Soccer opens home schedule on Sunday
FAYETTEVILLE – Coming off a heartbreaking 1-0 loss to the 23rd-ranked team in the country, the University of Arkansas Lady Razorback soccer team is set to kick off the 2005 home schedule on Sunday afternoon when they take on the Oral Roberts Golden Eagles at Lady’Back Field at 1:00 p.m.
Oral Roberts is an old nemesis of the Lady Razorbacks and in eight career meetings, the Lady’Backs hold a commanding 6-2-0 record. Last season, however, Oral Roberts used an early goal to stymie the Lady Razorbacks and then held off a furious Arkansas assault that saw them dominate the statistics, but lose the contest, 1-0.
“I am looking forward to the match,” Arkansas head coach Gordon Henderson said. “This is a big game for us not just because it is the home opener, but because it is a match that can get us back on the winning side of the board. The last two games were tough for us, but we learned a lot from the Okalahoma game and that translated into a better performance against Kansas. Now we need to see if we can come back after a tough loss and get a result.”
The Sunday afternoon contest is the first of 10 regular season home games for the Lady Razorbacks, the most that they have had in several years. It is also the first of three consecutive matches on Arkansas’ home pitch that could be a telling sign of things to come for the Lady’Backs this fall.
One of the hindrances for the Lady Razorbacks heading into the Oral Roberts contest is their lack of depth due to injury. Arkansas played Kansas on Friday night without three starters on the field including two defenders, but the remaining eight starters welcomed their teammates to the field and helped them along in Arkansas’ near upset of the Jayhawks. Stepping into starting rolls for the Lady’Backs included senior Holly Rosen, and freshmen Leah Collison and Megan Fawley who looked like veterans despite the combined two starts between them.
The Lady Razorbacks and Golden Eagles kick off at 1:00 p.m. at Lady’Back Field. For more information about Lady Razorback soccer or about Arkansas women’s athletics, please go to www.ladybacks.com.
