PROVO -- Spring soccer comes to a close this weekend for the BYU women's team, beginning with the annual alumni game on Friday, and the 2005 Spring Outdoor Tournament on Saturday.
The 7th Alumni game will be played at South Stadium at 6 p.m. Head coach Jennifer Rockwood said that many of the former players will recently have given birth and although they will be in attendance, she doesn't plan to suit them up for the game. According to one current player, this is great news.
"I don't think we've ever beat them while I've been here, so I think this year we'll be able to beat them," said junior Charlene Lui. "A lot of their key players are going to be out. Even if they haven't been playing for a long time, they are usually pretty good, so it should still be a good game."
Assistant coach Chris Watkins said he is looking forward to seeing the past players and expects a competitive game from the talented alumni.
"It's great to see everybody again and tell some great stories. They're still very competitive. Our alumni are very good. It's a great challenge for us. It is good for our current players and the alumni really like to get back on the field."
Another current player may have provided a little extra motivation for the alumni with a quote to hang in the pre-game locker-room.
"It'll be good to see if they still got it after all this time," said junior Jaime Rendich-Beck, playfully.
Former player Jennie Christianson, when hearing of Rendich-Beck's comment, was confident the alumni still has a little gas in the tank.
"We'll show those young pups that we still got it."
After struggling as a team this past season, Rendich-Beck said she also feels a stronger commitment and obligation to be successful, due to the great success over the years by the program.
"They led the way for us and really set the standard for winning. It's good to have them come back and talk to us. I don't want to let them down. I want to keep the tradition going and win conference for them. I feel like we kind of let them down if we don't win conference."
Saturday, the Spring Outdoor Tournament will features eight teams playing at South Stadium and at the Indoor Practice Facility.
The eight teams participating this weekend are BYU, Dixie, Idaho State, Southern Utah, Utah State, UVSC, Utah and Weber State. Games will be played every hour beginning at noon with BYU against UVSC. The Cougars play again at 3 p.m. against Utah and against Idaho State at 7 p.m. Each team will play two games at South Stadium and one game in the Indoor Practice Facility. Games will feature two 25-miute halves and a full 11-player roster.
Watkins said he feels the hard work this spring has paid off in some big strides for the team, going into the fall. He said the most overall improvement has come in the form of scoring and giving a more consistent effort.
"We've had a great spring and we certainly hope to finish as well as we've played all spring. We feel like we've turned the corner and we want to keep going in that direction."
"We're very fit right now. We're ready to play if the fall were to begin today. We've worked them really hard and prepared them as best we know how."
The spring season ends for BYU following the games this weekend and will not start up until August, when practice officially begins. Players will begin their summer conditioning program May 1.
FIELD 1 TBA (SOUTH STADIUM OR PRACTICE)
Time Home Visitor
1pm USU SUU
2pm Dixie Weber
3pm BYU Utah
4pm USU Dixie
5pm UVSC Utah
7pm BYU ISU
FIELD 2 (INDOOR OR PRACTICE)
Time Home Visitor
Noon BYU UVSC
1pm Utah ISU
3pm UVSC ISU
5pm SUU Weber
7pm USU Weber