By Chandler Harris, Assistant Sports Editor
The ACU soccer team recorded a 9-8-1 record in just its second season in existence last year and has begun preparing for next season. The team is allowed to practice 24 times in a 45-day window this semester and is allowed to compete in five contests against other programs.
On April 4, the team competed in a 7-on-7 tournament at Hardin-Simmons University and finished second to the host school. This weekend, the team will travel to San Angelo to play in a round-robin tournament against Western Texas College and Angelo State. The games will be a little shorter than regulation contests, head soccer coach Casey Wilson said.
“In the spring, we have been weight training and running,” Wilson said. “Then, when we get into our practice period, we continue to develop their skills and they learn how to play together.”
Wilson said in the offseason, the goal is for the players to get stronger and improve their game as they go into the summer and start the season in the fall.
“Our spring practices are geared more toward conditioning and skill development,” Wilson said. “We start out the regular season the same way, but then we work on things on a week-to-week basis as needed.”
The Wildcats will be adding six freshmen and one junior college transfer to its roster in the fall. Ashley Holton, a two-time Pacific Coast Conference Player of the Year for Cuyamaca College, is transferring to ACU after scoring 40 goals in two seasons. The freshman recruits are led by Julie Coppedge, the District 2-5A MVP in 2008, from Amarillo. Other recruits include: Arielle Moncure, from Leawood, Kans.; Katherine Garner, from Arlington; Lexi Stirling from Littleton, Colo., Jennifer Hill, from Amarillo; and Krysta Grimm, from Colorado Springs, Colo.
In addition to the new players, the Wildcats return four all-LSC players: Jordan Reese, Crissy Lawson, Courtney Wilson and Anastasia Nelson. The team lost just three seniors from last year’s squad.
The team will be allowed to report to preseason training Aug. 10. None of the recruits are from Abilene, so they may come in a week or two early to get acclimated, but they are not allowed to be coached until Aug. 10, Wilson said.
“I think we will come back strong again,” Wilson said. “The girls have to come into the season physically ready to play. With the personnel coming in to play this fall, there shouldn’t be any drop off in talent or level of play by any means.”
