UW Soccer Opens Season at Home Versus Orediggers, Wildcats
* University of Wyoming press release
LARAMIE --The University of Wyoming soccer team opens its season this week. The Cowgirls play host to Colorado School of Mines on Thursday at 4 p.m. at the Madrid Sports Complex before battling Weber State at the same location Sunday at 1 p.m.
The season opener marks head coach Colleen Corbin’s second game against the Orediggers. The first matchup was a milestone, as it represented the first victory of Corbin’s head-coaching career.
“Even though that moment two years ago was fun and exciting to get a win under our belt, it was just the beginning for us,” Corbin said. “I’m excited to sit back and watch us compete because the team we have now is not the team we had two years ago.”
The team Corbin has now is the reigning Mountain West Conference regular-season champion. They’re also the team that was a penalty shootout loss away from advancing to their first-ever NCAA Tournament.
That notion has fueled the Cowgirls in the offseason.
“Everyone has been chomping at the bit to get back out there and compete,” Corbin said. “We want to see where we are really at and how much work we need to do.”
Wyoming received some feedback as to where they stand currently. The Cowgirls battled Southern Utah in an exhibition this past weekend in Salt Lake City, Utah.
A majority of the roster received playing time, giving Corbin a feel as to how sharp her veterans are and feedback on the freshmen’s skillsets in a game setting.
“Our exhibition game was super valuable,” Corbin said. “We got to play different formations. We played practically the entire roster. We had some really great moments and some really not great moments. To feel we still gained something out of it on both sides of the ball, both offensively and defensively, was really valuable for us.”
Wyoming returns 10 starters from last season’s squad that went 8-6-6 overall. The reigning Mountain West Conference Offensive Player of the Year, Jamie Tatum, is back after tallying a league-best 22 points on nine goals and four assists.
Colorado School of Mines is coming off a national quarterfinal appearance in last season’s Division II NCAA Tournament. The Orediggers are projected to have similar success this season, being ranked No. 4 in the United Soccer Coaches’ Preseason Top 25.
The Cowgirls and Orediggers have only met the one time two years ago. Wyoming claimed a 2-1 come-from-behind win.
Weber State is coming off a year where it went 6-12 overall and 4-4 in the Big Sky Conference. The Wildcats were picked to finish third in their league’s preseason coaches’ poll with one first-place vote.
Weber State owns a 6-2 lead in the all-time series with Wyoming. All but one of the meetings has been decided by one goal.
Following the opening homestand, Wyoming takes to the road. The Cowgirls travel to South Dakota and Omaha next week on Thursday and Sunday, respectively.
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