Lady'Back soccer hosts Baylor Saturday

FAYETTEVILLE – The University of Arkansas Lady Razorback soccer team has endured two weeks of tough workouts in preparation for the 2005 season and its journey begins on Saturday evening when it hosts Baylor University in an exhibition match at Lady’Back Field at 7:00 p.m.

Head coach Gordon Henderson likes what he has seen so far from his squad, but knows that it is a long season that begins with the Saturday’s game.

“I’m excited about the game,” Henderson said. “Baylor is a quality team that is perennially in the top of the Big 12 and this is going to be a great test. Baylor is a team that we have not beaten in five games so I think that the challenges that they present will help us through a tough first four games of the regular season.”

The Lady Razorbacks last took on the Baylor Bears in the preseason of 2004 in Waco, Texas, where the host school was able to control the tempo of the game and walk away with a 3-0 win. Both squads returned a majority of their team in 2005 so the matchups could be intriguing all over the field.

“They beat us last year at their place,” Henderson said. “We have had a great spring and are stronger, more fit and more aggressive than we were last year, so I’m curious about how we will do against Baylor. This will be a great test to see where we have come from over the past year.”

“I can’t wait to get on the field,” junior defender Allison Harris said. “The preseason has been tough and this game is a culmination of all the hard work that we have put in.”

Arkansas’ game with Baylor kicks off an 11-match home schedule in 2005 that includes nationally-ranked powerhouses Tennessee and Florida and regionally ranked Mississippi. Other home games include Oral Roberts, George Mason, S.E. Louisiana, Mississippi State, Georgia and Florida.

For more information about Lady Razorback soccer or about Arkansas women’s athletics, please go to www.ladybacks.com.