Lady Eagle Soccer Prepares for First Exhibition Match
8/21/2002 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Lady Eagle Soccer Prepares for First Exhibition Match
HATTIESBURG, Miss. ? Southern Miss Head Soccer Coach Matt Clark will get his first chance to see his 2002 squad in action against another opponent, Saturday, as the Lady Eagles travel to Huntsville, Ala., to compete in the Huntsville Preseason Classic.
Southern Miss faces Auburn in the preseason exhibition match, set for 8 p.m. The match was originally set for 7 p.m. but was moved back one hour.
"We have a very athletic team, but we are a very young team," Clark said. "We have so many new faces that we need to see where they fit in."
With seven newcomers on the Southern Miss team, the preseason match provides Clark with an opportunity to gauge how well his team has prepared over the first few weeks of practice.
Clark expects to play 18-22 players from the 25-member roster. However, the team may be without the services of three players who are injured, preseason All-Conference USA selection Tricia Wiles (Sr., F, Germantown, Tenn.), Katie Adams (Sr., F, Collierville, Tenn.) and Katie McClary (Fr., M, Collinsville, Ill.). Wiles, who led the team in scoring last season with 25 points, is suffering from a chronic quad pull, while Adams has a hip flexor injury. Clark said McClary has a combination of injuries. All three players are expected to return for the regular season opener against Georgia State on Aug. 30.
"We may hold those players back and not field our entire team," Clark said. "Instead of worrying about the result of the match, we will use it more for teaching."
The scrimmage also will serve as a battle ground for players who are competing for several starting slots in the Southern Miss rotation.
"We are unsettled right now in our back three defensive positions," Clark said. "We have seven people competing for those three spots."
In addition to the battle on defense, Clark said the keeper spot also is not finalized. Both Leslie Schoeplein (Jr., GK, Marietta, Ga.) and Anna Snyder (So., GK, Germantown, Tenn.) will split time in goal against Auburn.
"We want to try to get a lot of people in the match," Clark said. "The new players have to know what they are getting into before the regular season opens. That is the main goal.
"But it will be nice to finally play against another team."
Southern Miss opens the regular season against Georgia State, at 4 p.m., on Aug. 30 at the Ole Miss Classic in Oxford, Miss. The Lady Eagles then face Marshall at 10:30 a.m., on Sept. 1.