Upcoming sophomore Lauren Shepherd of the women’s soccer team proved she could hold her own on the field in her first season at SMU, tying for third on the team in shots on goal with 12.
But with the absence of Kimber Bailey, Allison Brill and Brittany Vice in the upcoming season, can the new top offensive player of the team measure up to the hype the team created during their spring season?
Since losing seven graduating seniors, the team has been focusing on filling in the gaps and adapting to new positions to prepare them for their season opener on August 23 against Oklahoma State.
“Well, hopefully we will at least [do] better than last year since we didn’t go very far,” said Shepherd. “I think we’re getting about 15 freshmen coming in so it will be a young, fresh start. It will be nice to have new players. I’m excited to see what they bring.”
In the 2007-08 season, Shepherd collected two goals and one assist in 17 games. At the end of the season, Shepherd was ranked sixth on the team for most assists, racking up a total of five points. Shepherd’s most recently received notice came when she was credited with the assist in teammate Sarah Benchaita’s goal in the team’s spring season 1-0 win over Oklahoma on April 5.
“He’ll [head coach, Brent Erwin] expect more of me. I played every game and only scored two goals,” explained Shepherd. “I know he’s expecting me to produce more goals – it’s kind of my job. But with all these new players coming in it’s up in the air who will play where and how positions will be filled.”
The team faced some trouble last year, going on a five-game losing streak in the middle of conference play. Though discouraged by its win-loss ratio, the team came back to close out its season on a four-game winning streak, including three conference victories.
With games against Big 12 schools Notre Dame and reigning NCAA champion USC, the Mustangs have a tough schedule looming on the horizon.
“You can look at it in a negative or positive way,” explained Shepherd. “If you don’t win, then you come into your conference games with a negative attitude. Or you can look at it as, ‘OK, we’ve played these tough teams and stuck with them, so conference play should come out easier.'”
As can be expected, tougher match ups surface in college play, but along with a more intense course load and practice regiment, just moving from one school to another can be intimidating enough. Fortunately for Shepherd, she found the transition easy.
“In high school, practices were a joke. In club, we only had two to three practices a week,” said Shepherd. “College play is completely different because we lift Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday for an hour and then play and hour. On Monday and Wednesday we play for an hour. It’s five-a-days for two hours every day. It keeps you connected to the ball all the time.”
A four-time letter winner from Lake Highlands High School, Shepherd was named first-team All-District her senior year and second-team All-District in her junior year. Other recognitions Shepherd received in high school include District 9-5A Newcomer of the Year honors as a sophomore, and team MVP and captain in her senior season.
Shepherd also played on the North Texas State Olympic Development Program team, and was a member of the Solar soccer club where she served as a team captain for six years. The club team was the state semifinalist in 2005, a two-time state finalist in the Disney Soccer Showcase and quarterfinalist in the Texas Cup in 2004.
Outside of soccer, Shepherd graduated as the senior class secretary, a member of the National Honor Society and was an honor graduate in 2007.
“I’m excited because this past year didn’t go very well. It’s behind us and I’m ready to progress after a bad season,” said Shepherd. “Everything that went wrong did and we kind of got screwed over at the end. I’m ready to prove ourselves again next season.”
