ABILENE, Texas - First-year head women's soccer coach Alan Riches knows that sometimes winning programs can't be made overnight. After three consecutive years without winning a match, Riches' only goal for McMurry's team is to get the monkey off its back and win a match.

In 2006 under head coach Steve Allan, who was coaching both the men's and women's team for the first time, Allan helped McMurry show tremendous improvement towards the end of the season, and the team closed the season with a 4-3-1 record its last eight matches. This included a season-finale victory over Howard Payne on Nov. 6 when the then-Indians defeated the Yellow Jackets 3-2. However, Nov. 6, 2006 was the program's last victory.

Allan's 2006 squad finished 5-11-1 overall and matched the total number of wins that McMurry's women had recorded as a program in the previous years combined since it began the program in 2001.

Since then, it was two winless seasons under head coach Stan Levrets, and last year men's coach Tim Grove took over the reins and the women finished with a 0-15-1 overall record and a 0-12-1 record in American Southwest Conference play.

However, Wednesday, when 18 players practiced for the first time in preparation for the 2010 season, Riches said he emphasized a slow resurrection process.

“We've got to take very small steps to get this thing turned around. We've talked about having to win this year, just get that one win,” he said. “Nothing beyond that, just get that one win out of the way and then we can start moving on. The only two goals we have this year are to get that win and not finish last in conference.”

Thursday the ASC released its 2010 Preseason Women's Soccer poll that saw McMurry voted to finish last for the third consecutive season.

“I told the girls as long as I'm here we will never finish last again,” Riches said. “We're going to get those two goals taken care of then we'll move on from that point.”

Seven players are back from last year's squad and 11 new players came in for the new season.

“All credit we have this year to a certain extent goes to Paul Tate and Kat Alonso. There was about a month-and-a-half time period where there wasn't a head coach and they really kept the program together,” said Riches. “They kept the newcomers informed as to what was going on, and the same with the returners.”

Tate is the first-year head coach of the men's program and Alonso is going to serve as a volunteer assistant after playing soccer at McMurry for three seasons.

Riches took over the program in April after serving as the head boys coach at Lubbock Coronado High School for three seasons. He took the Mustangs to the district playoffs twice in those three seasons.

McMurry will play its first game hosting NAIA Lubbock Christian Sept. 1 at 1 p.m. at Edwards Field.

“It will be exciting, but we've got a long way to go. I told them not to expect anything big early in the season. This is going to be a growing process and it's going to be something that takes a little time to get over,” said Riches. “You can't get over four years of losing in a matter of weeks, but we'll get there, we're going to get there.”

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2010 ASC PRESEASON WOMEN'S SOCCER POLL

[Voted on by ASC Head Coaches and Sports Information Directors]

	Team (first place votes)	Points	2009 Record
1.	Hardin-Simmons (25)	389	20-2-0, 12-0-0 ASC (1st)
2.	Texas-Tyler (2)	358	12-4-1, 10-2-0 ASC (2nd)
3.	Mississippi College	307	11-5-3, 9-2-2 ASC (4th)
4.	Texas-Dallas (1)	305	7-8-6, 7-4-2 ASC (6th)
5.	Mary Hardin-Baylor	299	12-6-0, 10-3-0 ASC (3rd)
6.	East Texas Baptist	244	10-7-0, 9-3-0 ASC (5th)
7.	Howard Payne	225	8-8-2, 6-5-2 ASC (7th)
8.	Texas Lutheran	192	6-7-3, 4-5-3 ASC (8th)
9.	LeTourneau	161	7-10-1, 5-7-1 ASC (9th)
10.	Concordia Texas	141	5-9-3, 3-9-1 ASC (11th)
11.	Ozarks	126	5-14-0, 4-9-0 ASC (10th)
12.	Schreiner	96	1-10-3, 1-9-3 ASC (12th)
13.	Louisiana College	63	1-17-1, 1-11-1 ASC (13th)
14.	McMurry	34	0-15-1, 0-12-1 ASC (14th)

 

2010 ASC PRESEASON WOMEN'S SOCCER PLAYERS OF THE YEAR

[Voted on by ASC Head Coaches and Sports Information Directors]

Offensive	Katie Kuykendall, MF, So., Hardin-Simmons
Defensive	Sarah Stansell, D, Sr., Hardin-Simmons