Women's soccer focuses on winning SWAC championship

The Prairie View A&M women's soccer team will play Thursday at 5:30 p.m. against Mississippi Valley State in the 2013 SWAC Soccer Championship Tournament in Houston, Texas.
After finishing the regular season 6-8-1, the Lady Panthers are ranked no. 2 in the SWAC Western Division with a 3-1 record.
Junior midfielder and team captain Katherine Sheppard feels excited to return to the SWAC tournament.
"We have a pretty good shot of going all the way," said Sheppard.
Despite losing in the semifinal round against Jackson State last year, the Lady Panthers regrouped with a new team and a new attitude.
"Even though we had a lot of new people come in, we worked everything out," said Sheppard.
"We would message each other and call each other on and off the field."
Senior forward Angie Guillory believes that the chemistry within the team helped along the way.
"We know how to play together," said Guillory. "Everyone is able to read each other."
The Lady Panthers have dedicated their time extensively to intense practices and fitness workouts every day in preparation for the tournament.
Head coach Abe Garcia plans to use different strategies for the first round game.
"I will use a little bit of everything from a tactical standpoint offensively and defensively to mentally and physically," said Garcia.
"We will continue to improve our attacking and our defense on the field."
Aside from practice schedules, junior defender Debbie Arguelles prepared herself by staying focused mentally. "I'm just thinking about what we need to do to get the job done by having positive vibes and playing well," said Arguelles.
The team is looking forward to making the university proud and pacing themselves throughout the tournament.
"We're going to take it one game at a time," said Garcia. "Overall, our main focus is winning the first game and to continue to climb up from there."
The SWAC Tournament will be held at the Houston Amateur Sports Park in Houston, Texas Nov. 7-10 that will feature eight teams.