Soccer Senior Night Set for Friday

Friday, September 6

Lubbock, Texas

7:00 P.M.

Texas Tech Athletics

Abilene Christian

September 04, 2019 | Women's Soccer

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Texas Tech will honor five seniors prior to match with Abilene Christian.

By: Jeremy O'Brien

LUBBOCK, Texas – Texas Tech is set to honor five seniors prior to Friday night's match with Abilene Christian. The Red Raiders and Wildcats will get underway at 7 p.m. at the John Walker Soccer Complex.

Tech's five seniors to be recognized comprise an experienced, gritty class with many diverse collegiate experiences. Among the five will be the team's three captains: Margaret Begley, Jayne Lydiatt and Gabbie Puente.

GABBIE PUENTE

In terms of service time in a Red Raider uniform, Puente leads the way among the group. A redshirt senior, Puente has been a part of the program since 2015. She is one of two Red Raiders on the current roster (Begley being the other) to have witnessed the program's first Big 12 Championship that year. The Fort Worth native has played nearly every role in her time in Lubbock, moving from injured her freshman year to coming off the bench her next three years to a starter now in her final season. To head coach Tom Stone, it is this career of different experiences that makes her a perfect leader, and, as voted by her teammates before the season began, a team captain.

"She's been in all of their shoes," Stone said. "She can relate to the whole team, and she can tell them to follow her and she'll show them how to get to where they want to be."

In her final year in Lubbock, Puente has started in all four games thus far, anchoring the back line. She has also joined in on Tech's offensive explosion – which has the Red Raiders ranked top in the Big 12 in several offensive categories. In the season opener at San Diego State, Puente assisted fellow captain Lydiatt on a perfect cross for the game's second goal.

MARGARET BEGLEY

Begley's time in Lubbock has been equally full of challenges, yet none she could not will herself past. Begley, who hails from Omaha, Neb., played in 17 games during Tech's conference title season as a true freshman. The following fall, she was penciled into the starting lineup 12 times while playing in every game. While gearing up for an even strong junior season, however, she tore her ACL and was sidelined for the 2017 campaign. After a strenuous rehab process, she tore it a second time. Stone offered her a medical exemption to keep her on scholarship and allow her to complete her degree, but she was adamant about returning to the pitch.

"She looked at me like I was crazy and said, 'I am coming back,'" Stone said. "It's that type of attitude that makes her perfect for a captain role on this team. She is a locker room leader. She is just a baller and one of the best players to ever come out of Nebraska."

Begley had impacted the team off the field during her injured years through her leadership, encouragement and willingness to help the program in any way needed. Now finally back on the field with her teammates, she has provided a huge boost, consistently willing to lay her body out for a tackle or to block a shot like the defender she was back in 2016. She checked in for the first time in three years on Tech's opening night in San Diego and, two minutes later, served a perfect corner to Demi Koulizakis, who headed it in. Her teammates swarmed Koulizakis before quickly making their way to Begley, whose relentless desire to lace up her spikes and check back into a game had finally paid off.

JAYNE LYDIATT

Rounding out the captains group is Lydiatt, a midfielder from Colorado Springs, Colo. After transferring in from Oregon, Lydiatt immediately won the respect of her teammates and coaches. Highly touted for her top-class fitness and leadership, she started in all but one match last season. Scoring once and assisting on three goals, Lydiatt helped facilitate a Tech offense that knocked off a program-record four ranked teams. Her leadership ability led her teammates to vote her a team captain, despite her being on campus not even two years.

"Jayne spent two years at another institution and came here and jumped right into the team," Stone said of his midfielder. "How many people are named captain as a junior transfer? That's just impressive. She has everyone's respect and is not afraid to wield it."

DEMI KOULIZAKIS

Australian Demi Koulizakis has began her senior campaign on fire, working her way into the rotation of a stacked Tech offensive front. She has seen heavy minutes in each game so far and, as of Sunday, as eclipsed the 50-appearance mark as a Red Raider. Koulizakis came to Lubbock by way of Sydney as a strong forward not afraid to be physical in the Big 12 – one of the most physical conferences in the country. Heading into this season, Koulizakis had found the back of the net once. She broke her leg before arriving, and Stone believes that hindered her first two seasons on campus. Last year, however, she broke out and was one of Tech's first offensive options off the bench.

"We were so excited to get here as one of the top players in Australia," Stone said. "It took her two years to fully recover from her injury I think, but since then she's been phenomenal. She had an excellent junior year, and now as a senior she's playing the best soccer of her career."

SAVANNA JONES

The second DFW native among those to be honored is Savanna Jones out of Highland Park and Dallas Sting SC. Like Puente, Jones has now worked her way into the starting lineup as a senior after being a role player her last three years. A three-time First Team Academic All-Big 12 selection, Jones has 27 games under her belt as a Red Raider. The midfielder, whose career-high in single season appearance was nine as a sophomore, has now played in all four matches. She earned the start on opening night in San Diego – the first of her career – and has since started in two others as well. Jones, who specializes in set pieces, has developed into one of the top midfield options off the bench in her time in Lubbock.

"Savanna has been a wonderful story of someone who has been fully committed since day one," said Stone. "She's one of our best recruiters, biggest personalities, and in many cases the face of our program."

GAME INFO
First touch for Senior Night is scheduled for 7 p.m. Friday at the John Walker Soccer Complex. Tickets are available here. Both games will be broadcast live on TexasTech.TV.

Following the Friday night showdown, Tech will turn around quickly and play Arkansas State at home Sunday at 1 p.m. The matchup with the Sun Belt opponents will feature free admission for anyone possessing a ticket from Saturday's Texas Tech football game versus UTEP.