By Nathan Boles and Collin Lee
The 21st-ranked Texas Tech women’s soccer team will travel to Tucson, Arizona to compete in the Wildcat Invitational.
The Red Raiders will play their first games against Power Five competition against the 2-2 Arizona Wildcats at 9 p.m. on Thursday and the 5-1 Arizona State Sun Devils at 1 p.m. on Sunday.
“I definitely think the heat is getting turned up, literally and figuratively,” fourteenth-year head coach Tom Stone said. “They’re the best teams we’ve seen so far.”
Undefeated Season on the Line
Tech will enter the Wildcat Invitational with an impressive 5-0-1 record after a 3-0 victory over the UTSA Roadrunners last Sunday.
The Red Raiders will look to continue their undefeated streak, but Stone said that while he thinks this squad is on par with the teams from 2018 and 2019, they cannot afford to stop growing as a team.
“If we stop growing,” Stone said, “then the season can stagnate and we can’t afford that.”
Kirsten Davis, the fifth-year senior forward who leads the team in goals, has learned that this team is competitive and has bought into this season.
“I’ve learned that everyone that’s here and is playing for us wants to be here,” said Davis, who was named to the Big 12 Preseason Team, “and I think that’s something that’s really special because everyone is all dialed in and wants to do everything we can to go as far as we can.”
Freshmen Making an Impact
The freshmen for the Red Raiders have already made an impact with three starters in Cassie Taylor, Macy Blackburn, and Kennedy Chambers, as well as substitute Ashleigh Williams.
Stone said it is rare to see freshmen make an impact on a good team like Texas Tech, and it is a nice surprise.
“That’s a great feeling coming off of 13 rostered players in the COVID season to having a full bench and everybody ready to play,” Stone said. “I think that’s been a nice surprise.”
Red Raider Health
In both 2018 and 2019, Texas Tech went to the second round of the NCAA Tournament before a 5-6-2 season in 2020, where injuries and COVID protocols caused many roster issues for Stone and his team.
Even this season, Stone said that in the first three games, Tech was missing a lot of their offense. He said now as a healthy squad, they have a lot of people that can score goals.
“We’re not relying on Kirsten [Davis] to score every goal, or Macy [Schultz] to score every goal, or Charlotte [Teeter] to win every header,” Stone said. “We’ve got a variety of people that are comfortable in front of the goal.”
Davis said that the depth of the team is going to be important for the Red Raiders this season.
“Anyone can get injured at any moment,” Davis said, “so knowing that we can trust everyone that’s coming off the bench, I think that’s something that will really help us this season.”
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