WOMEN’S SOCCER BEGINS RRAC TITLE DEFENSE THIS FALL
After achieving its first undefeated regular season and fourth undefeated conference record in program history during a delayed season in the spring, the women’s soccer team is ready for its 14th season. The Saints will take on local rival NCAA D2 St. Mary’s University (3-4-2) at the OLLU Soccer Field on Friday at 4 p.m.
Team goals
Head Coach Arthur Salazar aims for another successful season in 2021. “It comes down to the team having the mentality and the desire to compete,” Salazar said. “The 11-1 record last season was special, but in reality, that probably can’t happen every year. In the event of adversity, we have the mental capacity to bounce back from issues.” The women’s program was picked second in the Red River Athletic Conference (RRAC) Preseason Poll.
Salazar has a .845 winning percentage and 57-10-1 mark in RRAC competition. He was named Red River Coach of the Year for the second consecutive season last spring and fourth overall.
Beginning the season
The game against St. Mary’s will be the first regular-season game. This will be the two teams’ Seventh Annual Halo Classic. The series is tied at 3-3 with OLLU hanging onto the trophy and hoping to keep it another year.
OLLU will face Schreiner University (4-0), Concordia University-Texas (6-1), No. 2-ranked William Carey University (0-2), University of Mobile and University of Texas Rio Grande Valley before opening RRAC play. (Numbers after school indicate all-time records).
Conference opponents
OLLU opens RRAC competition at home against LSU-Shreveport (6-3-2) on Sept. 23. The Saints welcome Texas A&M University-Texarkana (4-1) two days later. The team travels to Louisiana to face LSU-Alexandria (7-1-1) on Sept. 30 and the newest RRAC member Louisiana College on Oct. 2.
The University of the Southwest (18-1) and Paul Quinn College (6-0) head to San Antonio on Oct. 7 and Oct. 9. The Saints then make a trip to face teams to which they have never lost. They play Texas College (12-0) on Oct. 14 and Jarvis Christian College (7-0) on Oct. 16. OLLU returns home to take on the University of Houston-Victoria (14-1) on Oct. 21, and then hits the road two days later versus Huston-Tillotson University (10-3). The series finale features the first matchup in program history against Texas A&M University-San Antonio on Oct. 30 at home.