UTRGV Women’s Soccer associate head coach Audra Larson (left) assistant coach Melanie Chandler (center) and forward Jeweleen Reuille prepare for practice last Wednesday at the Soccer and Track & Field Complex on the Edinburg campus. Shown in the background is head coach Mark Foster. Ryan Lugo/THE RIDER
The soccer season at UTRGV is underway with the Vaqueras’ first home game against Southeastern Louisiana University set for 6:30 p.m. Friday at the UTRGV Soccer and Track & Field Complex.
UTRGV kicked off the season with a 4-0 loss against the University of Houston in an exhibition game Aug. 10.
The Western Athletic Conference Games are set to start Sept. 21 and end with the WAC Tournament Championship on Nov. 4.
Head coach Mark Foster said the team has been putting an emphasis on fitness as well as team bonding.
“The preseason is pretty short,” Foster said. “So, we have to get as much in as we can without overworking them, without burning them out, without picking up injuries.”
He believes they have a good balance, with the women appearing to enjoy the sport.
“Relationships can be the key to what makes or breaks a team,” Foster said. “So we’ve not just tried to emphasize getting fit. … We’ve been intentional in our team bonding activities.”
He said he wants to develop a family atmosphere and is delighted to see how the team has come together.
“Soccer, of all sports, has the shortest championship season,” Foster said. “So we spend a lot of time working hard. … We’ve got to really win the games … to really seize the opportunity to enjoy them.”
The head coach said that one game is not more important than another.
Although the players are excited about the locker rooms being built behind the bleacher area at the UTRGV Soccer and Track & Field Complex, they are not letting that dominate their mentality.
“I’ve told the girls not to think about the locker rooms, as hard as that is when they’re 100 feet behind you being built and you hear the construction work going on,” Foster said.
He said they hope to have the new locker rooms by the end of the season.
The Vaqueras ended their season last year with an overall record of 3-12-3 and 1-7-3 in conference.
Asked if 11 returners and 15 newcomers is a big ratio of new players, Foster replied that it depends on the team and its process.
Following the pandemic and a few rough seasons, the change was a “natural” and good thing, he said.
“I think we’ve had a tough time through COVID, a couple of tough seasons and a coaching change,” he said. “When you add all that up, it’s quite natural.”
Asked what he hopes to see in the upcoming games, Foster replied he wants to see how the team implements the ideas and information from the coaching staff.
“You can’t beat at this stage having some games, having some video you can break down,” he said. “That’ll give us a lot to work with the girls for next week. And, hopefully, this weekend will make us a little more prepared for next weekend.”
Foster said the team wants to win games in conference as well as make it to the tournament.
Junior midfielder Molly Reynosa said the team is the most fit it has been since she joined the program in 2020.
“I think we’re all jelling as a team really well,” Reynosa said. “We’ve made a lot of progress just in the week that we’ve been practicing. We just started introducing tactics and I think everyone’s really bought into the process on and off the field.”
She said the team’s mentality is to try and give it their all every game no matter if it is a big or small team.
Reynosa said the goal is to score more.“That’s something that we kind of lacked last year,” she said. “I think we have a lot of good talent to do that. Personally, I would like to be a good leader and make this team as one of the older girls and captains.”
