 "Photo: Caleb Miller/The Daily Texan")
It seems as though growing up faster than expected has its benefits.
The underclassmen of the Texas soccer team were thrown onto the field earlier than expected due to teammate injuries. But since the Longhorns started their season at 3-5 and the freshmen and sophomore players have become more comfortable playing against experience, the team has been 4-2-2 and improved their overall record to a solid 7-7-2 with a 3-2-2 record in Big 12 play.
“We definitely had to step up sooner than most underclassmen on other teams,” said sophomore Kylie Doniak. “Now, we try not to separate between upperclassmen and lowerclassmen because we’ve learned that every person is just as important.”
Doniak leads the team in scoring with five goals, and freshman Hannah Higgins follows with three. Sixteen of UT’s 19 goals have come from underclassmen, who also account for eight of the team’s 11 starting positions.
“It definitely feels good [to lead the team in scoring], but I wouldn’t have done that without my teammates’ effort and hard work and the balls they’ve served me,” Doniak said. “I’m just happy to be in the position to have rewarded them.”
In other underclassmen news, Higgins and freshman keeper Alexa Gaul have recently been awarded Big 12 accolades. Gaul was named the league’s Defensive Player of the Week on Oct. 6, and more recently, Higgins was honored as the Newcomer of the Week this week after posting a career-high three points over Nebraska.
The Longhorns have three regular season games left, two of which will played at home this weekend. The Horns face Texas Tech (8-7-1, 3-3-1 Big 12) tonight at 7 p.m. and Colorado (8-7-0, 5-2-0 Big 12) on Sunday at 1 p.m. Both of these games will be held at Mike A. Myers Track and Soccer Stadium.
Sunday’s game against Colorado possesses a great deal of importance for the team because it will be the seniors’ last home game. Emily Anderson, Stephanie Gibson and Casey Mogk will be honored in a ceremony prior to the start of the match.
“These last few games are really important, considering we want to go out strong,” Doniak said. “And it’s especially important for our seniors and just to play for each other and our team.”
Throughout the season, the team’s chemistry and supportive mentality have helped tremendously as the players had to overcome many adversities.
“Now, we are ready to finish strong and overcome doubts that people may have of us,” Doniak said. “We just want to have some fun with it.”
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