BEARS BEGIN 2012 SEASON FRIDAY AT ALCORN STATE
CONWAY — Over the last four seasons, the University of Central Arkansas women's soccer team has undeniably struggled, failing to record a winning season and compiling an overall mark of 21-42-8 while going just 5-26-5 in Southland Conference play. This season, the Bears were picked eighth out of nine teams in the Southland's preseason polls and had no players selected to the preseason all-conference teams.
Despite the recent misfortune and low expectations, the Bears enter the 2012 season with a renewed sense of enthusiasm as they begin anew under first-year head coach Jeremy Bishop. Bishop and his coaching staff inherit a team with 13 returning upperclassmen and 22 returning players in all, including the top seven scorers from 2011. Five freshmen and two transfers – one from another school, one from another sport – round out the roster for 2012.
Though the Bears have already played their lone preseason exhibition and begin their regular season Friday at Alcorn State, the opposition Bishop is currently most concerned about overcoming is psyche. As the season begins, entering it with a winning mentality is at the top of the Bears' priority list.
"I think the biggest thing right now is that we have to get more confident," said Bishop, who returns for his third stint overall and first as head coach at UCA after serving as the men's head coach at Harding University last season. "That is something we're battling right now – 'can we do this?' We want to do this, and we're going to put in the work it takes, but there's a little doubt in there. We've got to gain confidence, and that comes through preparation. So we're preparing every day on the field to know what to do in what situations and, as coaches, we're figuring out who we can rely on and what combinations work best. I think we're getting more organized and have a better idea of where we're going in the attack and in the things we want to do. The better we do that and the sharper we get, that will lead to confidence. If we're prepared and have confidence, I think the results will come."
PERSONNEL
Goalkeeper:
Two goalkeepers return from last year's team in senior Kelsey Gochnauer and junior Lyndzey Goff. Gochnauer, who has started 27 games the previous two seasons, enters the year fourth in UCA program history with 174 saves. Those two are joined by freshman Hayley Romero.
"Kelsey has logged a ton of minutes and has had success," Bishop said. "She's been able to record several shutouts since she's been back there. From what we've seen so far in camp, she'll be the starter to begin the year but there's not a lot of separation. And that's something you'll hear me say a lot – there's not a lot of separation between players at several positions. It'll be interesting to see where we'll go if we have to make a change. There's not much separation between Lyndzey and Haley. They all bring something different as far as their abilities go. One or two may be more technical, where another may be more athletic. There are a lot of differences between them, but not much separation."
Center Back:
The Bears return three players who saw extensive action last season including junior Alexa Herbers, who started all 18 games last season and has started 35 of 36 games during her first two seasons, and fellow juniors Emma Reed (24 starts) and Hailey Haynes (12 games, two starts in 2011). Freshman Dominique O'Shea also has a chance to work into the rotation.
"The four of them have been splitting a lot of time there in training," Bishop said. "The three returners have a lot of experience, and that's separating them from Dominique right now. I think it will probably be a three-person battle for those two spots all season long. One or two may be able to play outside if need be, but I would expect all three of them to get a lot of minutes this season."
Outside Back:
Senior Carrissa Rossi started all 18 games last season, tallying a goal and three assists to tie as the team's fourth-leading scorer. Junior Alex Barnett has played in 35 games during her first two seasons and sophomore Lauren Trueheart saw action in 16 games last year. Junior Sarah Correll is back after missing all of last season due to injury.
"We played all four of them in different combinations at Missouri State trying to figure that out," Bishop said. "It's really tight there. Again, not a lot of separation. There are a lot of different ways that could go at those spots."
Central Mid:
Senior Elizabeth Brady enters her final season having started all 55 games during her career while junior Abigail Hodgson has appeared in each of the Bears' 36 games during her two seasons. Sophomore Alex Wurst stepped in and started 15 games as a true freshman last season and scored a pair of goals. Those three, along with sophomore Brooke Johnston (five games last year), give the Bears an experienced group in the middle.
"The four of them have been battling," Bishop said. "We've got some ability in there to maybe change formations. I feel really good about all four of them, and we can play with three in there and one of them can move out wide or up front. We're still working on that, but it's good to have that flexibility."
Outside Mid:
The quartet of junior Maddi Poteet and sophomores Brooke Ballard, Cassie Lange, Vanessa Randall combined for 69 games played and 21 starts last season with a total of eight goals and three assists to their credit. Lange and Poteet tied for second on the team with three goals, and Lange was second was seven points scored while Poteet was third with six. All four figure to factor heavily into the Bears' plans again this year.
"We've got four for those two spots and we're still evaluating that and trying to sort it out," Bishop said. "Like with our outside backs, there are a lot of combinations that we tried at Missouri State. We saw really different styles with the different combinations. With Cassie and Maddi, we were able to really press the other team because their work rate is so high. When we had the other two in we were able to hold on to the ball a little more, especially with Vanessa who is able to do more things with the ball. We expect them to get a lot of minutes, it's just a matter of determining the right combinations."
Sophomore Chelsea Collins, who played primarily at forward last season, may also work some in the midfield this season.
"Chelsea is an attack player who has been a forward in the past, but can also play outside midfielder," Bishop said. "She's still learning the position, but brings good ability with the ball. She and Hayley Montgomery, who is recovering from knee surgery, are both capable of being outside mids or forwards for us."
Forward:
Junior Kristin Pollard was named All-Southland Conference Honorable Mention in 2011 after leading the Bears in goals for the second consecutive season, posting four goals – all in conference play. Junior Grace Purtle appeared in 16 games and recorded a pair of goals and an assist. Sophomore Sara Perlman saw action in eight games as a true freshman. The Bears will also look to get a boost from Harding transfer Adriana Lucar, a two-time All-Region honoree who led her team with 11 goals last season and had seven goals and six assists as a freshman. Added to that group are freshmen Marisela Chavez and Megan Thomas.
"We've got some newcomers in the mix, and our returning players all played minutes there in the preseason," Bishop said. "We've got some flexibility as well with our central midfielders if we decide to play three up front. Across the board it's pretty even, a lot of competition going. It's going to push us in training, and when we get to games we'll have some flexibility there, which we're really looking forward to."
Converted Libero:
The Bears supplemented their recruiting class without even leaving campus, gaining the services of multi-sport athlete Cristin Curl in the spring. Curl, a four-year starter and all-conference libero for the UCA Sugar Bears volleyball program that won two Southland Conference championships and four straight division titles, joined the soccer program in the spring while balancing duties as a pinch runner on the UCA softball team as well. Curl was an all-district forward at Tascosa High in Amarillo, Texas.
"Cristin came to us in the spring, and UCA folks will know her as the outstanding volleyball player the last four years," Bishop said. "She's brought an unbelievable desire, commitment and team concept to our group, and that was something that was needed. She's somebody who has been there, knows what it takes to win and has infused our team with those same thoughts. Coming from volleyball, her fitness level was different than soccer player fitness. She was very fit, but differently. But over the summer she has worked incredibly hard and improved and came in with the highest scores in our Yo-Yo test – the main fitness-level testing we do at the beginning of preseason. She is showing them the way of how you get to success, the things you have to do on a daily basis, and has been great to have around."
SCHEDULE
The Bears open the season this week on the road with a two-game swing at Alcorn State and ULM on Friday and Sunday. They will come home for the first two of their home games this season, beginning with Lipscomb on Friday, Aug. 24 and Louisiana Tech on Sunday the 26th. In all, the Bears will play an 11-game non-conference schedule that features five teams from the SWAC, three from the Sun Belt, and one each from the Atlantic Sun, Ohio Valley, and WAC before beginning Southland Conference play on Sept. 28 at Northwestern State.
UCA will play three games against in-state competition, hosting UALR (Sept. 5) and UAPB (Sept. 14) and traveling to Arkansas State (Sept. 9). In addition to Alcorn State and UAPB, the Bears will face Mississippi Valley State, Alabama A&M and Texas Southern from the SWAC. Eight of the non-conference opponents return from the 2011 schedule, with the Bears going 3-4-1 in those games with wins over Lipscomb, Texas Southern and Alcorn State.
Of the remaining three, UCA has played SIU Edwardsville once (losing 3-0 in 2010) and will be meeting Alabama A&M and Louisiana Tech for the first time.
The schedule was largely inherited by the current staff, as games are typically in place far in advance.
"What we're playing this fall is basically what we were given when we got here," Bishop said. "But I feel good about it. I feel like we've got a chance to play some good competition and get ourselves ready for our conference schedule, as well as some games to help build our confidence, which is something very important to us at this stage."
STAFF
Bishop is in his third stint at UCA, having previously served as a graduate assistant in 2000 and as the women's assistant coach in 2009 and 2010 before coaching the men's team at Harding University in Searcy, Ark. last season. After taking over the UCA program in Janurary, Bishop added Derek Nichols to his staff in Feburary. Nichols played for the UCA men's program in 1996 and '97 and was a graduate assistant in 2001 and '02. During his two seasons on staff, the Bears were 30-8-2 and in '02 were 17-2-2 and finished as the No. 3 team in the nation. He comes to UCA following an eight-year stint as head coach at Newman University, a Division II school in Wichita, Kan.
"I'm really excited about this staff," Bishop said. "Coach Nichols was here all spring and we've had a lot of time to work through a lot of stuff. Tasha Flynn, our graduate assistant, came in toward the end of summer and has done well with us. I feel really good about the dynamic there. We all bring something different to the group and I'm looking forward to working together and trying to get geared up for the season.
