Exhibition set for Saturday

Even coming off one of the most successful seasons in team history, Longhorns are determined to keep moving forward. Although last year saw a brief flirtation with the No. 1 national ranking and a second consecutive Big 12 postseason title, the team's national-title dreams crumbled in a humiliating 4-0 loss to Florida State in the third round of the NCAA tournament.

"There is no focus on what happened last year," head coach Chris Petrucelli said. "We're starting all over, and we're trying to make this year as good as it can be."

This season, the Longhorns return eight starters and 18 letter-winners as they look to live up to their No. 8 preseason ranking.

But of those starters lost to graduation is forward Kelsey Carpenter, the third-leading goal scorer in Texas history. She led the team with 10 goals last year and had 39 in her career.

"She's the biggest piece we have to replace," Petrucelli said. "But it's not going to be just one player. We're going to do that with a number of different people contributing to our attack."

One of the players who will be asked to pick up further scoring duties is sophomore striker Niki Arlitt, who marked her freshman campaign alongside Carpenter with 10 goals of her own.

Her efforts were rewarded with spots on the All-Big 12 Second Team and Big 12 Newcomer team.

The Longhorns will have their first test Saturday in an exhibition game against Loyola Marymount, before starting their regular season at home to Samford six days later.

Texas and Loyola have played once, with the Lions winning 1-0 in double overtime in Austin eight years ago.

"I look at this as a chance to train against another team," Petrucelli said. "It's a chance to evaluate some of our players … in a game where the result is not going to be that important."

Instead, the Longhorns will be focusing on quality in performance and experimenting with different lineups and players.

With eight freshmen added to the Texas roster, Petrucelli has significant decisions over the roles of his newcomers.

"They are going to play," he said. "Some will start, some will come off the bench, but it's a very, very good class, and they are going to have an impact on this team."

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