By James Zwilling skiff staff The men's soccer team defeated Oral Roberts University (Okla.) 3-0 at the TCU Soccer Complex Tuesday in the third-straight victory. Head coach David Rubinson said he was pleased with his team's performance but believed they could have played stronger in the first half. "We were a little lackluster during the first half, but we performed very well in the second half," Rubinson said. Junior midfielder Matt Groves opened scoring for the Horned Frogs 6:29 into the game off an assist by freshmen midfielder Ryan Parsley. Despite the loss of sophomore defender Tyler Sommers, who is out with a leg injury, the TCU defense managed to hold ORU scoreless for the entire half. "We played without starters, and I think it showed," Rubinson said. "We can't make mistakes and give away goals when we are not 100 percent healthy." Sophomore midfielder Josh Rife scored the second goal of the game off an assist by sophomore midfielder Nick Baker with just over 13 minutes remaining. Rubinson was impressed with the midfielders' play. "Nick Baker is such a good player," he said. "He goes out there and puts himself on the line every game." Rubinson said he was equally impressed by Rife who was named Western Athletic Conference Player of the Week. "It's nice to see Josh recognized," Rubinson said. "His playing ability is really coming along, and he's had a great season so far." The Horned Frogs' final goal of the game came with 4:25 remaining when junior midfielder Doak VanEnk scored off a penalty kick, ending the game 3-0. Rubinson said he was pleased with his team's performance in its last three games. "Coming out of the Indiana tournament we were 2-3-1," Rubinson said. "Our goal was to win the next three games. We beat Midwestern on the road, then Centenary and OSU (on Tuesday). Now, we are 5-3-1." Rubinson said he believes the team has made progress over the course of the season and is ready to compete in the upcoming WAC games. "Everything at this point has been preparation for the WAC games," Rubinson said. "Now, we have to perform. The team needs to fight like a unit and fight for each other." The Horned Frogs open WAC play at noon Friday against Fresno State at the TCU Soccer Complex.
James Zwilling
By Joel Anderson staff reporter Casey Printers was frantically scanning the end zone. He was under pressure by the oncoming Fresno State pass rush and the possibility of a Horned Frogs' loss in their first conference game of the season. The freshman quarterback set up to throw, cast the ball through the air and waited ... "I should have read the safety," Printers said later. Too late. Seconds later, Fresno State revelers were storming the field and the Frogs were preparing for the long flight back to Fort Worth with a 26-19 overtime loss fresh on their minds. "We have just come up a play or two short this season. Last year we seemed to make those plays," said head coach Dennis Franchione. "We haven't had that rabbit's foot in our pocket (this year)." Coming off a 4-8 season and armed with only eight returning starters, the Spartans were picked to finish near the basement of the realigned, eight-team WAC by most preseason prognosticators. "I think we're turning the tide, and we're a much better football team," said San Jose State head coach Dave Baldwin. "It was nice to get a victory (over Stanford), but our goal is to win the WAC." On the other side of the coin, the Horned Frogs, who were generally thought to be one of the WAC's strongest teams, have stumbled out of the starting gate. "That's the way it looks like it's going to be in the WAC," Franchione said. "There's not a lot of difference between teams in the WAC this season." San Jose State boasts one of the country's most potent offensive units, bolstered by the senior pass-catch combination of quarterback Chris Kasteler and wide receiver Steven Pulley. Pulley was last week's WAC Offensive Player of the Week after a 15-catch, 255-yard performance. "They're just as good as anybody in the country," said senior safety Reggie Hunt. "We've got the chance to prove ourselves against a really good offense this week. You've got to respect them. They're solid all the way around."
"He certainly seems to be getting some big yards," Franchione said. "He makes a lot of big plays and is kind of a home-run hitter. His running ability keeps defenses honest." Printers' golden right arm is keeping opposing defenses honest. Now, opponents cannot stack the line in anticipation of stopping the Frogs' rushing attack. Printers' 251 passing yards against Fresno State last week represented the best Frogs' single-game passing performance in 31 games. "You can expect us to spread the ball all over the field this week," Printers said. "All I have to do is play within myself, play within the team and play within the scheme."
Joel Anderson
By Victor Drabicky staff reporter It's late afternoon in Texas, and 22 young men happily pick up their bags and head out into the 100-degree weather. They pile into their cars and head to the place where they voluntarily run for a seemingly endless amount of time each day. The TCU men's soccer team devotes hours of its time and energy each week to the game it loves without even getting paid. That's because 20 years ago, a federal mandate called Title IX was put into effect requiring colleges across America to start acknowledging their female athletes through scholarships. Title IX requires a school to give a number of scholarships proportionate to the percentage of female students enrolled. For example, since TCU's enrollment is composed of approximately 60 percent women and 40 percent men, the athletics department is required to give 60 percent of their scholarships to women. Title IX was originally enacted to bring equality for women in collegiate athletics. Freshman soccer defender Brenda DeRose said Title IX keeps women from being overlooked in collegiate sports. "I think Title IX has the right idea," DeRose said. "It keeps schools from focusing all their energy on men's sports." While Title IX has created more scholarships for women, it has also caused some problems. Athletics Director Eric Hyman said one of the problems Title IX creates originates from football. "Unfortunately, there is no women's sport comparable to football," Hyman said. "This makes the numbers skew in favor of the men. Therefore, we must make more women's sports - scholarship sports in order to even the scale." TCU football gives its players 85 scholarships, the maximum number allowed by NCAA regulations. Due to such a high number of male scholarship athletes, TCU is required to make women's sports - such as tennis and volleyball - scholarship sports. A senior tennis player from Slovakia and full scholarship recipient, Daria Zoldakova said she would not be able to play tennis if it was not for her scholarship. "I would not have been able to play tennis at school in Slovakia," Zoldakova said. "TCU's tennis scholarships have given me an opportunity to play tennis and get an education." Members of the TCU women's soccer team do not have full scholarships yet, but funding they have seen has already made a difference. Sophomore goal keeper Keith-Ann Wagner said scholarships have improved the women's soccer team and could benefit the men's team if scholarships were available. "Scholarships help us not only with recruiting but also give us motivation," Wagner said. "Scholarships could also help the men's team recruit players that are overlooking TCU because they don't offer scholarships." The TCU men's soccer team is one of the only Division I soccer teams in Texas that is not a scholarship sport. Since TCU did not have a men's soccer program when Title IX was enacted, scholarships can't be added to the program. Assistant soccer coach Blake Amos said when the women's team got scholarships, the men's team was left behind. "The men's team was sort of left in the dark," Amos said. "Since we can't offer players money, they play elsewhere. That forces us to be selective in our recruiting since many players are no longer interested in our program." Junior goal keeper Ian Keate said that many players are forced to choose between school and the game they love. "We don't get paid to come out here and play every day," Keate said. "We put our homework and our studies aside so that we can play." Keate said some players quit because their grades suffer. "Some people quit because of the pressures of schoolwork," Keate said. "Without a scholarship, many people decide to focus their energy on their grades rather than on soccer." Freshman midfielder Nick Browne said it was difficult to choose to play at TCU knowing that he couldn't get a scholarship. "Some of my friends don't even have to pay for their school," Browne said. "It would be nice to have soccer pay for my tuition." Keate said scholarships would greatly affect the men's soccer program. "Our ability to recruit would be incredible," Keate said. "We would be able get the nation's top players to play here. There is little doubt in my mind that if men's soccer was a scholarship sport, that we would consistently be one of the top 25 teams in the nation." Keate cites the SMU men's soccer team as an example of what scholarships might do to the men's soccer program. "SMU is fully scholarshipped and is consistently ranked in the top 25," said Keate. "If we were scholarshipped, we would be able to get players similar to the ones that play at SMU." Keate said the lack of scholarships has a positive side, too. "We play because we want to," Keate said. "We don't play because someone is dangling a scholarship in front of us. It keeps all of us, and our intentions, real. We go out and play with our heart every game. We play because we love the game, which is the same reason we started playing when we were kids."
Victor Drabicky
By Todd J. Shriber staff reporter The TCU secondary features an All-American candidate (senior Reggie Hunt), a punishing hitter (junior Curtis Fuller) and depth that any defensive coordinator would envy. The Frogs have the luxury of being able to interchange juniors Russell Gary and LaVar Veale at the other safety spot, and juniors Greg Walls and Kendrick Patterson team with freshman Jason Goss to give the team a solid trio with which to fill two cornerback spots. Despite the combination of talent, athleticism and depth shown in the secondary, they have not put together a complete game. TCU's secondary has learned firsthand in 1999 what it will take to make this season a banner year for the group that has been filled with trials and tribulations. Most of the problems for TCU's defensive backs have come in the second half of games this year. In the season-opening loss to the University of Arizona, the Frogs took a 23-7 lead into the second half only to watch Arizona's Dennis Northcutt embarrass the secondary for three touchdowns on his way to 257 yards on 10 catches. Last week against Fresno State in the conference opener for both teams, a similar pattern was replayed. The Frogs held the lead late in the game only to watch Bulldog quarterback Billy Volek toss two late touchdown passes to win the game. Goss said part of the problem is the secondary plays differ mentally in the second half of games. "We play hard in the first half and even into the third (quarter)," Goss said. "But in the fourth quarter it's like we're playing not to lose instead of doing what we need to do to win." Hunt echoes his teammate's sentiments. "Big plays at the end of the games have hurt us," he said. "We need to play all four quarters not three quarters and five minutes. Like in the last game, their big play (Volek's first touchdown pass) came with seven minutes left in the game." Although the Frogs rank last in the Western Athletic Conference and 105th out of 114 teams in the nation in pass-efficiency defense, the attitude among the secondary remains positive. "We're keeping our heads up," Hunt said. "We're getting better every week, and it's showing in practice. We missed some assignments, but we're a few plays from being 4-0." Goss agrees with Hunt that a few costly plays have been the downfall of the secondary. "We're a great secondary, but a few plays have cost us," he said. "We have confidence in each other and we don't let each other get down." The Frogs have allowed opponents to complete 56 percent of their passes while throwing for eight touchdowns. TCU has only snatched two interceptions this year, something Goss says has been a problem. "We need to focus on getting more turnovers," he said. "We haven't had too many interceptions so we need to catch the ones that come near us." San Jose State has the nation's ninth-ranked offense and the WAC's leading receiver in Steven Pulley. The Spartans have passed for 1,364 in five games this year, but the task of stopping a high-octane aerial assault doesn't faze Hunt. "(San Jose State) is one of the top offenses in the country," Hunt said. "But we need to bring it together as a unit, and I think we can start with this game."
Todd J. Shriber
By Victor Drabicky staff reporter In a time when eccentric personalities rule the sports world and the letter 'I' has seemingly been added to the word team, the TCU women's soccer team's defense still has found the keys to success lie in cooperation. "We don't have a star defensive player," said Jackie Rodriguez, a junior defensive starter. "All four of us play as one. We play for each other." Together, the Horned Frog defense recorded five shutouts in the first 12 games, held their opponents to a .093 shot percentage and, on average, allowed opponents to score only 1.24 goals per game. Head coach David Rubinson said he is more than happy with the defense's play so far this season. "The defense has played strong all season long," Rubinson said. "There have been times when, as a team, we have bent but not broken. The defense is the key that has kept us from breaking."
Andrea Smith, senior defensive starter and captain, said each defensive player depends on the other three. "Throughout the game, the four defenders play off of each other," Smith said. "We realize if someone needs help and do our best to help them. It sort of comes naturally." Brenda DeRose, the freshman starter, said she has confidence in the people she plays with. "We all work hard," DeRose said. "The harder we work, the more in-tune we get with each other. It makes communicating among ourselves much easier." Rodriguez said she agreed that much of the defense's good play stems from good communication. "We are always talking," Rodriguez said. "We play a zone defense, so it is very important that we keep each other informed on which man they are covering." TCU's defensive scheme calls for defensive players to cover certain areas of the field rather than specific opponents. This requires players to constantly communicate with each other in order to keep track of opposing players. Rodriguez said without communication, the whole system would break down. "Without communication, it would be chaotic," Rodriguez said. "It is when we stop communicating that we have mental lapses and give up goals." TCU's defense has limited the amount of mistakes it has made despite dealing with the added pressure of an offense weakened by the loss of assists leader Tiffany Goetz and freshman forward Sherry Dick to injury. "Injuries are just part of the game that we need to deal with," Rubinson said. "We need some players to step up and score some goals to get rid of some of the pressure that is on our defense. Otherwise, we are going to have a difficult time in conference play." Terra Mayfield, a junior forward for the team, said she is confident the defense will continue to play well. "We have played 12 games for these last seven," Mayfield said. "There's no doubt in my mind that our defense will play strong throughout Western Athletic Conference play." The women's soccer team begins WAC play when they take on the University of Texas-El Paso at 1 p.m. Friday at the TCU Soccer Complex.
Victor Drabicky |
The Horned Frogs could catch a break if
the Spartan's 5-foot-6 junior tailback Deonce Whitaker sits out this week's
game with an ankle injury that sidelined him against Stanford.
Teammates agree much of the defense's success can be attributed
to the natural chemistry between the three returning starters and one starting
freshman.| The TCU Daily Skiff © 1998, 1999 Credits |