scored on this kick, they would have won.
This save by Dianna Pfenninger kept
Texas alive, and they went on to win.
2006 Big 12 Tournament Champions
NCAA Tournament Draw
Complete NCAA Bracket - Flash plugin required. BTW - For anyone having
trouble with Flash photo galleries (specifically the Texas ones), try updating
to the latest version of Flash. That worked for me.
Complete
NCAA Bracket (.pdf) - For those who don't want to mess with Flash :)
[Thanks, UT]
Texas was officially designated a 1 seed in the NCAA tournament, but the arrangement of our bracket is quite strange. The Longhorns will travel in the first two rounds, to Connecticut, presumably in exchange for Texas hosting last year when we were not seeded. The official seeds are 1-Texas, 2-UCLA, 3-Florida, 4-Utah, but in my analysis, despite the official "1", the peculiar bracket means that Texas was really a 2 seed, the highest in school history.
The seeds in our bracket, in a sane reality, are:
1-UCLA
2-Texas
3-Portland
4-Florida
Only the top seed, 1-UCLA, gets to host the first two rounds. All the
other three must travel, Texas to Connecticut, Portland to Utah, and Florida to
Marquette. If all four seeds advance to the third round, then 1-UCLA would
face 4-Florida at home, and 2-Texas would face 3-Portland at home. The
fourth round would be unusual, as 2-Texas would host 1-UCLA, if both teams made
it. This seemingly is compensation, for the fact that Texas has to travel
so far in the first two rounds, when they are the highest of the 3 traveling
seeds (2-Texas, 3-Portland, 4-Florida) and so technically deserve a break.
For some mysterious reason, the NCAA decided to describe this bracket in secret code. They wrote 2-UCLA instead of 1, 1-Texas instead of 2, 3-Florida instead of 4, and nothing for Portland, and re-arranged the printed brackets to show these substituted numbers. Why the committee decided to obscure things this way, is unknown. The fact that our bracket is arranged like this was not obvious to me at first. The way to enlightenment, is to forget the nominal numbers the NCAA wrote next to the team names, and just look at the best teams, and how you would bracket them. That, and decrypting their code.
Texas will first travel to Connecticut, to face Long Island in the opening round, at 11 am CT on Friday, and would see either Connecticut or Columbia-Barnard in the second, if they advance. If they advance through this, the third and fourth rounds would both be in Austin, with Portland as the likely 3rd round opponent. The final two rounds would be in Cary, NC.
NCAA Tournament - Round 1 - Long Island - W 4-0 - noon ET (11 am CT) Fri 10 Nov
The Longhorns got their scoring muscles loosened up in the first round, with a 4-0 win over Long Island. Caitlin Kennedy picked up the first goal, off a rebound from a hit on the crossbar, and Kelsey Carpenter and Kasey Moore each added a score later in the first half. Priscilla Fite added the fourth early in the second half, all Texas would get or need. Amy Burlingham picked up three assists on these goals, as well. Ashley Foster played in this game, her first time on the field since injuring her knee earlier in the season. This is a fine time for her to get back in the lineup, as Texas can really use the additional scoring threat.
Texas will now play the winner of Connecticut vs. Columbia (Barnard), on Sunday at noon CT.
Recap by Texas
Recap by Long
Island
NCAA Tournament - Round 2 - Connecticut - W 1-1 (UT advances on penalty kicks, 3-1) - Mon Nov 13, 11 am CT (noon ET)
After the NCAA sent Texas all the way to Connecticut, for the first two rounds, bad weather meant that the game couldn't even be played as scheduled. This match was postponed by a day, and moved from UConn (whose field had become a mud pit) to University of Hartford's Al-Marzook Field. The first half was scoreless, but early in the second, Kasey Moore scored off a corner kick from Stephanie Logterman to put Texas up 1-0. About 20 minutes later, however, Connecticut found the equalizer. The game went into overtime, and despite a flurry of shots by Kelsey Carpenter late in the second overtime, the game ended tied and had to be settled by penalty kicks. Texas shot first, and both teams missed the first, made the second, and missed the third attempts. Dana Hall converted the fourth for Texas, and then Dianna Pfenninger stopped Connecticut's fourth, putting Texas up 2-1. This left Amy Burlingham on the spot, where a score would seal the deal for Texas. She did convert, and so Texas will head to the sweet sixteen for the second time ever. The match was very close and hard fought.
Texas will now play Portland. Two years ago, in the only previous round of 16 appearance, Texas also played Portland, in Portland. This next match will be in Austin, at 1 pm CT Sun 19 Nov.
Recap by Texas
Recap by Connecticut
Press Box Perspectives with Jessica Stamp - 14 Nov
NCAA Tournament - Round 3 - Portland - L 0-2 - Austin, TX - 1 pm CT Sun 19 Nov
Despite getting the official #1 seed, Texas had their first home game of the tournament in the third round, against defending champions Portland. Just over three minutes into the game, Portland struck first, with a rocket of a strike by Rachael Rapino, from very far out, which found the upper right part of the net. Texas certainly managed to create good scoring chances, however. With 31 minutes left, Leslie Imber headed a cross on frame, but the Portland goalie made the save. About a minute later, Kelsey Carpenter tried a similar header, but this was just wide. Kelsey had another good chance halfway into the first half, beating the offsides trap and earning a breakaway on the Portland goal, but again this was saved. Texas kept at the attack as the half continued, including another header on frame that was saved, and others.
The Longhorns continued to have chances in the second half. With 28 minutes left, Kelsey Carpenter beat her defender to get position to send a dangerous cross in front of the Portland goal, but the Texas attacker couldn't get to it. Three minutes later, Kelsey pulled off the same thing, but again, nobody was able to connect on the pass. Portland had a couple of good chances just after that, with some close range shots, but Dianna Pfenninger saved these for Texas. With 14:30 left, the Longhorns had another great chance, when an attacker beat the defense to get inside for a good shot, which the goalie could only deflect away. However, before a Texas player could get to this, the Portland defense cleared it away. With 9 minutes to go in the game, Portland picked up a second goal on a corner kick play, setting the score 0-2, making things look bleak for Texas. The Horns continued to attack, just missing high on two shots in the last few minutes, but were not able to create the miracle finish, and the game ended at 0-2. This was a fine performace by the Longhorns, who just didn't get the breaks they needed to get the ball into the goal. Texas outshot the Pilots, and these were mostly good shots, either saved or just off target. With the loss, the season is now over for Texas. Portland will head to UCLA, as they continue to try and defend their title.
Although it is disappointing to have the season over, this year certainly goes down with the best results the Texas program has yet achieved. They beat the Aggies, won the conference tournament for the first time ever, received the number 1 seed in the tournament for the first time ever (although the strange bracket the NCAA produced meant that they didn't really get credit for being the 1 seed), and made it to the final 16 for the second time ever. Even though the previous round of 16 appearance had a very similar sounding result (an 0-2 loss to Portland), this game was a much better performance than in 2004, the Longhorns really had their chances this time, but just didn't get the breaks.
Recap by Texas
Recap by Portland
Recap by Austin American-Statesman
Photos by Texas
Photos by Austin American-Statesman
Press Box Perspectives with Jessica Stamp - 21 Nov
NCAA Tournament - Rounds 5,6 - Cary, NC
North Carolina claimed the NCAA trophy with a 2-1 win over Notre Dame. UCLA advanced out of the Texas bracket, after defeating Portland, but they lost to UNC in the College Cup semifinal.
The 2006 season was certainly the best ever for Texas. The Longhorns won the conference tournament for the first time, reached the final 16 in the NCAA tournament, matching the best tournament results so far, finished with a final NSCAA ranking of #8 in the nation, beat the Aggies, and added wins over Penn State, Cal State Fullerton, Oklahoma State and Colorado for icing on the cake. Some of the squad also picked up some nice national recognition, with Kasey Moore becoming the first Longhorn ever to make the All-American team, while Kelsey Carpenter made the second team.
Soccer standouts Moore and Carpenter named 2006 NSCAA All-Americans
GoTexasSoccer.com Awards
Offensive MVP - Kelsey Carpenter. A consistently dangerous offensive threat all season. With her season total of 15 goals (first on the team) and 5 assists (tied for second), Kelsey has raced up the all-time scoring statistics (goals/points/game winning goals) past everybody not named Kelly.
Defensive MVP - Stephanie Logterman. Stephanie is a steady, unflappable anchor in the defense, who almost never gets beat. Logterman also contributed to the attack, with several nice runs through opposing defenses, and she also took the corner kicks for the Longhorns.
Newcomer of the Year - Greta Carter. In her first year at Texas, after transferring from SMU, Greta became an integral part of the midfield.
Goal of the Year - Ashley Foster. Runner-up - Kelsey Carpenter. Ashley had a rocket strike against New Mexico that won the game in overtime. Kelsey flicked in a fantastic header to score the first goal (and eventual game-winner) against Oklahoma State in the conference tournament.
Sacrificing Her Body for the Team Award - Caitlin Kennedy. Runner-up - Ashley Foster. Caitlin suffered a knee injury in the middle of the season, and despite surgery to repair an MCL tear, she managed to get back into the lineup, and play superbly. Ashley suffered a similar knee injury, but later in the season. She too had surgery to repair the ligaments, but the oh-so very short season came to an end before she was really able to get back into the mix. It was a shame that Ash had to end her career that way, she was having a fine season before she was hurt.
Special Evil Eye Award - Karen Haight. Apparently, Karen likes to wear red-tinted contacts to protect against glare. I think it makes a cool look, kind of intimidating, especially for a defender.
Special Frequent Flier Award - Stephanie Logterman. While serving with the USA U-20 national team over the past few years, Logterman has traveled to, at least, Thailand, China, Mexico Brazil, and Russia, and I am almost certainly missing something.
Special Two Percenter Award - Me, with an assist from the NCAA tournament committee. Until this year, I hadn't missed a Texas NCAA tournament game, but the four thousand mile round trip to a chilly mud-pit in Connecticut was enough to make me lame out.