Arkansas Caps First Week Of Preseason Training
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — It’s still 14 days before the Razorback soccer team plays its first official match of the year, but the preseason is in full swing and head coach Colby Hale likes where his squad is at after completing the first five sessions of training camp.
“It’s always good to get back on the field with the whole team,” Hale said. “We tried to focus on the four pillars of who we are. These first few days we worked on what our identity is. The energy was tremendous and you expect that from the first days. It was really positive.”
Arkansas is coming off a school-record 18-win season and doesn’t expect to have any drop off. 14 letterwinners return from a year ago including 12 starters and six fourth-year players. Eight of those starters scored at least one goal in 2016 and each recorded three or more points.
With the recent run of success for the program that included wins over No. 2 Duke and No. 4 Florida last year, along with hosting and winning the first round of the 2017 NCAA Tournament against Memphis, Hale and the rest of the Razorbacks are determined to not let the past dictate its future.
“Every team is different,” Hale said. “The conversation we had this week was, ‘How do we remain who we are, yet evolve and continue to grow?’ I’ll use the example of ‘Blockbuster’ all the time. No one buys their videos through ‘Blockbuster’ anymore. We have to keep evolving.”
Some of the Razorbacks may not be old enough to remember “Blockbuster Video,” but the notion of needing to evolve has stuck with the team these first few days.
Before 2013, Arkansas had never been to an NCAA Tournament, marking a 27-year drought. Since then, the Razorbacks have been to the national tournament three times with its Sweet 16 appearance in Hale’s second season (2013) continuing as the standard.
On top of that, Arkansas reached the SEC Tournament final last year for the first time since 1996, another “first” for a program looking to claim its piece of the national picture for years to come.
“We’re always hungry,” senior defender Hannah Neece said. “We can always build off of previous seasons, but we’re never satisfied. We want to get to that Final Four and actually win the SEC Tournament. We know we can do it, but we have to stay hungry.”
Upcoming Dates
Next week, Arkansas will face Omaha in its only exhibition match of the season on Thursday, Aug. 10 at Razorback Field. First kick is slated for 7 p.m., but will not be televised in any form.
The Razorbacks begin the season, officially, on the road when it travels to face SMU and North Texas on Aug. 18 and 20, respectively.
Arkansas’ first home match will be against Penn State on Aug. 25 with first kick at 6:30 p.m.
Season tickets are now on sale for $25. Each season ticket order will come with one 2017 Razorback Soccer scarf. Single-game tickets can be purchased for $5 at the Razorback Field box office, which opens one hour before kickoff on game days. Current students can be admitted with their UA ID, and children 17 and under are admitted free.
For more information on Razorback Soccer, follow @RazorbackSoccer on Twitter.
