Horns Season Gets Under Way

After just a week of preseason training, the Longhorn soccer team takes the field tonight for an exhibition match against TCU: 7pm at Myers Stadium, at the corner of Manor and Red River, just east of the football stadium. Admission is free and it'll also be streamed live on TexasSports.com. Click through for a few tips on what to look for from this year's Horns.

The Longhorns return their two top goal-scorers from last season: Senior Kylie Doniak led the team with seven goals, nine assists, and 23 points, while junior Kristin Cummins tallied five goals and one assist. Doniak and junior goalkeeper Alexa Gaul were named second-team All-Big 12 performers in 2010, while defender Nina Frausing Pedersen and midfielder Lexi Harris were selected among the league’s Top 11 newcomers.

Also back are senior defender Lucy Keith and junior striker Hannah Higgins, who both started all 21 games last year. But a lot of playing time is going to go to a deep and talented crop of newcomers – mostly local products, who come in with a lot more experience than you might expect.

12 Rookies

The newcomers include two former Bowie High strikers, Allison Smith and Taylor Johnson, and two from Round Rock, defender Julie Arnold and goalkeeper Mary Reddy. Arnold and Smith were both members of the Lonestar SC 93 Red squad that won the 2010 USYSNC State Cup, placed second at the 2009 west regional, and third at the 2008 National Championships. Johnson is transferring in after a 12-goal season at Navarro College.

The Horns also added three players from the powerhouse Dallas Texans club: Taylor Knaack (transferring in from defending national champion Notre Dame), and freshmen Clarissa Wedemeyer and Whitney Jaynes, both from the Texans' 93 Red squad that won the 2008 USYSA National Championship, back-to-back State Cup Championships (2009-10), and two USYSA National League Championships (2008-09) – plus junior transfer Vanessa Ibewuike from Purdue, who also won a national championship as a club player in Plano.

Add in frosh defenders Allie Russo from Houston and Cierra Grubbs from Gladewater, and the only out-of-state newbies are backup goalie Ava Vogel from Seattle, and Brooke Gilbert, a defender-midfielder who has national team experience at the U-17 and U-18 levels. She's from Snohomish, Wash., the hometown of third-year UT assistant coach Sarah Barnes.

Game Facts

This will be head coach Chris Petrucelli's 12th year with the Longhorns. In 2010, Texas posted an 11-6-4 record and earned a berth in the NCAA Tournament for the ninth time in the last 10 years. TCU was 7-10-2 last year. The teams have met seven times in regular-season action with Texas owning a 6-1 advantage, but TCU won the last meeting, 2-1 in 2009. The Longhorns play another exhibition game on Sunday, Aug. 14 at Florida State before opening the regular season with a home match against Loyola Marymount at 7pm Friday, Aug. 19 (Longhorns School Supplies Drive night).

---------------
2011 ROSTER:

Julie Arnold D 5-9 Fr.-HS Round Rock (Round Rock)
Nina Frausing Pedersen D 5-8 So.-1L Silkeborg, Denmark (Silkeborg Gymnasium)
Cierra Grubbs D 5-9 Fr.-HS Gladewater, Texas (Union Grove)
Kara Hoffman D 5-4 Jr.-1L Houston, Texas (UTSA)
Whitney Jaynes D 5-5 Fr.-HS Plano, Texas (Plano West)
Lucy Keith D 6-0 Sr.-3L Dallas, Texas (The Parish Episcopal School)
Amanda Lisberger D 5-4 Sr.-3L Pacific Palisades, Calif (Brentwood School)
Leah Payne D 5-8 Sr.-3L Danville, Calif. (Carondelet)
Allie Russo D 5-5 Fr.-HS Houston, Texas (Memorial)
Kylie Doniak F 5-10 Sr.-3L Chino Hills, Calif. (Ruben S. Ayala)
Hannah Higgins F 5-4 Jr.-2L Flower Mound, Texas (Flower Mound)
Vanessa Ibewuike F 5-5 Jr.-TR Plano, Texas (Purdue University)
Taylor Johnson F 5-6 So.-TR Austin, Texas (Navarro College)
Taylor Knaack F 5-4 Sr.-TR Arlington, Texas (U. of Notre Dame)
Brenda Saucedo F 5-4 So.-1L Spring, Texas (Klein Collins)
Allison Smith F 5-8 Fr.-HS Austin, Texas (Bowie)
Stacey-Ann Smith F 5-5 Sr.-1L Bloomfield, Conn. (Atlantic)
Gabby Zarnegar F 5-3 So.-1L Mission Viejo, Calif. (Tesoro)
Alexa Gaul GK 5-7 Jr.-2L Naperville, Ill. (Neuqua Valley)
Mary Reddy GK 5-9 So.-HS Round Rock, Texas (Stony Point)
Ava Vogel GK 5-8 Fr.-HS Seattle, Wash. (Roosevelt)
Kristin Cummins M 5-5 Jr.-2L Lewisville, Texas (Lewisville)
Brooke Gilbert M 5-4 Fr.-HS Snohomish, Washington (Glacier Peak)
Lexi Harris M 5-6 So.-1L Plano, Texas (Plano West)
Clarissa Wedemeyer M 5-3 Fr.-HS Colleyville, Texas (Grapevine)

2011 SCHEDULE
Home Games in bold
Aug. 14 @ Florida State (E)
Aug. 19, 7pm Loyola Marymount
Aug. 22 7pm @ Houston
Aug. 26 6pm @ Georgia
Aug. 28 1pm Cal State Northridge
Sept. 2 7pm UTSA
Sept. 4 12pm Dartmouth
Sept. 9 3pm @ San Diego (in Los Angeles)
Sept. 11 2:30pm @ USC
Sept. 23 7pm Baylor
Sept. 25 1pm Iowa State
Sept. 30 5pm @ Kansas
Oct. 2 1pm @ Missouri
Oct. 7 7pm Oklahoma
Oct. 9 1pm San Diego State
Oct. 14 7pm @ Oklahoma State
Oct. 16 7pm @ Texas Tech
Oct. 23 1pm Seattle University
Oct. 28 6pm Texas A&M