DMN: NT soccer team model for success

[OldTimer]

UNT soccer team is model for success

Depth of area talent has helped put team on the map, set an example

01:25 AM CST on Friday, November 11, 2005

By BRETT VITO / Denton Record-Chronicle

DENTON – Rick Villarreal asked his coaches to follow a plan when he took over as North Texas athletic director a little more than four years ago.

Villarreal challenged North Texas teams to mine the area for talent, develop dominant programs in the Sun Belt Conference and be competitive regionally.

Villarreal would like to see all UNT teams model the soccer team.

Under coach John Hedlund, the Mean Green won the Sun Belt Conference title and earned an NCAA Tournament bid for the second straight season with a roster featuring 18 Dallas-area players. UNT (16-3-2) plays SMU (14-4-2) in the first round of the College Station Regional at 5 p.m. today.

"John understands our expectations," Villarreal said. "His ladies are always among the highest rated academic teams that we have, and he has been to the conference tournament finals six straight times. He creates an atmosphere that creates success."

UNT has won four consecutive Sun Belt football titles, but the Mean Green has won once in four trips to the New Orleans Bowl and has lost its last 10 nonconference games.

The UNT soccer team has overcome the nonconference hurdle and has quickly gained national recognition. The Mean Green, which has knocked off a pair of NCAA Tournament qualifiers and regional rivals in SMU and Rice this season, is ranked No. 15 in the central region by Soccer Buzz magazine and No. 36 in topdrawersoccer.com's national poll.

UNT ranks ahead of SMU, Illinois and Cal State Fullerton nationally and ahead of both Oklahoma State and Missouri in the regional poll. The Mean Green is 2-1 against teams in the NCAA Tournament field.

"I have always had a firm belief that we could get the best local kids," Hedlund said. "It's always a challenge. We have our wars for players with SMU and Big 12 schools, but the depth in Dallas is so superior that we get good players."

Sophomore forward Heather Hutyra of Fort Worth Western Hills finished the regular season tied for sixth among NCAA leaders with a 1.0 goals-per-game average. Former UNT greats Marilyn Marin and Melinda Pina also ranked among the nation's top players during their careers that ended in 2003 and 2004, respectively.

"John is such a good coach, and all of his teams are successful," sophomore midfielder Dani Slavonic said. "That has attracted a lot of attention and players to the team."

Hedlund played for the Dallas Sidekicks during a 12-year professional career and started the UNT women's program from scratch in 1995. A little more than a decade later, he ranks 14th among active NCAA women's soccer coaches with a .707 winning percentage.

"We keep pushing the ceiling every year," UNT midfielder Kristen Campbell said. "Now that we are going back to the NCAA Tournament for the second time, we want to take that next step and win a game."

E-mail bvito@dentonrc.com

North Texas vs. SMU, 5 p.m. today, Aggie Soccer Stadium, College Station