EDINBURG – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) women's soccer team is about eight months removed from wrapping up its best season in program history and is looking to build on the success from a season ago.
 
UTRGV has hit the ground running this preseason and has put in hard work since starting practice on August 7. 
 
UTRGV head coach Glad Bugariu has noticed how competitive this year's squad is. He and the coaching staff will need some more time to fully evaluate the team so the first few games heading into the season will be very important.
 
"We are a very competitive group," Bugariu said. "There is a lot of competition for positions so the coaches' decisions are really difficult. I think you will see some changes in the first 11 over the first three or five matches. Last year, perhaps the first 11 picked itself. I think this year is a little more competitive and a little more difficult for us coaches to pick the top 11 so we will mess with the lineups here in the early going and hopefully we will have something more stable after the following three or four games."
 
UTRGV opens the season on Thursday against the University of Miami, as part of the UTRGV Tournament at the UTRGV Soccer and Track & Field Complex. The match against Miami will be the first of 11 home matches.
 
UTRGV also welcomes in Alabama State, UTEP, Southern Utah, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Grambling State, and Texas Lutheran to the complex in non-conference . It will also go to Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and visit No. 12 Texas A&M and Southern Illinois before the start of Western Athletic Conference play.
 
That non-conference portion of the schedule is important to UTRGV. Coach Bugariu and his staff don't see the non-conference matches as just practice matches before conference play. They understand how hard each game is and value the effort and sacrifice for each.
 
"We look at it as every game is important," Bugariu said. "The non-conference is not some sort of preseason. It is very important. Non-conference, in fact, could be just as important as conference because it gives you a chance at having a winning record at the end of the year. We are going to take each game as the most the most important game of the week. Nothing is going to be below that. Every team we play will be the hardest team we ever played and every game we play will be the most important game we have play. If we can have that attitude going every game we will put ourselves in a situation where our performance will be consistent and that will give us some results."
 
This season, UTRGV will have a good mix of returners and newcomers with seniors Kinga Szemik and Sarah Bonney, and sophomore Emily Zapata leading the way. The trio were named to the Preseason All-WAC Team and will look to continue to raise the standards and expectations of the program.
 
Bonney and Zapata combined for 18 goals and 39 points last season with Szemik anchoring the defense with 72 saves.
 
While the trio had great seasons last year, coach Bugariu knows it will require more than just three players to contribute to find the success that the program is looking for.
 
"Honestly, it's a team sport," Bugariu said. "Everyone must contribute to our success. Those players aren't what they are without the help from their teammates. It's the group that matters. There is not one individual that will make or break our season. If the group comes together and works for each other and believes in what this team can do, then I think we will be very successful."
 
UTRGV will also welcome back the likes of senior Diana Ansah, junior and co-captain Matilyn Hepker, and sophomore Elina Seppälä, who missed a good portion of last season with an injury.
 
To go along with those returners, UTRGV welcomes in eight newcomers in Melissa Balechorek, Delaney Carrell, Marcy Garza, Anna Torslov ,Anna Barkey, Maya Chitman, Anna Olmala, and Miranda Munoz.
 
All of the newcomers have come in with a mindset of trying to help the team right of way while still learning as they go. With the number of newcomers on the squad, they each will get their share of playing time.
 
"Obviously, we try to recruit players that can come in and play right away, they may not but we go in with that mindset," Bugariu said. "I think you will see a number of freshmen start. You will see a number of freshmen contribute over the next few weeks. In the end, I think we have a real good group overall. I think they have meshed well we will see what the future holds."
 
The group has shown some good results in the preseason. After getting the 1-0 win over Incarnate Word in its first exhibition match, UTRGV scored nine goals against the University of Houston-Victoria in the final exhibition match.
 
The squad seems like it's coming together nicely after two and a half weeks of preseason. Coach Bugariu likes what he sees and he knows that this squad could be one of the best the program has seen but it will all depend on what kind of results this group can get.
 
"On paper, I think we are very technical and very fast," Bugariu said. "We are a good and solid squad with good players in every position and maybe more than one player in some positions. The results at the end of the year will judge how good we are. The results are the one thing everyone can see and that's the one thing everyone will remember. For us, that will determine what type of team we had."
 
There are many factors that contribute to having a successful season. Anything from strength of schedule to luck and even getting hot at the right point of the season can make or break a program in any given year.
 
For UTRGV, it will be about staying healthy. If healthy, then that allows the best 11 to play together and give the program another chance at another successful season. 
 
It's a very difficult at the collegiate level to stay healthy all the way through November but coach Bugariu believes staying healthy will be the biggest factor in UTRGV's success this season.
 
"We want to stay healthy," Bugariu said. "I think we do a very good job of making sure our players are not just fit but fresh, more importantly, fresh for October and November. I think that will be key. If we have our players healthy and are able to play our top lineup for a consistent time and with the right contribution from people coming on, we will be successful. College soccer is hard. There are two games a week. We have a roster of 24 and a lot of them will have to contribute to the team this year in terms of minutes. That's very exciting. I don't think we have had this kind of depth in the past. I am excited for what the future holds."
 
Support UTRGV Women's Soccer | Become a Fan on Facebook | Follow us on Twitter | Follow us on Instagram | Follow us on YouTube