Texas Tech University Athletics
Texas Tech Resumes Spring Slate in Fort Worth
April 09, 2010 | Women's Soccer
April 9, 2010
LUBBOCK, Texas - The Texas Tech soccer team resumes its spring schedule Saturday with a double-header against TCU and Arkansas at the Horned Frogs' Garvey-Rosenthal Stadium in Fort Worth, Texas. The Red Raiders will face TCU at 9 a.m. before finishing the day at 4 p.m. against the Razorbacks.
The Red Raiders have been off since defeating Oklahoma State, 1-0, on March 3. After the long break, Tech head coach Tom Stone said his squad is excited to return to action as the Red Raiders will play three-consecutive weekends to end the spring schedule.
"Given the limited number of spring match dates we are allowed by the NCAA, it is important to get quality spring games," Stone said. "We are looking forward to playing TCU and Arkansas and hopefully have two quality performances that will help us build our team for the fall."
The Red Raiders defeated TCU, 4-3, early in the 2009 season off a Brittney Harrison game-winning goal with only 30 seconds remaining in the second overtime period. Taylor Lytle also broke the school's single-game assist record against the Horned Frogs as the junior dished three assists in the win.
Arkansas is coming off an 8-7-4 season and has played two Big 12 schools already this spring, dropping a 2-0 decision to Oklahoma State before defeating Kansas, 2-0, last weekend at home.
The trip to the Dallas/Fort Worth area is an annual event for Tech as nine current Red Raiders, as well as Stone and assistant coaches Aaron and Ashley Gordon, call the metroplex home. The region is also one of the top soccer hotbeds in the country at the club level, with Tech signing four incoming freshmen from the region in February.
"We always look to play regular season and spring matches in the Dallas area if possible," Stone said. "We have a lot of players from the metroplex, and we recruit the area heavily each year. The quality of North Texas youth soccer players is unmatched in this region and is one of the top three soccer hotbeds in the nation."
The Red Raiders return to the area next weekend to face SMU on April 17th and North Texas the following day. Both matches will be at each school's respective stadium. Tech will host the Red and Black Match on April 25th at the John Walker Soccer Complex.
Seeing the spring season getting into full gear again, Lytle said the next three weekends will be beneficial in Tech's preparation for next season, especially with so many young players on the roster.
"We have had a good spring and our young players are really developing to where we can see our future team taking shape," Lytle said. "We have trained hard and now we get three-straight weeks of games, which is a great way to wrap up the spring season."
