Now, Rasnic will see what the teams can do in a regular match as both soccer teams open play Saturday in
“Whenever you are playing an opponent like that (ranked third in the nation), it is always a challenge and 50 percent of the game will be desire and who wants the game worse,” Rasnic said about the men’s season opener. “Do we want to set ourselves in our first match as a contender for this year. It is a good test for and I didn’t plan on playing the No. 3 team in the nation right out of the hat. That is what happened and we will deal with that. It is an opportunity for us to see what we need to do to be successful.”
Same philosophy holds true for the Cougar women team. They, too, will have a tough test against a
"I don’t think they will lay down on the field and let us run over them this year,” he said. “Certainly
Both Cougar teams, though, are much improved from a year ago. Last year’s women’s team struggled with numbers. This season that same team has plenty of depth, if they can shake the injury bug.
“I believe we have done what we need to do to get quality players that can come in and step up the play for us,” he said. “We are battling pre-season injuries with three or four players who have been struggling with injuries, which has been a concern for me. But, I have my two players back who have been recovering from their ACL injuries – Perkes and freshman Tamika Smith.”
The Cougar women finished last season with a 6-8-1 record in fielding a team for the first time since the 2004 season. Rasnic said he will be disappointed if this team doesn’t with a better overall record.
“I look at it this way in that the women’s program should be a strong program this season. There is no question about that,” he said. “We have some great recruits and strong players we brought in, and down the road as the season progresses, we are going to continue to get stronger and stronger.
“I fully expect to come back with three wins this weekend because they are a strong team and very competitive players. They are not going to make excuses for their game because they are short a sub or two. They are going to come out and give it everything they got just as we did last year.”
Rasnic is also hoping for a much better record on the men’s side. Last year the men finished with a 5-9-1 record. Rasnic said his men’s team will get a taste of just how good they will be.
“Honestly I don’t see any weaknesses in the lineup in any particular area for the men,” he said. “But this will be a great test for us and we will see where we fit into the spectrum of team’s nationally,” he said. “When you play a team that is ranked in the top five, what you come out with is the understanding of how close you are to that team. If we come out on top I will know that we have a good chance of going a long way this season. If we come out (with a loss) and it is a tough contest all the way to the end, I am still going to believe that we have the potential to be a team that can contend.”
The men’s team has loads of talent with a good combination of freshmen and sophomores. One newcomer that has really caught Rasnic’s eye is sophomore transfer Stephen Estrada from
“Stephen Estrada has made his presence known since he has been here. He is a sophomore and I expect great things from him,” he said. “As for returning sophomores, we look at Eloy to really get to that next level and produce more goals for us. Edwin Eriques, after his medical red-shirt last season, will also be looked for great things. Those players, in combination of the rest of the players, and we should have a good team.”
Other returners that will stand out for the men include Diego Campoverde of Quito, Ecuador; Renato Segalla of Santo Andre, Brazil; Geoff Critzer of Scottsbluff; and Aaron Oesterle of New Tripoli, Penn.
The rest of the men’s line-up are all freshman, including two goal keepers in Cesar Bazana of
The other freshman include Chris Thompson of Gering, Morgan Wall of
Rasnic is very impressed with this year’s men’s team.
“The gentlemen we have do have are of high character who have an extremely high work rate,” he said. “This year’s team has come out demonstrating good character and that is what I am looking for; players that will play all the way to that last whistle and give me everything they have. We are 11 players and one team.”
The women’s team is loaded with depth and talent just like the men’s team and Rasnic is excited to see the potential from the women’s team, which stems from a good, hard-nosed sophomore class that bonded together as freshmen a year ago. The sophomores include Perkes of Plain City, Utah, Paige Achatz of Great Bend, Kan., Stacey Agnew of Leicester, England, Nancy Boyack of Gering, Krystin Wingert of South Jordan, Utah, and Amanda Arrant of Hooper, Utah.
“What is driving this squad is the heart of the sophomore crew,” Rasnic said about the women’s team. “They have more heart and desire to play the game with more passion then any players I have coached. I think that is one of the reasons that all the adversity (injuries) that we have faced, they will be able to step up to the challenge and perform well.”
In fact, the sophomores are the ones that are helping mold the freshmen into the players they are, said Rasnic.
“We battled in the games last year and each game it ended up being a battle to the end. That was a valuable lesson for those ladies for this season,” he said. “I think that spirit has been relayed to the incoming freshmen. I look for great things for the ladies.”
Adding to the sophomore’s talents is a freshmen crew that are top-notch. Leading the list is goalkeeper Terri Huntington of
Others players that could make this season a memorable one are Andrea Ardito of Sao Paulo, Brazil, Lara Markey of Windsor, Colo., Claudia Gomez, Alisha Ropkin and Ashley Quintana of Aurora, Colo., LeAnna Paxton and Jessica Arreguin of Greeley, Colo., Mara Crouch of Hillsdale, Mich., and Maria Garcia of Denver, Colo.
“We do have a lot of depth on the women’s side and once we get everyone healthy, we will be good,” Rasnic said. “I am looking forward to the weekend and I think we will have a good time. I think it will be productive for us and we will be able to see where we are at, what we need to work on and where we should go from there.”
After Saturday contest with
“The coaches’ dream is to come out 3-0, but I have been in that position before and I am realistic that when you bring in a whole load of freshmen it takes a few games to adjust to the speed of play in this division,” he said. “I think we can do that. I have every confidence that they can go down and be 3-0. I think it would be an incredible boost to our players if they come out 3-0 this weekend. It would go a long way for the confidence for the team.”
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