Senior midfielder Brittany Cleveland steals the ball in a game against North Texas Alumni last year.

Women's soccer to open against Texas Tech

By: Cody Smith

Posted: 8/20/08

The pre-season opener on Aug. 16 at Texas Tech will be a big game and a good measuring tool for the North Texas women's soccer team for the upcoming season.

A six-game stretch will follow up at home for the Mean Green, which in the past has been a huge advantage. Last season's squad only lost one game at home on its way to a second consecutive Sun Belt Conference title.

The regular season will start Aug. 29 against Louisiana Tech. Although the team will be traveling out of state for four games, 12 home games should boost support for the team, which is ranked among the top in the Sun Belt.

"I'm very excited about this season…playing teams such as Texas Tech, Baylor, SMU and Xavier should really help prepare us going in the Sun Belt Conference late in the season," said 13-year veteran head coach John Hedlund.

North Texas will host this year's Sun Belt Conference Tournament for the first time as well.

"Expectations are very high for us for this year," senior defender Gennifer Hurst said. "With us hosting the tournament and how we played last year…I think we have a good chance of finishing on top this year."

The Sun Belt Conference tournament will be held Nov. 5 through 8.

Coaches Hedlund, Jim Zakel and Pete Abbey will oversee the 2008 returning five starters, 14 letter winners and a roster including seniors Hurst, Veronica Ayala, Katy Booth, Brittany Cleveland, Amanda Johnson, Kelli Lunsford and Amanda Mitchell.

Sophomore forward and Freshman of the Year award recipient Janaye Woods also brings experience and skill to the field this year. There has also been a lot of buzz about incoming recruit Kara Brooks from L.D. Bell High School.

Brooks already holds a reputation of excellence with awards from the Dallas Morning News and Fort Worth Star-Telegram, where she was named Player of the Year. At her high school, Brooks was named Player of the Year for two seasons in her district and finished her L.D. Bell soccer career with 89 goals over her four-year run.

Adding Brooks to other talent has helped the team to be ranked as having one of the top recruiting classes of 2008 in the Sunbelt Conference by Soccer Buzz Magazine. Women from club teams and Olympic Development Players teams add support for the 2008 season.