 "Photo: Shaun Stewart")
 "Photo: Shaun Stewart")
When Texas soccer said goodbye to seven departing seniors last season, it opened the door for a bevy of new players to come in and earn their stripes. This season's squad features nine freshmen, in addition to three sophomores on a 20-player roster. With over half of the team having a year or less of collegiate experience, the Longhorns are prepared to rely on their youth, even if they make some mistakes while adapting to a higher level of play.
"We can't win a game without major contributions from the freshmen," Texas head coach Chris Petrucelli said. "There's a lot more coaching, but I also think there ends up being a lot of youthful enthusiasm that's good for a team."
Lucky for Petrucelli and the other Longhorns, the team does have two seniors who have three years of experience and are eager to help their younger teammates learn the ropes. Defender Julie Gailey and goalkeeper Melissa Adrouny might seem quite different at first, but the two have a lot more in common than first meets the eye.
"Melissa, everyone calls her Patty," said junior forward Amy Burlingham. "'Chatty Patty', because she will talk and talk, which is awesome. It's funny too, because Julie's the opposite. She's very reserved."
Despite their seemingly different personalities, the two-member Longhorn senior class of 2006 share plenty of common ground. Both Gailey and Adrouny came to Texas from California and even played on some of the same teams together during high school. Now, the two play on the Longhorn defense and enjoy Austin's bounty of restaurants and live music. Perhaps most importantly, they are both committed to tutoring their young teammates.
"Setting a good example for them is really important to getting them off on the right foot," Adrouny said. "And since there are so many of them, it'd be easy for them to kind of start off on the wrong foot. But the team's done a really good job of helping them to make the transition."
One of those young players benefiting from Gailey's and Adrouny's senior leadership is freshman defender Stephanie Logterman. An Austin native, Logterman has already started both games this season in the defensive backfield.
"Julie definitely brings a lot of experience," Logterman said. "Getting to play with her in the back, she's been through all this before and knows what's going on, and that helps a lot. Melissa is just so supportive. She's constantly reaching out, giving words of encouragement and lifting everyone up."
Fellow freshman defender Kasey Moore also benefits from the Longhorn duo's senior leadership.
"[Having Julie and Melissa] has just helped a lot, because they've seen everything for the past three years," Moore said. "It's just good to have them be there to lead us."
While the younger players benefit greatly from the seniors' experience, the tandem recognize the importance of being surrounded by such talented young freshman.
"When we lost all the seniors, it was huge, because we played with them for three years," Gailey said. "It was a big deal seeing them go. But then the new incoming freshmen totally stepped up and took their place."
Another thing that Gailey and Adrouny share is their favorite memory as a Longhorn soccer player. Texas defeated Texas A&M at home during their sophomore season, a game Adrouny calls "one of the most emotionally charged" of her life.
The pair gets one more chance for a home victory in the rivalry when the Longhorns host the Aggies on Oct. 2. Picked to win the Big 12 and holding a preseason top 10 ranking, A&M poses a tough challenge for Texas. The outcome of that game, and the rest of the season, will rest largely on the shoulders of the Longhorns' young players. But that's fine with Texas' senior pair.
"[The freshmen] fit in really well, and you can tell that they're all learning a lot," Gailey said. "So I know they're just going to get even better than they are."
Said Adrouny: "They're very solid. They all have great careers ahead of them."
While that may indeed be the case, plenty of credit can be given to the pair of California girls.
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