Women's Soccer Opens Up Preseason Practice
8/10/2006 12:00:00 AM | Soccer
Aug. 10, 2006
HOUSTON - The University of Houston soccer team opened up preseason workouts Wednesday, preparing for a season that is just over two weeks away.
UH opens the season on Aug. 25 with a 7 p.m. CDT matchup with Louisiana-Lafayette at Robertson Stadium. The Cougars close out the opening weekend against Baylor on Aug. 27 at 1 p.m.
The Cougars have been working out twice a day at the Carl Lewis International Track & Field Complex, spending much of the practice time in playing situations. Houston also has focused on fitness testing and competitive drills.
With 13 newcomers, seventh-year head coach Bill Solberg and his staff are working on developing team chemistry while allowing the returners and newcomers to get on the same page.
"I'm pleased with our progress," Solberg said. "We've got a lot of work to do though. We'll pick up the pace over the next few days and begin to evaluate some of the positional battles going on. We hope to be ready for Louisiana-Lafayette on the 25th."
UH ended its 2005 season at 8-7-3, finishing the campaign over .500 for the first time since 1999 when the squad compiled an 11-8-2 record.
UH also set or tied 10 team records on the season, including team marks for points in a season (116), goals (43), points per game (6.44), goals per game (2.39), assists per game (1.67), shots (357), shots per game (19.83) and goals against average (1.10). The Cougars tied the team standards for shutouts (5) and ties (3). Houston also appeared in the Conference USA Tournament for the first time in three years.
Sophia Mundy (Katy, Texas/St. Pius X HS/Portland State) set single-season records for goals (14), points (33) and shots (95) in her first season with the Cougars, earning All-Conference USA First Team and NSCAA/adidas Third-Team All-Central Region honors, while Courtney Gaines (Sugar Land, Texas/Clements HS) was named to the C-USA All-Freshmen Team. Sarah Fisher (Katy, Texas/Cypress Springs HS) was named to ESPN The Magazine's Academic All-District VI First Team. Fisher, a 2005 team captain, made 18 starts on the season, running her consecutive games started streak to 55. She was third on the team this season in both goals (5) and points (12).
