Women's Soccer | 8/25/2008 3:10:18 AM
Wolves open the 2008 season...
The Western Oregon University women's soccer team will open the 2008 season with two home matches at the WOU Soccer Field beginning with Humboldt State Thursday, Aug. 28, at 4:00 p.m. The Wolves will then face Corban College Saturday, Aug. 30, at 3:00 p.m.
The defense is expected to be the strength of the team this season as the Wolves return three senior defensive starters. Head coach Rod Fretz hopes that the added emphasis to defense will help solidify his team early in the season.
"Our team will be relying on our veteran defenders as we introduce our schemes to the new players," said Fretz. "We have been working on building out of the back throughout fall camp and we will be counting on our veteran defenders to keep us in games."
In addition to the three returning senior defenders the Western Oregon women's soccer team also returns six starters and 10 letterwinners. Even with all the returning student-athletes this is a very young team, as the Wolves are expected to suit up eight sophomores and as many as eight freshman this season.
"This is real exciting time for Western Oregon soccer and for me, especially with all the new players we just brought in," continued Fretz. "As a staff we have to continue to remind ourselves that half our team is sophomores. They were able to handle the pressure last season and learn from the competition. We have continued to improve from last season to the spring and into fall camp, and these are all great signs of encouragement."
Game 1 Preview:
The Humboldt State Lumberjacks return 10 starters from a team that finished the 2007 season 4-13-3 and placed fifth in the California Collegiate Athletic Association north division with a 2-11-1 record.
WOU won the previous meeting between the two schools, 1-0, at Humboldt State, Sept. 3, 2006, but still trail the Lumberjacks in the all-time series, 6-8-1.
Game 2 Preview:
In the second game of the week the Wolves will face the Corban College Warriors Saturday, Aug. 30, at 3:00 p.m., at the WOU Soccer Field.
Corban College, from nearby Salem, Ore., returns five starters from a squad that went 10-9-0 in 2007 including a 7-3-0 mark and a second place finish in the Cascade Conference (NAIA).
Western Oregon trails in the all-time series 9-10. The Wolves fell to the Warriors last season at Salem, 2-1.
