2008 Woodie Awards
Lady'Backs in hunt for SEC Tournament
Harold McIlvain II
Issue date: 10/19/07 Section: Sports
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With just five games left in the regular season, the Lady'Backssoccer team find itself in position to fight this weekend for the eighth and final spot available at the Southeastern Conference tournament.
The Lady'Backs (8-5-1, 1-3-1 SEC) are currently tied with three other teams for eighth place in the SEC, including Sunday's opponent, Vanderbilt (4-6-2, 1-2-1 SEC).
Friday's opponent, Kentucky (6-5-2, 0-5 SEC), will also be in the race for the last SEC Tournament spot, but will need to start winning in SEC play.
The Lady'Backs will again have to deal with injuries as the team will be without Rachel Carlson who will miss the rest of the year with a shoulder injury. Both Allison Harris and Kim Schleif will miss two to three weeks with ankle injuries.
Camille Flores will return to the team at about 80 percent, Arkansas head coach Gordon Henderson said. Claire Hakim will continue to see limited minutes because of a broken nose, Henderson said.
In addition to those injuries, the Lady'Backs are without Kelly O'Connor and Beth McVean, who were announced to be out for the rest of the season last week.
"[All the injuries are] just one of those things you have to deal with," Henderson said. "It does force us to change personnel on the field, it does force us to alter where players play, and it does have an impact on our subs and how many minutes players play in a weekend, which is a large factor."
Even with all the injuries, the Lady'Backs are still in the hunt for the SEC Tournament, and Henderson is proud of that, he said.
"I couldn't be more proud of the team," Henderson said. "I think that a lot of teams would have folded up shop and said, 'we are done.' We are talking about missing five, six starters, yet we are still competing and we are alive in the SEC."
Henderson also was pleased to see that players are stepping up to fill the absence of injured players, particularly Sam Bolton, who is a third-string defender, he said.
"Sam Bolton has had an incredible season since she has stepped in for us," Henderson said. "I've been very proud of her. There is a freshman that is taking that playing opportunity and playing better each game."
The game plan will remain the same as it has from the first game of the season despite the injuries, Henderson said.
"We are not going out to defend we are going to go out and attack," Henderson said. "We are going to try to take the game to Kentucky and Vanderbilt. That's the way we've played all year long. It doesn't matter if it is Tennessee or Ole Miss, we try to take our game to our opponent by possessing the ball and attacking."
The Lady'Backs (8-5-1, 1-3-1 SEC) are currently tied with three other teams for eighth place in the SEC, including Sunday's opponent, Vanderbilt (4-6-2, 1-2-1 SEC).
Friday's opponent, Kentucky (6-5-2, 0-5 SEC), will also be in the race for the last SEC Tournament spot, but will need to start winning in SEC play.
The Lady'Backs will again have to deal with injuries as the team will be without Rachel Carlson who will miss the rest of the year with a shoulder injury. Both Allison Harris and Kim Schleif will miss two to three weeks with ankle injuries.
Camille Flores will return to the team at about 80 percent, Arkansas head coach Gordon Henderson said. Claire Hakim will continue to see limited minutes because of a broken nose, Henderson said.
In addition to those injuries, the Lady'Backs are without Kelly O'Connor and Beth McVean, who were announced to be out for the rest of the season last week.
"[All the injuries are] just one of those things you have to deal with," Henderson said. "It does force us to change personnel on the field, it does force us to alter where players play, and it does have an impact on our subs and how many minutes players play in a weekend, which is a large factor."
Even with all the injuries, the Lady'Backs are still in the hunt for the SEC Tournament, and Henderson is proud of that, he said.
"I couldn't be more proud of the team," Henderson said. "I think that a lot of teams would have folded up shop and said, 'we are done.' We are talking about missing five, six starters, yet we are still competing and we are alive in the SEC."
Henderson also was pleased to see that players are stepping up to fill the absence of injured players, particularly Sam Bolton, who is a third-string defender, he said.
"Sam Bolton has had an incredible season since she has stepped in for us," Henderson said. "I've been very proud of her. There is a freshman that is taking that playing opportunity and playing better each game."
The game plan will remain the same as it has from the first game of the season despite the injuries, Henderson said.
"We are not going out to defend we are going to go out and attack," Henderson said. "We are going to try to take the game to Kentucky and Vanderbilt. That's the way we've played all year long. It doesn't matter if it is Tennessee or Ole Miss, we try to take our game to our opponent by possessing the ball and attacking."
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