University of Houston Athletics
2004 Cougar Soccer Season Outlook
8/13/2004 12:00:00 AM | Soccer
Aug. 13, 2004
Despite the toughest year for the Cougar soccer program in 2003, and the departing of Nicole Aubuchon and Emily Allwardt, two mainstays of the program since its inception, head coach Bill Solberg and his staff are excited about the 2004 campaign.
"We are extremely excited about our new additions to the team and team chemistry this year," said Solberg. "We plan on building what we started in the spring with great chemistry, hard work and most importantly, results."
While the Cougar defense was stellar in 2003, led by freshman Nicole Zygmontowicz, this year the focus is scoring, scoring, scoring. Last year Houston struggled offensively with only 13 goals in 18 matches. This year's incoming class, combined with the experience of team leaders and seniors Anne Gasser and Nikki Hawkins, promises to improve on the offensive front while strengthening every position.
"Our younger players have a better idea of what we are trying to do and what is expected of them throughout the course of the year.
"We have added depth at almost every position this year which will help to wear teams out. When we substitute, the level of play will not drop; if anything it will get more intense. Competition for spots is going to be key," said Solberg.
The Incoming Class
"We feel we really addressed some areas of concern with this year's class. We think we found some offensive players who are great goal scorers, and can create many more goal-scoring opportunities for us next year," said Solberg. "We also added some speed and depth at the outside midfield and defender positions. This year's class may be the most athletic class we have signed. They work so hard on the field and really have a blue-collar mentality."
The main focus of this recruiting class was to add goal scorers and those who would work to set people up to score.
Along with addressing the Cougars' offensive needs, adding depth to the defender position was also important to replace two very strong and experienced seniors -- 2003 team captains Emily Allwardt and Nicole Aubuchon, both who graduated.
Headlining the Cougars' signees are defenders Ashleigh Williams from Houston, Texas, and Rachel Trent from Carmel, Ind. and defender Kristen Cooper, who transfers to Houston from San Angelo State.
Williams comes to Houston from the Challenge Soccer Club, which was ranked as the twelfth-best team in the nation ranked by NationalRankings.com, where she played the central defender position in a flat back-four system. She is expected to graduate from Jersey Village High School among the top ten in her class of 803, and Solberg expects her to step in and be an immediate force for the Cougars.
Trent, a 5"5' defender, is team captain for the Carmel Heat, the number one team in the State of Indiana as well as the eighth-ranked club in the nation and 15th ranked team in the nation, according to Adidas Rankings. Solberg and his staff expect her to see playing time in the back line and possibly in the midfield for the Cougars in 2004.
Cooper, a native of Katy who appeared in 20 games at San Angelo last season, brings experience at the central defender position and will add depth to the outside midfield. Most importantly, she carries the ability to play all positions on the field, which will prove invaluable to this year's Cougar squad.
On the offensive side of the ball are offensive midfielders Brooke Simon (Mundelein, Ill.) and Chelsea Davis (Walnut Creek, Calif.).
Like Trent, Simon was the captain of her club team in Libertyville, Ill., Eclipse, which maintained a 33rd ranking in the nation by NationalRankings.com and 13th according to adidas. An offensive threat, the Cougars are expecting Simon to create much-needed goal scoring opportunities next fall.
"Brooke brings great vision, unselfish play, leadership and an incredible work rate," said Solberg. "We are looking for her to set players up in the final third as well as take on a role of scoring goals for us. She is one of the players we targeted to help address the lack of scoring last year."
The first recruit out of California in Houston's program history, Davis brings versatility to the Cougars in the midfielder and forward positions.
The final addition, Whitney Lonsford, is a walk-on but brings good speed, good athleticism and like Cooper, the ability to play in several different positions. She was a four-year standout player for Dickinson High School in Dickinson, Texas, and earned Offensive Player of the Year and Gatorade Player of the Year honors as a senior last season.
2004 Schedule
"We start the season off in the non-conference side with some big tests early, not only playing our rival Rice, but traveling to North Texas and regionally- ranked South Carolina," began head coach Bill Solberg. "All will be huge tests for us early in the season, both physically and mentally, which will only help as we get into our conference schedule."
Highlighting Houston's demanding 2004 schedule are match-ups against seven Texas schools and contests against powerhouses South Carolina, UNLV and Marquette - all of which are considered among the top teams in the nation - before equally tough competition in conference play.
"There are no easy games in Conference USA," said Solberg. "On any given day, any team can win in this league. We did get lucky in having our last three conference games at home, which is nice to close out the season."
In addition an early exhibition contest against Big 12 soccer power Baylor at Robertson Stadium on Aug. 21, the Cougars have six Texas schools on the schedule this year, the most ever in the program's brief history. After opening the season against Rice, Houston also has matches against North Texas, TSU, Prairie View A&M, TCU and SMU.
Houston begins the Conference USA schedule in mid-September, with four of its first six league games on the road. The Cougars return to Robertson Stadium and close out the season with three straight home matches against USF on Oct. 22 and UAB on Oct. 24 before their home finale slated for Oct. 29 against the Charlotte 49ers.
