Cowgirls face challenging exhibition contest

LARAMIE – University of Wyoming soccer coach Pete Cuadrado wanted to challenge his veteran team during its only exhibition match.

He found that challenge in a former rival.

The Cowgirls play South Dakota State at 5 p.m. today in Hastings, Nebraska. The game comes 10 days prior to UW opening the regular season at Baylor on Aug. 20.

"South Dakota State is a very good program, and obviously I'm very familiar with them from back in my Summit League days," said Cuadrado, who faced SDSU numerous times while the head coach at North Dakota State. "They're a good program, and they're going to challenge us.

"It's probably, in my five years here, the best exhibition game we've had, and I think it's a good thing. It will challenge us at a different level."

South Dakota State won the Summit League last season to advance to the NCAA tournament before losing to Nebraska on penalty kicks.

UW returns seven starters and a goaltender from last season's team that went 10-8-2 overall and 6-4-1 in Mountain West play.

Sophomore Michaela Stark returns as the team's leading scorer with six goals and 13 total points.

Seniors Summer Halle and Alisha Bass added three goals for the Cowgirls a season ago as well.

UW is also bolstered by the return of senior goalie Georgia Rowntree. The Sydney, New South Wales, product played all but seven minutes in goal for the Cowgirls last fall and recorded a .765 save percentage to go with a 1.12 goals-against average.

Cuadrado has goals for the Cowgirls during today's exhibition.

"For the veterans, it will be to make sure we knock the rust off from the summer and clean up the smaller things and pick up where we left off from the spring," Cuadrado said. "I would like to see us be consistent and not have very many big mistakes."

Cuadrado is also excited to see what his newcomers can do against a quality opponent. UW has six freshmen on the roster and transfers Morgan McDougal (Oklahoma State), Brittany Stark (Colorado) and Jemma House (Laramie County Community College).

"The interesting thing will be when we start getting six or eight of the new faces on the field and see what they do when we put their feet to the fire," Cuadrado said. "They don't have to win a game for us – that's not on them right now. They just need to show us they can be solid at this level and hold their own."

The Cowgirls enter today's exhibition with only a couple days of actual on-the-field training after starting two days later than most schools due to beginning the regular season next Sunday instead of Friday. UW also spent the first two days of the season going through a leadership curriculum called "The Program."

"It was a really special thing that we did, and I think we'll gain a ton out of it," Cuadrado said. "But as a coach, I don't feel like we've done a lot on the field to be ready for our exhibition game."