Junior forward Emily Zapata prepares to take a shot on goal during a match against Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi during the 2021 South Texas Showdown. THE RIDER FILE PHOTO
The Vaqueros ended their soccer season with a 1-1 tie against Stephen F. Austin State University Oct. 22 at the Soccer and Track & Field Complex on the Edinburg campus.
They concluded the season with a 3-10-4 overall and 1-6-2 conference record. Last year, their record was 3-12-3 overall and 2-6-3 in conference.
UTRGV placed eighth in the Western Athletic Conference, falling short for the WAC Tournament along with Abilene Christian University, Stephen F. Austin State University and Tarleton State University.
Head coach Mark Foster said it was an enjoyable season and feels comfortable at UTRGV.
“[It’s my] second season at UTRGV,” Foster said. “For me it was very enjoyable. Starting to feel more settled in at UTRGV and more comfortable here. Really enjoyed it, although we didn’t get as many wins as we would have liked. I sure would have liked a little bit more success. It was still, definitely, a fun season for me.”
He said if the staff and the players keep up their hard work, then the future of the program will look bright.
Foster said something important for him and the team is their chemistry and culture.
“I took a big step forward this year,” he said. “I think the team is much more together and much more committed. I think we grew in our understanding of style of play. … The one big thing is we have to find a way to convert more of our opportunities, you know. Goals win games.
“We’ve been able to play well in a lot of games this season, but we weren’t able to get the ball in the net enough, so we’ll be certainly looking to keep building our chemistry and understand our style of play.”
Asked what is next for the team, Foster replied the first thing is a week off for the players.
“But we’re back in training next week,” he said. “We’ll be having meetings as our players and staff try and reflect on the season and look at ways to get better. The coaches will be on the road recruiting. … We’ll be playing five games in the spring. We’ll be trying to do our community service. We’ll be trying to, again, do well in the classroom.”
Foster said the team hopes to have the locker rooms ready by January, as it will take the soccer program at UTRGV to the next level.
UTRGV is working on building a new athletics facility. The new addition will house the locker rooms for the soccer, track and field, and cross-country teams. They will also include office space and a sports medicine space.
Junior midfielder Molly Reynosa said, out of her four years at UTRGV, this was the year with the biggest growth for the team.
Reynosa said the team hopes to get more wins next year and qualify for the WAC Tournament as the team has the talent.
“Small mistakes cost us,” she said. “So, I think that our attacking play is what we need to work on the most and how to just finish the game a full-90-minutes, instead of taking a few breaks here and there.”
The midfielder said the coaching staff created a great environment for the players.
“It’s an environment that everyone feels safe to be in,” she said. “I think that creates a better team atmosphere and a better love for the game. Me, personally, I fell in love with the game more once Foster came because there was such uncertainty before he was there.”
Freshman goalkeeper Emilia Compian said she thinks the team improved playing together throughout the season.
“I think … a big part of soccer is chemistry in the way that we play with each other, the way that we pass with each other,” Compian said. “I think it’s something that we keep wanting to improve and maybe even lead to [scoring] more goals next season and being very defensively playing on the backs, stuff like that.”
She said the team will continue working for next season.
“We’re going to have some spring games, but not too many,” Compian said. “We’re really going to be getting in shape, getting stronger physically and mentally.”
She said the players look forward to the construction of the lockers to be finished.
“Yeah, I think it’s something that we all, kind of, look forward to, because we see it being built for a while now and, so, we’re really looking forward to having more of a stable, like, training room and locker room with each other,” Compian said. “It’ll be really nice.”
For more information on UTRGV Athletics, visit goutrgv.com.
