Horned Frogs continue preseason practice
8/16/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Aug. 16, 2006
FORT WORTH, Texas - Following TCU's first exhibition match of the year on Tuesday at Oklahoma, the soccer program returned to the practice field in preparation for Saturday's final exhibition match against Stephen F. Austin at Garvey-Rosenthal stadium at 7 p.m.
"I thought Tuesday's match served its purpose," head coach Dan Abdalla said. "We certainly needed to get the game experience under our belt. It was good to get all the kids in the game and it gave us the opportunity to see how all of the freshmen played in a live game."
Against Oklahoma in the exhibition opener, both squads showed the typical rust that is expected for an exhibition opener, as the Sooners took the game with a 4-1 win.
"I was a little disappointed in the defensive organization and how we read the field," Abdalla said. "We were unable to read what OU was going to do. However, it was good to see how the freshmen reacted after we got down. The girls never had a defeatist mentality. As the game went on, I could see us improving and we were really fighting and showing the heart we needed to."
In the game, the Sooners were able to open up a 2-0 lead before TCU's Anna Paulson scored off a feed from Lizzy Karoly to cut the Sooners' lead to one. Following Paulson's goal, the Sooners were able to tack on two more goals to secure a 4-1 win.
Both squads had to battle difficult playing conditions throughout the first 52 minutes of the game as rain pelted the field. At the 7:49 mark of the second period, play was halted for 30 minutes due to lighting in the area.
"I thought it was good for our kids to deal with the adverse weather," Abdalla said "We finished strong and some of the kids realized what they had to do to overcome those difficult circumstances. I thought it was an excellent test for our kids."
The Horned Frogs will hit the practice field once Wednesday and twice on Thursday and Friday in preparation for Saturday's exhibition against Stephen F. Austin.
