Rice Soccer 2009

By Yan Digilov     8/20/09 7:00pm

The injury bug happens to every team eventually. But for the women's soccer team, its presence has become all too infuriatingly commonplace. After graduating only one permanent starter from last year's roster, the 2009 women's soccer team features many familiar faces on the pitch, but if the coming campaign is to be remembered as a success the team will almost certainly have to keep away from the familiar bite of the injury bug.

This year has proved no different, and every indication has thus far proved ominous. The worst news for the Owls came early in June when Amy Beger, one of the team's brightest freshman stars in 2008, tore her ACL while playing for a club squad in St. Louis. Then, after the start of summer workouts, freshman defensive standout Lauren LaGro was sidelined after a bicycling injury on campus.

To prevent these bits of misfortunate from transforming into an omen, Head Coach Chris Huston took action. She sought out the help of an off-campus group of purported miracle workers that performed functional analysis on each individual player in order to identify the potential areas of injury that may lurk ahead.

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But Huston's out-of-the-box thinking did not stop at looking for an injury-seeking crystal ball. She felt it necessary to bring in the help of a sports psychologist and put the whole team through a ropes course over the summer.

"I think that a lot of the things that we are doing outside of practice, like the sports psychologist and team building, are starting to pay off," she said. "These girls are working really well together. The communication is there, and they are fixing problems on the field faster than they ever have in the past."

The longtime leaders of the team are also noticing the change in attitude after some of those sessions.

"It was probably the most valuable two hours we have ever spent," senior captain Shelley Wong said. "We all came out of there and got into some really deep stuff. We connect better, and we trust each other better after that."

Communication and team chemistry have been playing a huge role in the development of a squad whose expectations are higher than ever.

By many accounts, the 2008 roster was strong enough to earn a NCAA tournament birth, but inconsistent play against lesser opponents like the University of Houston ultimately doomed their shot at an at-large bid. Now, with very few personnel losses and the lessons of last year's disappointment, the squad is playing with a vengeance.

One of the strongest additions to the squad this year comes on the sideline in Assistant Coach Sebastian Vecchio, an Argentinean national who played keeper for the U-16 squad. Rice acquired him from the University of Memphis coaching staff, and his expertise as a goalkeeping coach has strengthened an already stellar group of keepers featuring junior Meghan Erkel, junior Catherine Fitzsimmons and freshmen additions Beth Herlin and Andie Obermeyer.

"We are in a unique situation where you have three people on staff, literally, that can all be head coaches," Huston said, alluding to herself, Vecchio and Assistant Coach Nicky Adams..

Volunteer Coach Craig Waibel, a defensive stalwart on the professional Houston Dynamo squad, rounds out a staff that is very eager to see the new look of the Owls' backline, a troop that was most impacted by injury in recent years.

"I think our backline this year is one of the strongest it has ever been," Erkel said. "We have a really strong chemistry on and off the field, so I think that helps. We really trust each other back there."

If the ideal holds, the Owls will feature a returning group of experienced defenders that are simply working on once again getting familiar with one another after being hampered by injury for so long.

Seniors Stephanie Crain, Alexa Coralli, Ashley Lucas and Katelyn Ostendorf make up the core of the defense along with junior Korey Taylor. But with the roster never set in stone, freshmen additions LaGro, Alex Burton and Megan Aultman may be called upon to fill some gaps early on.

Sophomore Chealsey Russell is also returning from surgery and slowly getting into form, while junior Jordan Holloway and sophomores Marie Hunnell and Torrey Luttrell return ready to build on the previous year.

Along with the reliable leadership and skill of Wong in the midfield, sophomore striker Hope Ward came back from summer looking better than ever. Burton may also see some time playing up front, having one of the stronger boots in the freshman class, along with some much needed height. Also battling for early playing time is freshman midfielder Julia Barrow. Her skill has impressed the coaches in practices and adds vital depth to the roster.

Junior Kate Edwards will also be solidifying the middle of the field along with members of the backline like Crain, Holloway and Lucas, who will be asked to adjust to the needs of the team.

Off the bat, the team is responding to last year's anti-climactic finish with a refocused attitude.

"The intensity is so much stronger, because we just got our season stolen out from under us," Erkel said. "We are coming back with a lot of old feelings from last year, getting kicked out of the conference tournament."

Huston is hopeful that those old feelings remain as a constant lesson for the budding squad.

"I am hoping that we learned how important consistency is and how important it is to get up for each and every game no matter who our opposition is," she said. "That is one of our goals: to reach a level of performance that is not dictated by who we are playing."

On the field, Huston believes the Owls are clearly more skilled than the teams that traveled to the NCAA tournament in previous years. After spending years without a locker room and a coach's office, and under constant physical transition, the time has come for the team's chemistry to unite them in a push towards the promised land of post-season play.

"I definitely see our team going to the second round of the NCAA's," Erkel said. "Reaching the NCAA Tournament should be a given this year. We have the talent, and it is just up to us and what we want to do this year."

The team's talent will be challenged with quality competitions at home this year against Oklahoma State University, who beat Rice 4-0 in Stillwater, Okla. last year, the University of Central Florida, Texas Christian University and the University of Alabama-Birmingham.

The first test of the Owls' determination comes in the form of a tough opening duel against Baylor University tonight at 7 pm in Rice Soccer Stadium. Coming from the Big 12, the Bears give Rice a great opportunity to come closer to an at-large NCAA bid. If Baylor beats any of their highly ranked conference foes throughout the season, it would be counted as a win for the Owls in the rankings.

"It is going to be a real test for us," Wong said. "We are such a good technical team, but sometimes we have to step up and play a strong, brute game. It isn't our game, but I think we can do it."

If the Owls grab a win with quality strong tackles and physical play, it would be the ideal way to start a season which will focus more on the team's own ability to play up to its ability on a consistent basis.

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