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University of Houston Athletics
Bill Solberg Chat Wrap
4/10/2002 12:00:00 AM | Soccer
April 17, 2002
Brian(Los Gatos): Congratulations on the this year's recruiting class. Will being a menber of the region 3 coaching staff help with future recruiting?
Bill Solberg: Brian,
Thanks a lot! Yeah I think we have some nice recruits coming in this year. I look at some of the coaches that have been on the Region III staff for some years now and look at their programs and see how well they have done. I believe that by being named to Region III and being able to evaluate and coach these top recruits is only going to help our program.
Robert: Missouri City, Texas: First of all, I would like to say that the stong finish you had during last fall was very impressive. That says something about the character of the team as well as the coach.
How many players will you have returning from this previous season?
Bill Solberg: We will only be returning five starters from last year. Emily Allwardt (sweeper), Nicole Aubuchon(midfield), Anne Gasser(midfielder), Ashley Fortenberry(stopper), and Nikki Hawkins (midfielder). I think they are a really nice core of returning players that understand they have to step up and bring some players with them. Ashley Fortenberry is our only senior and Emily and Nicole are our only juniors. We will have a young team but a very hard working team that will surprise some people next year! Thanks for the question!
Skempy-England: Great spring season Coach. 6 and 0 and no goals conceded!
Fantastic achievement considering you've lost 10 players.
You must be pleased especially as alot of players have got some valuable playing experience which will stand them in good stead for the up coming fall season?
Which players have stepped up and really caught your attention on the field?
Skempy
See you soon and say Hi to the best team in Houston! Go coogs!
Bill Solberg: Skempy!
For those of you that are not familiar with Skempy --
Skempy was our volunteer coach last year for the Cougars. He is by far one of the best coaches I have had the pleasure of working with. Skempy coached our defense last year. We were extremely lucky to have him as he is capable of having his own program anywhere in the nation.
I think everyone has really stepped up this spring, we only have 14 player on our spring roster so they didn't have a choice. They became a very tight group and that has helped us alone to be successful this spring.
Hope to keep you as a Cougar Skempy!
Ben (Missouri City): What postions are you looking to fill with newcomers in the fall?
Bill Solberg: Ben,
We are always looking to fill all 11 spots on the field. No one has a guaranteed position. As far as what we lost however, we lost Robin Cate our goalkeeper who led C-USA in saves, Both outside defenders, Kara, our four year captain, in the center midfield, the outside midfield position, and forward Laura Repp. We hope that some of these recruits will fill those positions immediately.
Sharif (Notre Dame): Billy- what can we expect in the upcoming year in terms of winning a conference championship and getting into the NCAA Tournament? Go Cougars.
Bill Solberg: Hey Sharif!
I think this next year will be an exciting one. We will have a very young team, but I think they will definitely make a run at Conference and have a chance at an NCAA bid. We have a nice core of players, and with a real nice recruiting class, we will be able to win some big games. We will look to play very physical and with a lot of pace and out work every team we play.
Bill Solberg: Thank you for all your questions. I'm looking forward to a very successful 2002 season! Any other questions, feel free to email me at anytime. Again thanks and we look forward to seeing everyone at Robertson next year for all our games!
Go Coogs!
