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EDITOR’S NOTE: North Texas became a member of Conference USA at the beginning of July 2013. In its three-part series, the Denton Record-Chronicle is looking at the impact that UNT’s move to C-USA after 12 years in the Sun Belt Conference had on the school, how its athletic program fared and where the Mean Green is headed. Today’s final installment focuses on a highly decorated senior class across all sports that guided UNT during its first year in the league and the challenge of filling the void those players leave. Kelsey Hodges didn’t travel far to get to North Texas when it came time to start her college soccer career. A short drive across Denton from where she was a star at Guyer was all that was necessary. Four years later, Hodges is halfway across the country playing for the Seattle Sounders Women, one of 25 teams in the W-League. The league of international stars and elite college players amounts to the Triple-A of professional women’s soccer, one step below the National Women’s Soccer League. “It’s been a culture shock, but I love it,” Hodges said. “The weather is great and I’m getting to play with people from all over the country and even Canada. The goal is to get to the top league.” read more: http://www.dentonrc.com/sports/colleges/north-texas-headlines/20140708-senior-leadership.ece

Kodi Tutt stood in front of the North Texas soccer team Wednesday in her pink shoes with butterfly wings attached and shared her story of triumph and tragedy, of hospital stays and battling cancer. Tutts tale has touched the hearts of hundreds of people from her hometown of Sanger to those as far away as Australia, including Kelsey Hodges. The UNT senior met the family a few months ago when she began working with Kodi Tutts older sister Maegan on her soccer skills. What started out as a fun way to help out a young player turned into something much more meaningful for Hodges, who helped organize a charity event surrounding the Mean Greens Conference USA opener at 7 p.m. Friday against Southern Mississippi. UNT will have a bounce house, face painting station and silent auction beginning at 5:30 p.m., with all proceeds going to the Kick It Kodi foundation. After getting to know them over the last year, it felt like the right thing to do, Hodges said. They have given a lot to me as far as getting to know Kodi and Maegan and kind of being their older sister. It seemed like a cool idea, and they already have the Kick it Kodi foundation that helps kids with cancer who dont have the opportunities every little kid should have to run and play. Kodi, an energetic redhead who is now 9, was diagnosed with Stage 4 neuroblastoma, a cancer of the nerve cells, on March 9, 2010. Read more: http://www.dentonrc.com/sports/colleges/north-texas-headlines/20130925-women-s-soccer-hodges-unt-kick-in-for-kodi.ece

NORMAN — Sept. 26, 2008. That was the last time Oklahoma took a beating like the one it endured Sunday against North Texas. The Mean Green demolished the Sooners 5-0 at John Crain Field. It was the third loss in the last four games for the OU. In all three defeats, the Sooners have been shutout. “I think we were beat by a better team today,” OU coach Matt Potter said. “All the credit goes to North Texas. They came in with a game plan and executed a game plan. When they got their opportunities they put the ball in the back of the net. Great day for them, obviously not a good day for us.” The Mean Green (6-2-0) were the aggressive team from the start. They had two shots on goals in the first five minutes. That assertiveness paid off when Amber Haggerty put North Texas on the board with 36 minutes left in the first half. On a free kick attempt, Haggerty took a pass from Kelsey Hodges and blasted a shot past the Sooners’ (3-5-0) Stade Kassidie for the first goal of the afternoon. “These things are going to happen,” Potter said. “We can’t accept them because they are not our standards. At the end of the day all we can do is go back to work and congratulate North Texas on a job well done.” Read more: http://normantranscript.com/sports/x86524427/North-Texas-smashes-Sooners-on-the-pitch