Soccer Picked Fourth

GrandGreen · August 20, 2010

www.sunbeltsports.org/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=204979755&DB_OEM_ID=4100

Not a whole lot of love shown for NT soccer. Picked fourth with no pre-season all conference picks. Has NT ever been projected this low and had no all conference selections.

CMJ · August 20, 2010

Picked fourth with no pre-season all conference picks. Has NT ever been projected this low and had no all conference selections.

I was wondering the same thing. Maybe our initial season in the SBC?

KRAM1 · August 20, 2010

I think UNT will surprise a few folks this year, but it does look like Coach Hedlund and his team is going to have to "earn" some respect this season. I have no doubt that they will. Season starts this weekend with two games. Friday (today) and Sunday. If you get a chance, come out and support the Mean Green. That Sunday afternoon game may be a bit warm, but, heck, it's Texas and it's August. The vast majority of Coach Hedlund's team is very used to playing in the Texas heat in August, so....GO MEAN GREEN!

UNTDude · August 20, 2010

I'm in agreement that UNT Soccer is not being shown the love, but from my perspective it's a deserved ranking. First and foremost the Sunbelt is a much stronger soccer conference than in the not so distant past. Most of the top Sunbelt teams are competitive if not better than their regional mid level BCS schools. We've seen this with our own Mean Green with victories over schools like Oklahoma, Baylor and TX Tech. Our top conference opponents are also now having success against like BCS schools. In the good old days it was Denver and UNT perennially battling for the conference championship.... it's not the case anymore. Does the Mean Green have a chance to win conference? The answer is unaquivacally Yes, but based on last season play they are fairly ranked.

There are still big question marks going into this season. First, we have to see improvement with the offense. UNT's offense last year was at times anemic. In my view lack of goal scoring wasn't caused by a lack of talent, but a huge drop in overall team chemistry both on and off the field. From the chemistry perspective, it seems to have improved light years based on feedback from players and coaches alike., The alumni game at times provided us a taste of what good ball movement and chemistry this team has the potential showing. But did UNT add any prolific strikers from club play or transfers?..not really. Second, in an effort to boost offensive production you'll see a new offensive scheme this year. This year’s team will start the season playing a 3-5-2 (3 defenders, 5 midfielders, 2 forwards). The team is loaded with talented midfielders and this formation can be very potent on the offensive end - it's an attacking style offense very dependent on midfielders running the entire field. I believe we will see a spike in offensive production, but expect some ugly goals early as the girls learn the new system (i.e the alumni game). Third, Opposing coaches realized last year that UNT was not as physical as in past years. UNT added considerable size with this year’s class which hopefully will address that concern, (Four field players at least 5'10").

As for the lack of pre-season players named to the All SBC Poll... UNT have individual players more talented in "all" positions than girls named in the poll. We are really fortunate to live in one of the top three national hot beds for women's club soccer. Individually, we have players on this team that started on the highest level club teams in the country and stack up with some of the best players in the country...I really believe that. We may not have the depth, but we do have some girls that have proven they would be big time contributing assets at much more prominent soccer universities. I'm confident this year's more cohesive squad will allow more players to shine and be ultimately recognized.

This year’s team does have the talent to win conference, but there are three other teams around the same level as us. Denver has proven year in and out that its program is a notch above the rest of the conference. But the great thing about preseason picks and polls is that they don’t mean squat! I can’t wait for the season to start tonight...! Hope to see everyone at the game!

GreenLegend37 · August 20, 2010

Yeah I was a little surprised by that pick. Young returns as the team's leading scorer from last year as a freshman, and Hedlund thinks Crawford, Gorrie and Brooks are three of the best defenders in the conference.

By the way, North Texas has had a winning season in each of the 16 seasons the program has been in existence. Hedlund has been there all 16 seasons.

Travis · August 22, 2010

I thought our central mids were a little weak last year. I actually have just one CM in mind that he played alot but i don't think she should have got that much playing time because she was a bit slower and didn't distribute well. The only plus is that she was tall and i think that is why she was played so much.

I am basing this off of the three games I saw so she could have done better in ones I didn't see.

just my opinion.

chrisfisher · August 23, 2010

My vote is that on Fri, Sep 17 we all make sure to attend the UNT vs. SMU game to show our support for the girls against this "disliked" (to put it nicely) opponent.

bstnsportsfan3 · August 23, 2010

My vote is that on Fri, Sep 17 we all make sure to attend the UNT vs. SMU game to show our support for the girls against this "disliked" (to put it nicely) opponent.

yep...and i plan on trying to tailgate for this game also...anything against smu is a good game.

Mean Green Matt · August 23, 2010

The smu game is definitely a great game to tailgate for. The other major home match is against a high quality New Mexico team on Sep. 5th that hopefully many of you can make it out to. These games really are a lot of fun. I'll never forget when we beat oklahoma in overtime a couple years ago in front of 1200 people, of which a high percentage were Mean Green fans.