University of North Texas Athletics
Mean Green Soccer Hosts China On Tuesday Night
4/3/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
DENTON (4/3/06)- The North Texas soccer team will host a national team from China on Tuesday night at the Mean Green Soccer Complex on Bonnie Brae in Denton. The Mean Green will be playing on its new field for the first time. Kickoff is slated for 8 pm and admission is free.
The Mean Green is in the midst of its spring season. On Saturday, NT defeated Oklahoma, 4-3, at the Sting College Showcase in Allen, Texas. Heather Hutyra scored the winning goal off an assist by Kelli Lunsford after leading 3-1 at half.
"Any time you can play with and beat one of the stronger Big 12 teams like OU is a pretty big accomplishment," said head coach John Hedlund. "Hopefully this game will give us some momentum going into Tuesday's game against the Chinese Team."
Tuesday's game is part of the Panda Cup, a two-week tour of Texas and Oklahoma by two Chinese teams. During the tour, the Chinese "A" team will play Texas A&M, SMU, TCU, North Texas and Tulsa. The "B" team will play all-star youth teams from around the state. On Tuesday night, Texas Woman's University will open the doubleheader with a match against the "B" team at 6 pm, while the Mean Green will follow at 8 pm.
The "A" team is a hybrid team made up of players from the National Team Pool, the National University Selection, a National Selection from professional teams and a combination of current Olympic pool players.
"I think it is a great opportunity to play high-level competition like the Chinese National Team," said Hedlund. "We are hoping to get a big crowd, and I know our players are really excited."
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