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Notebook: UNT soccer team faces tough task

11:21 PM CDT on Tuesday, October 24, 2006

By Brett Vito / Staff Writer

A loss at home to Middle Tennessee last week didn’t exactly kill the North Texas soccer team’s chances of winning a share of the Sun Belt Conference title.

But there is little doubt it made that task a whole lot tougher.

UNT carried a 23-match home winning streak into a game against the Lady Raiders last week and saw it end in a 3-2 loss in the Mean Green’s final home game of the season.

UNT’s first loss at home since the 2004 season dropped the Mean Green into a tie for second place in the Sun Belt standings with MTSU at 9-1.

Denver, a team that has long been the Mean Green’s nemesis, sits atop the league standings at 10-0. The two teams will face off in their regular season finale on Friday.

UNT has struggled to win at Denver in previous years.

The Mean Green lost to the Pioneers 3-0 in 2004 and 6-1 in 2002 in its last two trips to Denver in the regular season.

“I am never crazy about going to Denver,” Hedlund said earlier this season. “We have never had success there. We have to find a way to get a win.”

UNT’s ability to convert on its opportunity at Denver will be even more critical this week. A win could give the Mean Green a share of the Sun Belt regular season title, while a loss could send UNT tumbling to third in the conference standings.

The league standings determine seeding for the conference tournament. UNT has won the championship in each of the last two seasons and advanced to the NCAA Tournament.

If the Mean Green are to bounce back from their loss to MTSU, they will have to improve their performance defensively. UNT had not given up three goals in a game since a loss to Nebraska in early September before facing the Lady Raiders.

Part of UNT’s slump could be attributed to MTSU’s firepower that had the Lady Raiders ranked second nationally in scoring offense with an average of 4.0 goals a game in the latest NCAA statistics.

Facing Denver won’t be much easier for the Mean Green. The Pioneers rank sixth nationally with an average of 3.53 goals a game.

FOOTBALL

UNT to face team that ended streak

The team that seemingly started UNT on its downhill slide of the last two seasons will be back across the line of scrimmage this week when the Mean Green take on Troy.

UNT last faced the Trojans the fourth week of last season when the Mean Green still had a 26-game winning streak in Sun Belt Conference play going. The Trojans ended UNT’s run with a 13-10 win at Fouts Field.

Troy rushed for 283 yards in the game in a battle of teams that emphasized ball-control offenses and stout defense.

UNT went on to finish last in the league standings at 2-5.

The Mean Green (2-5) have continued to struggle and enter the rematch with a 1-2 record in league play. Troy has not fared much better overall at 2-4, but is 1-0 in conference play after knocking off Louisiana-Monroe 24-19 last week.

Not the same old Trojans

One aspect of the Mean Green’s game against Troy this season that will be different than in past years is the type of offense the Trojans run.

Troy dropped it run-based offense after last season in favor of the spread and a wide open passing game. Junior quarterback Omar Haugabook ranks second in the Sun Belt Conference with an average of 175 passing yards a game and leads the league with an average of 183.8 yards of total offense a game.

Haugabook isn’t the only player who has thrived in Troy’s new system. Wide receiver Gary Banks enters the week ranked first in the Sun Belt both in receptions (6.83 per game) and receiving yards (65.7 per game).

Troy ranks fourth in the Sun Belt in total offense with an average of 17.0 points a game.

UNT struggling offensively

The Mean Green’s offense has continued to flounder as the season heads into the stretch run.

UNT scored just one touchdown in a 29-10 loss to Arkansas State last week and was shut out in the second half. The Mean Green’s struggles against the Indians continued a season-long trend that has UNT seventh out of the eight teams in the Sun Belt with an average of 11.7 points a game.

UNT has been held to 14 points or less five times this season.

Jamario has a streak going

One of the few bright spots for UNT the last two weeks has been the continued improvement of junior running back Jamario Thomas.

The former national rushing champion rushed for 119 yards in a loss to Arkansas State last week, giving him back-to-back 100-yard games. Thomas rushed for 124 yards in the Mean Green’s seven-overtime win over Florida International two weeks ago.

Thomas’ recent surge has him ranked second in the Sun Belt with an average of 82.4 yards a game and has kept him in the hunt for a 1,000-yard season. With five games left in the year, Thomas has rushed for 577 yards.

UNT’s featured running back has rushed for at least 1,000 yards in each of the last five seasons. Thomas joined that list when he rushed for 1,801 yards two seasons ago before suffering through an injury-plagued campaign a year ago.

Robertson provides spark

Redshirt freshman running back Evan Robertson is proving to be an effective option for UNT as a return specialist in addition to Jamario Thomas’ backup at tailback.

Robertson returned five kickoffs for 127 yards -- an average of 25.4 yards a return -- during the Mean Green’s loss to Arkansas State last week. UNT was averaging just 16.0 yards a return coming into the game and still ranks last in the Sun Belt after Robertson helped boost UNT’s average of 17.6 yards a return.

UNT has also turned to Robertson more in the running game to spell Thomas and saw him respond with 22 rushing yards on two carries against ASU.

VOLLEYBALL

UNT faces key matches at home

The Mean Green are in position to make a run at the Sun Belt Conference West Division title, and will look to capitalize in a pair of key matches later this week.

UNT won six straight matches to move to the top of the league standings before falling at Denver on Monday to drop into a tie for first place with the Pioneers at 8-4. Arkansas State and New Orleans are also both in the thick of the race for the division title and a higher seed in the conference tournament the Mean Green will host beginning Nov. 15.

UNT will continue preparing for the tournament when it hosts ASU and Arkansas-Little Rock on Friday and Sunday, respectively.

The Mean Green are looking to tighten their grip on the top spot in the standings before a three-match road trip followed by a home match against Denver to cap the regular season.

Ace-less in Denver

Junior outside hitter Brooke Engel finished without an ace in UNT’s 3-1 loss to Denver on Monday, marking the first time in the last five matches she has failed to come up with one.

Engel was leading the nation in aces with an average of .91 aces a game pending the release of the new NCAA leaders early this week and is looking to become the first UNT player to lead a major statistical category since the Mean Green joined Division I-A in 1996.

Engel has already broken UNT’s single season record for aces and has 87 on the season.

CROSS COUNTRY

Sun Belt championships this week

Both the UNT men’s and women’s cross country teams will compete in the Sun Belt Conference championship meet on Saturday at Arkansas-Little Rock.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Jessica Hulsebosch continued to dominate defensively for the UNT volleyball team last week, when she broke her own record for digs in a season.

The libero entered the week on pace to break her mark of 533 digs and cruised past it when she posted six digs in a three-game sweep over South Alabama. Hulsebosch’s performance helped the Mean Green extend their winning streak to six matches, UNT’s longest run since the 2003 season.

UNT couldn’t keep the run going on Monday at Denver, but that did little to tarnish the performance of Hulsebosch. The junior now has 553 digs on the season and is a key reason the Mean Green enter the stretch run in the hunt for the Sun Belt Conference West Division title.

Hulsebosch has already been named the conference’s Defensive Player of the Week twice this year.

For her performance last week and throughout the season, Hulsebosch is the Denton Record-Chronicle UNT Player of the Week.

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