DIRECTIONS TO TOWN & COUNTRY FIELD
MEN'S SOCCER SEASON PREVIEW
WOMEN'S SOCCER SEASON PREVIEW
CONCORDIA TEXAS ATHLETICS TWITTER PAGE FOR SCORE UPDATES

AUSTIN, Texas -- The Concordia University Texas men's and women's soccer teams officially kick off the 2009 season Tuesday afternoon with a non-conference doubleheader against Huston-Tillotson University at Town & Country Optimist Soccer Fields in Austin.

Both Tornado teams are looking to improve this season and move up in the American Southwest Conference rankings.  The men are led by second-year head coach Dan Darden, while the women will be headed by first-year head coach Corey Holton.

Today's doubleheader begins at 3:00 p.m., with the women's game starting first.  The men's game is scheduled to begin at 5:00 p.m.  Score updates can be found on Concordia Texas' new Twitter page.

GAME NOTES

Women's Soccer -
New Beginnings - Concordia women's soccer team will be headed in a new direction this season under new head coach Corey Holton. This will be Holton's first head coaching gig, but she is no stranger to the NCAA Division III level having been an assistant coach at Greensboro College (NC). Holton takes over a team that is coming off of a 12-loss season, but includes seven returners from last year's team. She is hopeful that these seven along with all of the newcomers will give Concordia enough to improve on last season's record.

Second Time Around – The Tornados will be eager to see what kind of year sophomore forward Kiera Ruck will have in 2009. As a freshman, she played in 16 games for Concordia, including 15 as a starter. Ruck racked up 17 points last season including eight goals. Look for Ruck to be rather comfortable on the field as she netted two goals against Huston-Tillotson, one being a game-winner when the two teams met last September.

Men's Soccer -
Experience is Golden - The Concordia men's soccer team is returning 11 upperclassmen in 2009 and has brought in an extremely talented recruiting class. Senior midfielder Brian Friend as well as junior goalkeeper Eric Davis will be key returners this season. Both Friend and Davis were honorable mention All-ASC selections in 2008. Friend played in 18 games for the Tornados, 17 of them as a starter. He also tallied 10 total points last season including 4 goals and 2 assists. Davis is the Tornados' last line of defense this season and should do fine seeing as how he finished fourth in the ASC last season after recording 114 saves and was in net for all three of Concordia's wins last season.   

New Kids on the Block - The Tornados are excited about the future as they have brought in 13 newcomers to the squad. Freshman goalkeeper Ubaldo Vazquez is creating a lot of buzz around campus and may prove crucial to the Tornados success this season. Sophomore transfer Drew Kasper looks to bring some experience to the squad. Kasper scored one goal last season for Concordia University-Chicago. The 13 new faces on the squad should serve as a nice complement to a team that already has a ton of experience.