Oklahoma Soccer Prepares For Weekend Opener

SOONER SOCCER THIS WEEK
*Oklahoma vs. Arkansas
Friday, August 29 - 7:30 p.m.
John Crain Field - Norman, Okla.

*Oklahoma vs. New Mexico
Sunday, August 31 - 1 p.m.
John Crain Field - Norman, Okla.

PREVIEW: Oklahoma vs Arkansas
The 2003 Sooners open at home against SEC foe Arkansas. The Lady'Backs are winless all-time in four appearances against the Sooners.

Arkansas is coming off a 7-12-1 season and was 3-5-1 in SEC play.

Lady'Backs lost just two starters from last year's squad, a team that just missed playing in the conference tournament. They are tabbed to finish sixth in the SEC West and return their leading goal scorer from a year ago, senior forward Julie Williford. Williford racked up 29 points in 2002, scoring 12 goals and adding five assists. Senior goalkeeper Lindsay Haywood returns for her final season minding the net for Arkansas. In 2002, she compiled a 1.48 GAA with three shutouts.

The last time these two teams met was back on Sept. 8, 2002, in Fayetteville. On that day, OU outshot its opponent 12-6 and came away with a 3-0 victory. Logan Womack scored the games' first goal and goalkeeper Catherine Wade made two saves to record her third shutout of the season.

GAMEDAY INFO:
Gates will open at John Crain Field at 6 p.m. on Friday with the game starting at 7:30 p.m. Tickets for adults are $5 and youth tickets are $2. Group rates are available if phoned 24 hours in advance to the Sooner Ticket Office at 325-2424. Groups of ten or more will receive a discounted rate of $2 a person.

PREVIEW: Oklahoma vs. New Mexico
New Mexico comes to Norman to finish the weekend doubleheader. The contest will mark the third ever meeting between the schools. The series is knotted at 1-1 with OU coming out on top 1-0 the last time the two teams met back on Sept. 1, 2000. New Mexico took the only other meeting winning in 1997 by a score of 5-3.

New Mexico finished the 2002 season with a 12-8-1 mark while posting a 3-2-1 record in Mountain West action. This year the Lobos are picked to finish third in their conference as they return 17 letterwinners from last year's squad. They will open the season Friday against Texas Tech.

On offense, New Mexico is led by senior midfielder Erchen Theys. In 2002, Theys racked up 16 points (second on team) with six goals and four assists. In the net, Kristin Winters returns for her junior season after posting a 1.46 GAA with 10 shutouts a season ago.

GAMEDAY INFO:
Gates will open at John Crain Field at 11:30 a.m. on Sunday with the game slated for a 1 p.m. start. Fans presenting their OU vs. North Texas football ticket stub at the gate will receive a special $2 admission for the soccer game.

TOUGH 2003 SLATE
OU soccer faces a number of difficult opponents this season, five of them are ranked in the NSCAA/adidas Top 25 preseason poll. Those teams are Big 12 foes Texas, Texas A&M and Nebraska and non-conference opponents SMU and Notre Dame.

"The non-conference season for us is more of a testing ground than it's ever been," declared Oklahoma head coach Randy Evans. "Initially we will be looking at what we are doing and what is best for us, as compared to who we are playing against. Those first couple of games will be a test for us as to where we stand come time for Big 12 play. If we compete well against those schools, then we know we can turn around and do the same against conference opponents."

2003 OUTLOOK
The Oklahoma soccer program is entering its eighth year in 2003, coming off its second consecutive 11-win season. OU's success this season will hinge on a talented group of youngsters (25 freshmen and sophomores), as four starters and eight seniors total graduated from last year's team.

"We are expecting a lot this upcoming season because this is probably the most talented squad we have assembled at OU," said coach Randy Evans. "It is going to be a big challenge with the amount of inexperience, but hopefully the abundance of athleticism and talent will make up for that."

After graduating a large group of seniors, the big question mark comes from the leadership department. Heading into the year, tri-captains Erin Young, Catherine Wade and Heidi Martinson are players that have shown they can lead by example.

Said Evans, "I have never seen a collection of captains as committed to being leaders and that just work incredibly hard and want to win. That should make up for the players we lost from last season."

HEAD COACH RANDY EVANS
Oklahoma soccer head coach Randy Evans enters his fifth year in the OU program after being named head coach on Jan. 11, 1999. He is coming off his second consecutive 11-win season, tying a school record for victories.

His 2002 squad won its first six games and stood at 11-3 at one point in the season. Logan Womack and Lauren MacIver both were named to the All-Big 12 second team as Evans and company just barely missed a berth in the conference tournament.

He coordinated the strongest season in OU's young soccer history in 2001. The Sooners won a school-record 11 games while compiling a stellar 8-1-1 record at home and notched their first victories ever over conference rivals Oklahoma State, Texas Tech and Missouri. OU came within a goal of upsetting Texas A&M the eventual tournament champion in its second consecutive appearance in the Big 12 Conference Tournament.

In 2000, Evans led the Sooners to a 10-9-1 mark and an appearance in the Big 12 Tournament for the first time ever. His coaching performance earned him Big 12 Coach of the Year honors and, a month later, Evans was named the NSCAA Central Region Coach of the Year.

NEXT WEEK FOR THE SOONERS
Oklahoma will travel to South Bend, Ind., to play two games in the Notre Dame Classic. On Friday, Sept. 5, the Sooners will match up with Rutgers at 5 p.m. On Sunday, they will play host Notre Dame at 1 p.m.

SOCCER BUZZ CENTRAL REGION POLL
The Sooners are ranked 10th in the preseason Soccer Buzz Central Region Poll. Big 12 rival Texas is ranked first followed by Texas A&M at No. 3, Nebraska at No. 4, Missouri at No. 5, Kansas at No. 8 and Colorado at No. 9.

FIELD NAMED FOR JOHN CRAIN
John Crain's gift of $600,000, one of the largest ever made to Sooner women's athletics, is being applied toward the second phase of the soccer project. With the $1.2 million first phase completed, attention is being turned toward the construction of a grandstand, locker room, concessions and restroom areas that will be shared with the tennis complex.

WOMACK'S APPROACH
Already the school's all-time leading goal scorer, senior forward Logan Womack approaches yet another milestone. The Norman product is just eight points behind Krissy Dawson (67) for the school's all-time points record and has a good chance to set that mark this season. Womack has tallied 28 goals and 15 assists in her three previous years at OU. She also holds the single-season marks in goals (13) and points (27). She is a two-time All-Big 12 second-team honoree and a one-time All-Big 12 first-team member.

OU TOPS OLE MISS 2-1 IN EXHIBITION
In a final tune-up before the regular season, the OU soccer team triumphed 2-1 over SEC foe Ole Miss on Saturday, Aug. 23 at Burns Park Soccer Complex in Little Rock, Ark. In preseason polls, Ole Miss is ranked fifth in the Central Region by Soccer Buzz. Logan Womack and Kristin Vesely provided the spark on offense for the Crimson and Cream. Womack put the Sooners up 1-0 in the first stanza (22:05) and Vesely put the game away with an insurance goal (61:29) in the second half.

University of Oklahoma Athletics

Oklahoma Soccer Prepares For Weekend Opener

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