Texas Tech University Athletics
Women's Soccer Head Coach Felix Oskam Discusses Upcoming Season
August 16, 2000 | Women's Soccer
Aug. 16, 2000
On the Big 12 Conference
"It is going to be very tough for us this year, especially in [the Big 12] conference. There are no easy games in the conference anymore. We were picked ninth in the preseason poll [in the Big 12], so I think that will give our kids a little incentive to work for, since only the top eight teams go to the conference tournament."
On the schedule
"We play the first three weekends on the road, so that's six games. Some of those teams are ranked in the region to start the season, so if we can win one of those games, I think it will give a tremendous boost to our confidence as we head into October and conference play."
On practice thus far
"We've been through two-a-days and the players have done very well. [Wednesday] was the first day where the kids looked a little tired. I'm excited about the upcoming season. We have a lot of veterans coming back, and about half of the team is newcomers."
On newcomers
"The newcomers have done a great job of fitting in and learning our system, and getting used to the environment. The veterans have helped out a lot with that, as well."
On returning players
"Carrie Graham, our leading scorer from last year, is returning, and we will look to her again to provide scoring for us. We have a lot of offensive experience with [Graham], [Lindsay] Thompson and Jennifer Hamm. With the blend of new players the offense will only get better."
"We also return Brittney Peese as our goalkeeper and Kelly Taylor as a defender. We will be very young [on defense], so we need the veterans to provide leadership to the young players."
"Graham and Peese will serve as our captains for this season."
