If you understand the saying, “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it,” you might raise an eyebrow this season as the women’s soccer team suits up.
It all started at the beginning of the year when then head coach, George Van Linder, left SMU. Van Linder is now the new head coach of the women’s soccer team at Baylor.
At SMU, Van Linder led the Mustangs to four straight conference championships and three NCAA Tournament appearances. Under Van Linder, SMU finished in the Top 25 three times and compiled a four-year record of 59-21-10 and a conference record of 24-3-2.
SMU is coming off a 13-6-4 season in 2002 that saw the Mustangs fall just short of the Round of 16 teams in the NCAA Tournament. They lost to the Texas A&M Aggies by a penalty kick in overtime.
Seven starters will return for the 2003 – 2004 season. The Mustangs will take the field Aug. 29. All-WAC second team selection Kim Harvey is just one of four seniors returning.
John Cossaboon, previous head women’s soccer coach at the University of San Diego, was named the head coach of the SMU women’s soccer program over the summer. Cossaboon’s signing makes him the fourth head coach for the women’s soccer team since the program’s inception in 1986.
The Mustang’s first home game is against Texas Tech at 7:00 p.m. on Sept. 5.
This season, the women’s soccer schedule features four non-conference games vs. Big 12 schools as well as Texas showdowns with rivals TCU and North Texas.
Under the direction of first-year head coach John Cossaboon, the Mustangs open the 2003 season with their first game on the road. In mid-September, they will be participating in the SMU Mi Cocina Classic.
SMU’s Westcott field will also serve as host for the 2003 Western Athletic Conference Soccer Tournament, scheduled for Nov. 6, 7, and 9.
The team started two-a-day practices last Thursday as Coach Cossaboon observed their every move.
With Cossaboon taking over the reigns of the Mustang’s women’s soccer program, it looks like they should do well in the following years. Like other teams, their goal is to win, but Sweet-16 isn’t their pinnacle; obtaining a national championship title is the twinkle in their eye.
