Texas Tech University Athletics
Stone Announces 2020 Spring Schedule
February 14, 2020 | Women's Soccer
Red Raiders to play five matches, including another friendly with NWSL Houston Dash.
LUBBOCK, Texas – Texas Tech head coach Tom Stone announced Wednesday the exhibition schedule he has crafted for his team this spring. The slate will feature five games, including the now-annual tilts with LSU and the National Women's Soccer League's Houston Dash.
"The spring is the time of year where you want to find that balance between really testing yourself, but giving every player a chance to show what they can do," said Stone. "It's player development time, and it's team development time. You have players dying for their chance, and that's what the spring is all about."
Coming off a 15-4-3 fall and its seventh NCAA Tournament appearance in eight years, Tech will open the spring with regional opponent Abilene Christian at home on Feb. 22. Scheduled for 1 p.m. at the John Walker Complex, the friendly will be yet another meeting between the Red Raiders and Wildcats, who have recorded 73 wins since moving to the Division I level in 2013. Tech frequently schedules spring games with ACU, and have now invited the team to Lubbock four times in the fall since the their move to the Southland Conference.
To Stone, Abilene Christian's growth as a program has been welcomed in West Texas.
"They were the conference champs two years ago and went to the NCAA Tournament," he said. "We're so happy that this team has developed into what they are because they're basically our closest neighbor in Division I, and they're legit. It's a great way to start off the spring."
A week after opening the spring season, Tech will travel to Bossier City, La., for the annual First Bossier Soccer Classic. A tradition since 2016, the Feb. 29 matchup with LSU will also include a prayer service at First Bossier Church as well as a youth soccer clinic, hosted jointly by the student-athletes and coaches from the Red Raiders and Tigers.
"First Bossier does an amazing job hosting us," Stone said. "We like the idea that we get to go to such a cool place, play in front of a bunch of kids and fans, and in such a cool environment. It's a long haul, but it's worth it."
The following weekend, the Red Raiders will meet familiar foe Oklahoma on March 7. The two will play at the campus of North Texas in Denton as a rough halfway point between Lubbock and Norman. The Sooners, now under new management, are coming off a 2019 campaign which saw them go 8-9-3 overall and 3-5-1 in Big 12 play. Games between the two have been tight the last couple fall seasons, with the past two matchups resulting in draws.
"I think you should play teams in your conference every now and then," said Stone. "This year makes sense because we're kind of transitioning into who we want to be, and Oklahoma just got a new coaching staff. And we play them in Dallas, too, where all of our fans and our local North Texas families can come see us."
Tech's marquee matchup of the spring will be its now-annual clash with the Houston Dash of the NWSL on March. 28. The Red Raiders have played the NWSL side twice prior at the pro squad's Houston facility. After last spring's exhibition, the Red Raiders were asked back again, marking the start of an annual face-off with some of the world's best in what is undeniably invaluable for Tech's players.
"You know what the result is probably going to be when you're playing against professionals, but we're more concerned with what we as a program will learn from this game," said Stone. "We can look at this game and tell our girls, 'You see how she did that?' or 'Do you see how they accomplished this?' For our girls to be able to rub elbows with some of the best in the world is just an extraordinary opportunity.
Another benefit from this game against Texas' lone NWSL team is the ability for the coaching staff to identify which Red Raiders can contend with their pro counterparts.
"In previous meetings, we as a staff have come out of that game saying, 'She's going to be a pro' or, 'That girl will play in the pros' about different players. It was obvious from the way some of our eventual pros could hang at that level."
Finally, Tech will come back to Lubbock and round out the spring with a tilt against Colorado College of the Mountain West Conference. That match will kick off April 5 at 12 p.m.
"They're always good," said Stone of the Tigers. "They're driving distance and wanted to come down here, so we told them to come on down. It's somebody we haven't played since I've been here, and if we could count on no snow we'd like to go back in the future."
Admission for both of Tech's home contests is free and will be held at the John Walker Soccer Complex.
"The spring is the time of year where you want to find that balance between really testing yourself, but giving every player a chance to show what they can do," said Stone. "It's player development time, and it's team development time. You have players dying for their chance, and that's what the spring is all about."
Coming off a 15-4-3 fall and its seventh NCAA Tournament appearance in eight years, Tech will open the spring with regional opponent Abilene Christian at home on Feb. 22. Scheduled for 1 p.m. at the John Walker Complex, the friendly will be yet another meeting between the Red Raiders and Wildcats, who have recorded 73 wins since moving to the Division I level in 2013. Tech frequently schedules spring games with ACU, and have now invited the team to Lubbock four times in the fall since the their move to the Southland Conference.
To Stone, Abilene Christian's growth as a program has been welcomed in West Texas.
"They were the conference champs two years ago and went to the NCAA Tournament," he said. "We're so happy that this team has developed into what they are because they're basically our closest neighbor in Division I, and they're legit. It's a great way to start off the spring."
A week after opening the spring season, Tech will travel to Bossier City, La., for the annual First Bossier Soccer Classic. A tradition since 2016, the Feb. 29 matchup with LSU will also include a prayer service at First Bossier Church as well as a youth soccer clinic, hosted jointly by the student-athletes and coaches from the Red Raiders and Tigers.
"First Bossier does an amazing job hosting us," Stone said. "We like the idea that we get to go to such a cool place, play in front of a bunch of kids and fans, and in such a cool environment. It's a long haul, but it's worth it."
The following weekend, the Red Raiders will meet familiar foe Oklahoma on March 7. The two will play at the campus of North Texas in Denton as a rough halfway point between Lubbock and Norman. The Sooners, now under new management, are coming off a 2019 campaign which saw them go 8-9-3 overall and 3-5-1 in Big 12 play. Games between the two have been tight the last couple fall seasons, with the past two matchups resulting in draws.
"I think you should play teams in your conference every now and then," said Stone. "This year makes sense because we're kind of transitioning into who we want to be, and Oklahoma just got a new coaching staff. And we play them in Dallas, too, where all of our fans and our local North Texas families can come see us."
Tech's marquee matchup of the spring will be its now-annual clash with the Houston Dash of the NWSL on March. 28. The Red Raiders have played the NWSL side twice prior at the pro squad's Houston facility. After last spring's exhibition, the Red Raiders were asked back again, marking the start of an annual face-off with some of the world's best in what is undeniably invaluable for Tech's players.
"You know what the result is probably going to be when you're playing against professionals, but we're more concerned with what we as a program will learn from this game," said Stone. "We can look at this game and tell our girls, 'You see how she did that?' or 'Do you see how they accomplished this?' For our girls to be able to rub elbows with some of the best in the world is just an extraordinary opportunity.
Another benefit from this game against Texas' lone NWSL team is the ability for the coaching staff to identify which Red Raiders can contend with their pro counterparts.
"In previous meetings, we as a staff have come out of that game saying, 'She's going to be a pro' or, 'That girl will play in the pros' about different players. It was obvious from the way some of our eventual pros could hang at that level."
Finally, Tech will come back to Lubbock and round out the spring with a tilt against Colorado College of the Mountain West Conference. That match will kick off April 5 at 12 p.m.
"They're always good," said Stone of the Tigers. "They're driving distance and wanted to come down here, so we told them to come on down. It's somebody we haven't played since I've been here, and if we could count on no snow we'd like to go back in the future."
Admission for both of Tech's home contests is free and will be held at the John Walker Soccer Complex.
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