Soccer Match Notes - USD
Wyoming soccer will kick-off its 2016
campaign with its first and only exhibition contest of the year when the
Cowgirls take the field against the South Dakota Coyotes on Friday, Aug. 12, at
5 p.m. MT in Hastings, Neb.
Wyoming enters the
2016 season with high expectations after a fourth-place conference finish a
season ago, as well as a fourth-place ranking in the Mountain West Preseason
Coaches’ Poll on Wednesday. The Cowgirls return all 11 starters from last year,
including leading scorer, junior forward Shaina Ashouri. Notching nine goals
and seven assists on the season, Ashouri garnered First Team All-Mountain West
and Third Team All-Pacific Region honors. The 2014 MW Freshman of the Year as
well as Offensive Player of the Year, junior forward Kaitlyn Lomsnes, also
looks to make an impact on the offensive end. The Cowgirls are 3-0 in
exhibition matches over the last three seasons, winning by a combined score of
11-3.
“I thought the Brown
and Gold scrimmage went really well, “said head coach Pete Cuadrado. “The next
step for us is to see if we can do it against someone else and look as good as
we did in the scrimmage. It’s a good challenge for this team. South Dakota will
be a formidable opponent and I think they’ll be ready to play.”
Friday’s matchup is
also the only exhibition game of the season for South Dakota. The Coyotes
finished the 2015 season with an 8-12-0 record and a 5-3-0 mark in the Summit
League, good for a fourth-place finish. South Dakota lost five starters, but
return senior forward Corey Strang. Strang led the team with 11 goals and five
assists, earning her All-Summit League, as well as Summit League All-Tournament
Team, accolades. Midfielder Sammie Villwock returns for her sophomore season,
after tallying four goals and three assists in 2015, both second-best marks on
the team.
The Cowgirls are 3-1
all-time against South Dakota, and most recently earned a 2-1 win over the
Coyotes in Vermillion, S.D. on Sep. 12, 2014. The two teams have never faced
each other at a neutral site.
Fans can follow the action
on twitter by following @wyosoccer for game updates.
