UNTDude

Great turn out of UNT fans in Stillwater to watch the Mean Green Soccer team play #4 ranked OK State. Most of us were expecting mid-60 degree weather, but at game time it was 50 and dropped to the mid 40's by the end of the first half. Our girls lost to the OK State 3-1. But, the actual score should have been 2-1 OK State (I'll get back to that). While I was chatting with some parents before the game, I "called it" that OK State would score early on our girls. My reasoning was that they drove 4.5 hours in two UNT vans and warmed up for about 35 minutes before the game...I figured OK State would be looser and ready to play early on. My prediction game true as our back line failed to clear a loose ball in front of the net which led to a easy goal within the first 5 minutes. Our girls held them scoreless the rest of the first half with both teams having chances to score. UNT scored early in the second half, (goal Michelle Young assist Nikki Crocco), on a really nice through ball that Michelle buried evening the score at 1-1. Midway through the second half, OK State scored on a cross where one of their defenders headed the ball in. OK State was physically bigger than our girls and their defender went right over the top of our defenders for a nice header. The final goal was the controversial one. A through ball was sent from their midfield to a forward that was clearly 5 yards off sides. Our defensive back line stopped in their tracks letting the OSU forward receive the ball.... the only problem was the linesman and referee were 15 yards behind the play and didn't make the call. After the game, OSU Coach Carmichael came up to Hedlund and told him that his player was off sides (the play happened at their end of the field). Those of us that have watched years of soccer know bad calls happen and we let it go. But at the end of the day this is only a spring game and our girls played competitively and continue to show great potential heading into next fall. It would have really been interesting to play them at our house, I think we could have won!

I was a bit disappointed that LSU canceled their spring game verse UNT last weekend. The tournament replaced the game with a match verse the University of Houston. Every school except LSU played two games. First, spring matches provide an opportunity for the coaching staff to tinker with formations, evaluate players and get a general feel for the squad heading into next year. Our ladies lost to Rice 1-0 but looked very sharp at times and controlled the match most of the second half. Note: Rice loan goal did not come against our starting defensive back line. In the second match UNT tied University of Houston 1-1 in a pretty evenly played match. Our goal came on a header (Kelsey Hodges) off a corner kick. Haley Newsom played really strong at keeper which was great to see as the Mean Green have big shoes to fill with the graduation of Mandy Hall this year. The terrible weather only allowed our girls a week of practice outdoors (only 3-4 days), but the girls conditioning looked pretty good. Scoring was at a minimum not only for UNT but for all the other schools as well, i.e #4 OK State 1 LSU 0; OK State 1 Rice 0; TX Tech 2 SFA 1 were a few matches I watched). Our play against Rice (3rd in C-USA) and their result against #4 in the nation OK-State should make for an interesting match this coming Saturday in Stillwater. GMG

Spring Soccer starts this Saturday in Houston vs. Rice and LSU....Really looking foward to see how the girls match up agains LSU! Hope to see some of you in Houston on Saturday...Go Mean Green

Here is a link to the Power of Mizzou article that has a chronology of Tony Mitchell's recruiting process. http://missouri.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1181161 I think the keyword here is he is "attempting" to enroll at UNT... I think it will be a minor miracle if we see him next fall.... Hoping it happens!

For the record I believe that if you provide a donation to a university, you stick to it. The reality is that large donors do have a tremendous amount of influence in this time of shrinking public (and private) university budgets. I'm sure many of you have read the linked Sports Illustrated article on Phil Knights generosity to U of Oregon. ( http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/writers/michael_rosenberg/01/06/oregon.knight/index.html ) I realize the scope of Burton's donations are not on the scale of Knight's generosity to U of Oregon, but it's interesting to read the steps a university will take to keep their largest donors happy.

Western Kentucky moved seating from their old baseball stadium to their soccer fields. It's seat back type seating and really very nice. Their soccer coach said they were going to dispose of the seating when he asked that it be moved. Link: http://www.wkusports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=5400&ATCLID=204963747

Good timing for my daughter to have a dead battery on her car, after replacing her battery I asked her to take me up to the AC so I could view the progress of the stadium. We arrived at the AC around 12:30 this afternoon and there were a slew of recruits (with their families) touring the facilities. For those of you with an interest in lineman there were some big dudes in the group (no telling if they were offensive or defensive). In fact, I heard Coach Mac ask one of the guys leaving the training room, "how did you weigh out?" and the kid replied, "275lbs". He was around 6"3. Even with all the activity, Coach Mac took 3-4 minutes to chat with my daughter about the upcoming soccer season. In the 5-10 minutes of watching the recruits and their families they really seemed impressed with the facilities - lots of smiles. After seeing recruits in person on campus, I'm confident it won't be long until we hear about more commitments.

Both the TCU game and LSU/Rice games are scheduled around premier youth tournaments. The Houston games are part of the Presidents Day Tournament hosted by Houston Challenge Soccer Club. On the 19th is the College Showcase. participating teams include: Baylor University,Houston Baptist University, Lamar University, LSU, University of North Texas, Oklahoma State University, Rice University, SFA, Sam Houston State University, Texas Tech University, University of Houston, UT Brownsville. The TCU game is in conjunction with the College Showcase tournament hosted by FC Dallas (youth club). Both of these spring games will allow talented youth players a venue to watch Mean Green soccer on the pitch.

Here is the finalized spring soccer schedule. The main change is that the trip to TAMU was canceled and replaced by a local game at Pizza Hut Park verse TCU. I've been told they are negotiating to have the game played on the stadium field. This is a great spring line-up! UNT Soccer Spring Schedule Date Game Location Time Sat. 2/19 UNT vs. Rice Houston @ Burroughs Park 9:00A Sat. 2/19 UNT vs. LSU Houston @ Burroughs Park 3:00P Sat. 2/26 UNT vs. Oklahoma St OK State 5:00P Sat 3/12 UNT vs. TCU Pizza Hut Park 2:00P Sat 4/02 UNT vs. Arkansas Tulsa 2:00P Sat 4/02 UNT vs Tulsa Tulsa 5:00P Sat 4/09 UNT vs Oklahoma OU 2:00P

You beat me to the punch...well said. With 8 months until stadium completion, the whole issue of traffic flow and parking around the new stadium is nothing less than baffling. Bonnie Brae between airport and Willowood is UNT's "yellow brick" road through the Mean Green Village. With the opening of the new stadium, I envisioned a 4 lane road with UNT banners leading to our new football stadium, soccer field, volleyball,softball, tennis, (someday track & baseball). Note: Heaven help us on days we have other sports playing at the same time we have a home football game. I"m curious to see if FAU's new stadium when completed has a two lane road without a shoulder running in front of it...

We've stayed at the Hilton on University Drive a number of times. Very nice hotel and close to campus.

I readily admit my kids are smarter....I have just enough smarts to continue to control the purse strings! UNT Soccer Spring Schedule Date Game Location Time Sat. 2/19 UNT vs. Rice Houston @ Burroughs Park 9:00A Sat. 2/19 UNT vs. LSU Houston @ Burroughs Park 3:00P Sat. 2/26 UNT vs. Oklahoma St OK State 5:00P Sat 3/26 UNT vs. TX A&M College Station TBD Sat 3/26 UNT vs Houston College Station TBD Sat 4/02 UNT vs. Arkansas Tulsa 2:00P Sat 4/02 UNT vs Tulsa Tulsa 5:00P Sat 4/09 UNT vs Oklahoma OU 2:00P

I did receive confirmation that all games will be on the road and I look forward to seeing you down at A&M & OK State! From a fans perspective you can't beat this spring schedule. OK State, TAMU and LSU have been perennial soccer powers in their conferences. Tulsa, Rice, Houston and Arkansas will also be very competitive matches. Side note: I think a lot of us Big 12 alums (Kansas here), have kids going to UNT! My second just got accepted yesterday ... very thankful I don't have to restock on college gear !

I think the majority of these games are on the road. Here's what I know... Multiple games in one day @ Tulsa - Tulsa & Arkansas @ Rice - LSU & Rice @ College Station - A&M & Houston Single game day (not sure if home or away, but my guess is away) Oklahoma Oklahoma State

I'm glad to see coach Hedlund putting together a tough spring schedule. Expectations will be very high for the upcoming 2011 soccer season. A lot was written this year about how young the team was,(only two seniors), but next years team quickly becomes a upper class laden team with veteran leadership (7 seniors - 5 who started last year, of those 4 were four year starters and 9 juniors returning). The only key starter not returning from last year is goalie Mandy Hall. My bet is this type of spring schedule will carry over into a tough non-conference schedule next year to prepare the girls for conference play and hopefully a tournament appearance. IMO next years team on paper is one of the most talented teams in the last 5 years. Teams are expected to win despite the cards that are dealt to them...but last years team having to play MT, WK & Denver on the road two years in a row, then having the bad luck of playing a WK team in the first round of the conference tournament was just not fair and unlucky. Next year we are back to having a schedule that's includes more home games than away (which include MT, WK and MT at home). Personally can't wait to see how UNT match up against #5 OK State and #10 TX A&M in the spring.

I'd really like to see a winning record next year, but won't judge the program until his recruits start cycling through. My leash is 5 years for coach MAC to turn around the program into a perennial winner.

Link from MGS: http://www.meangreensports.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=1800&ATCLID=205042990 Congratulations to coach Hedlund and the soccer team for being recognized by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America for their academic achievements! 3.3 GPA, APR in the top ten nationally 3 out of the last 4 years... while maintaining a very competitive program. Great way to represent UNT

I am in agreement with UNT Mike and CBL...In the grand scheme of things, this loss doesn't mean much....Kansas has throttled elite programs at Phog much worse than UNT ... i.e. Roy Williams '89 team humilated Rick Patino's Kentucky Wildcats 150-95 (and if I recall UNT was closer at half than Kentucky ) . UNT will be just fine come tournament time.

To your point, from the ESPN blog.... http://espn.go.com/blog/ncfnation/post/_/id/32442/wac-adds-ut-san-antonio-texas-state "It appears as if it is going to be a long road back for the WAC now that it is losing Boise State, Fresno State and Nevada, its three best teams. The WAC has already gotten roundly criticized for the perception that it is a weak league with Boise State, Fresno State and Nevada in it. Now that it is adding two football members that are not even on the FBS level right now, the WAC may move behind the Sun Belt in terms of conference perception. " Ouch...

Very unlucky draw for the girls. Finishing third and having to run through WK, MT, and Denver. Hopefully when our girls advance, FIU can wear down Denver.

Apparently Denver is in Dallas today speaking with the WAC Link: http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/blog/_/name/katz_andy/id/5595978

Couldn't agree more! Their exit definitely benefits the soccer team big time, although I know the girls on the soccer team are very motivated for this years SBC tournament... (would be nice to proverbially "kick" out Denver with a trip to the NCAA's)

What I'm hoping is that Denver's exit opens the door to an up an coming football universities entrance into the conference!

(Edit: move will occur next year in 2011/2012) My very first post on GMG was that Denver was "officially" going to the WCC, of which a number of coaches in the athletic department felt was a high probability. Needless to say, that did not come to fruition. I was told last week by my daughter and I confirmed it within the athletic department that UNT has been told that Denver is moving to the WAC next year. In my opinion, the WCC (West Coast Conference) would have been a much better fit for Denver (a conference of smaller private D1 universities without a football focus). The WAC just doesn't make a lot of sense to me as Denver is strong in Soccer and Hockey but marginal in most of their other sports. I've grown accustom to hearing the rumors of Denver leaving the SBC, but the latest information appears to be credible. Thoughts on our next travel partner????