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OldTimer · October 4, 2006

UNT notebook

11:35 PM CDT on Tuesday, October 3, 2006

By Brett Vito / Staff Writer

Player of the week

North Texas soccer head coach John Hedlund knew that Heather Hutyra was bound to break out at some point this season offensively.

That time finally arrived over the weekend when the junior forward exploded for four goals and nine points to lead the Mean Green to wins over Florida International and Florida Atlantic.

The former Fort Worth Western Hills standout finished with two goals on five shots against FIU and added two more goals and an assist on five additional shots against FAU. The series represented the third time that Hutrya has scored multiple goals in back-to-back games in her career.

Hutrya was named the Sun Belt Conference Player of the Week for her performance over the weekend, one that extended her recent run of success. The junior has five goals and 11 points in her last three games.

Hutyra now ranks fourth in UNT history with 34 career goals and is three points short of moving into fifth place in Mean Green history in that category.

Hutyra’s performance against the Florida schools helped extend UNT’s unbeaten streak to seven games.

For her performance over the weekend, Hutyra is the Denton Record-Chronicle UNT Player of the Week.

Football

UNT still searching for best mental approach

North Texas is still searching for the intensity and mental toughness it needs to succeed heading into its homecoming game against Florida International on Saturday, head coach Darrell Dickey said Tuesday.

The Mean Green got off to a slow start yet again on Saturday and were hammered 35-0 by Middle Tennessee in their Sun Belt Conference opener. UNT has lost four of its first five games and is in danger of quickly falling out of the race for the Sun Belt title that seemed like a birthright for the Mean Green up until last season, when UNT’s run of four straight conference titles came to an end.

The Mean Green have been hampered by several problems this season, including a failure to deal with adversity and maintain the intensity Dickey believes the team needs to succeed.

“Our guys are trying hard, but I don’t know if all of them — especially some of our younger guys — understand what game speed and intensity level is,” Dickey said. “I think some of that comes from not being sure of what to do.”

UNT’s struggles have been at their worst when the Mean Green have faced adversity. UNT has been outscored 48-7 in the first quarter and has spent most of the season playing from behind.

The Mean Green fell behind against MTSU when Blue Raiders linebacker J.K. Sabb blindsided UNT quarterback Woody Wilson, causing a fumble the Blue Raiders recovered.

MTSU went on to score four plays later. The Mean Green, who had a missed assignment on their offensive line that allowed Sabb a free shot at Wilson, never recovered.

“Some of our players are still in a learning process and don’t react to adversity in a positive way,” Dickey said. “It’s something they have to learn. Having a bad play, going three-and-out or being hit in the back and fumbling can’t affect the rest of your game. Right now it is.

“We need relentless effort and intensity. We are not getting that out of everyone. We are getting it from some guys or for parts of games, but we are not getting it from everyone for four quarters. It’s not from a lack of trying. It’s from knowing how to block things out and put things behind you.”

Dickey said the trait is something that can be coached, but is one some people are born with while others are not.

UNT depended on veteran players, including quarterback Scott Hall and Adrian Awasom, in previous seasons to help the Mean Green bounce back from tough plays.

Hall and Awasom helped the Mean Green rally from a 14-0 deficit to beat MTSU two years ago.

“Scott Hall, from the day he got here, you could throw him against a brick wall and he would get up the next play and was ready to go,” Dickey said. “That was his personality and his mentality. We have had guys who have had it in the past, have some who have it now and some guys who are trying to learn to play with that effort and put bad things behind them.”

Dickey: UNT could take look at Phillips again

Matt Phillips could get a second chance this weekend to show that he is the solution UNT is looking for at quarterback.

The sophomore started the Mean Green’s first two games of the season, but was replaced by fellow sophomore Woody Wilson each time. Wilson led UNT to a win over SMU in Week 2, but has struggled since taking over as the Mean Green’s starter in Week 3.

UNT has scored just 16 points in its last three games and ranks last nationally in total offense with an average of 177.4 yards a game. Temple ranks just in front of the Mean Green at No. 118 among Division I-A teams with an average of 197.8 yards a game.

Last year’s starter Daniel Meager has come off of the bench since Wilson became UNT’s starter.

“There is no question that taking another look at Matt Phillips is a strong possibility,” UNT head coach Darrell Dickey said. “He was our initial starter and the guy we felt in two-a-days that gave us the best chance. He was evaluated on the Texas game and what he did early against SMU.”

Phillips struggled in both games and has 64 passing yards on the season. Wilson has thrown for 364 yards and two touchdowns.

Dickey: UNT will find out if team has effective leaders

UNT had several key leaders among its older players during its four-year run as Sun Belt Conference champions.

Head coach Darrell Dickey said Tuesday that the Mean Green will find out in the coming weeks if they have the same type of players in place this season. UNT is rapidly approaching the point of no return when it comes to the 2006 campaign

The Mean Green (1-4) are 0-1 in Sun Belt play after being hammered 35-0 by Middle Tennessee in their Sun Belt opener on Saturday.

UNT used to look to players like Cody Spencer, Chris Hurd and Andy Brewster when times got tough, but will have to turn to a new batch of upper classmen this week in a game against Florida International.

“Our leaders are good,” Dickey said. “We are going to find out during this tough stretch how they deal with and help us work through things. I don’t know that our leaders are vocal guys, but we have had leaders before who never said a word.”

Ultimately, Dickey said he will have to play a key role in setting the tone for the team.

“I’ve got to be the one to lead it,” Dickey said. “My coaches will help and so will the older players, but we have to get it done.”

Graves could play this week

UNT senior linebacker Phillip Graves will take a second shot at making his return to the Mean Green’s starting lineup on Saturday against Florida International.

Graves injured his knee in the preseason and has not played for UNT this year. The Butkus Award candidate practiced for the first time since the beginning of the season last week.

“We were hoping to have Phillip suit up last week,” UNT head coach Darrell Dickey said. “He worked out Monday and felt great. He woke up Tuesday very sore and couldn’t do anything, so we decided to wait another week.”

Graves is one of three UNT linebackers who are expected to return from injury for the FIU game. Sophomore Colt Mahan sprained his ankle against Middle Tennessee last week, but is expected to play against FIU.

Junior Brandon Monroe, who is battling turf toe, is also expected to play.

Soccer

Hedlund: UNT must avoid slip late in season

UNT is exactly where it wants to be after its first four games in Sun Belt Conference play and is looking to avoid any upsets before a key pair of games to end the regular season.

The Mean Green improved to 4-0 in the Sun Belt with wins over Florida International and Florida Atlantic over the weekend, but are still locked in a tight battle for the league’s regular season title with Denver and Middle Tennessee.

The Pioneers and Blue Raiders are also unbeaten in Sun Belt play. UNT will face MTSU in its final regular season home game on Oct. 22 before traveling to Denver for its last game of the regular season on Oct. 27.

“The players understand that the games that lead up to those two teams, we have to take care of business and not slip up,” UNT coach John Hedlund said. “The reason we are 4-0 in conference is we are very focused. We are looking over our shoulder at those two other teams. I don’t think we will see anything less than our 100 percent effort.”

UNT will play Troy and South Alabama, teams the Mean Green are expected to handle with ease, on the road this week.

Troy is 2-8-1, while USA is 4-8.

The Mean Green beat the Jaguars in the finals of the conference tournament last season.

Slavonic coming on for Mean Green

UNT midfielder Dani Slavonic built on what was already shaping up to be the best season of her career over the weekend in wins over Florida International and Florida Atlantic.

The junior finished with two assists against FAU and a goal against FIU. Slavonic has tied her career high in goals with three and posted a career-high eight points to go along with two assists on the season.

Slavonic has started 57 straight games and is one reason the Mean Green are ranked No. 15 in the Soccer Buzz magazine’s Central Region Rankings.

“Dani doesn’t get a lot of credit for what she does,” UNT coach John Hedlund said. “You need those blue-collar players in the midfield who might not rack up a lot of stats and score a lot of goals. She does a lot of defensive work in the midfield and we ask her to set up the players in front of her. I rarely ever take her out unless the game is out of hand.”

Volleyball

Headrick: MTSU win big for Mean Green

UNT came up with perhaps its best performance in a pressure situation this season over the weekend against Middle Tennessee, an outing the Mean Green hope to build on this weekend.

UNT was locked in a tight match with the Blue Raiders that went to the limit before the Mean Green pulled out a 15-11 win in the decisive fifth game to break MTSU’s six-game winning streak in the teams’ series.

Catherine Coffey and Brooke Engel combined to block Ashley Adams, MTSU’s top player and a two-time Sun Belt Conference player of the week, four times in the final five points of the game.

“It was a big win for our program,” UNT head coach Cassie Headrick said. “We ended the match perfectly. They only had one major attacker on the front row, so we knew where they were going and had to commit to the block. … I think our players knew how big the match was for us. Middle was picked second in the preseason rankings.”

UNT has split its first two matches in conference play and has already completed its regular season series with WKU and MTSU, the top two teams in the conference. WKU beat UNT in its first match of the weekend.

The Mean Green will look to build on their win over MTSU this weekend when they face Florida International and Florida Atlantic in their next two conference games.

“This is a big opportunity for us,” Headrick said. “This conference is crazy right now with a lot of equal teams. We know what we want to do going to Florida. Our mind is set.”

Engel continues to rank among national leaders

Junior outside hitter Brooke Engel posted 25 aces in UNT’s first four matches in Sun Belt Conference play and leads the nation with 61 aces on the season.

Engel has 20 more aces than any other player in the Sun Belt.

UNT to face SFA today

UNT will take a break from Sun Belt Conference play today when the Mean Green take on Stephen F. Austin at the North Texas Volleyball Center.

UNT enters the match having won seven of its last 10 matches.

SFA (13-3) is atop the Southland Conference’s West Division standings with a 4-0 record.

Men’s basketball

Jones mentioned in Dumars article

UNT head coach Johnny Jones was mentioned in the most unlikely of places a few weeks ago — in a story about Joe Dumars’ induction into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

The story appeared in several papers in the Booth Newspaper chain in Michigan.

Dumars and Jones grew up in the same section of Louisiana and played against each other in high school. Dumars played for Natchitoches, while Jones played DeRidder.

“He [Dumars] didn’t say much, but he had plenty of teammates who did enough talking for him and themselves,” Jones said in the story. “But not Joe. He just kept shooting, making plays and handling himself very business-like out there.”

Both Jones and Dumars were among the top players in Louisiana. Jones went on to play at LSU before beginning his coaching career while Dumars went to McNeese State in Lake Charles.

Dumars later joined the Detroit Pistons and became one of the top players in franchise history, scoring 16,401 points.