By Brandon Warr, Athletics Communications Specialist
Special from UTPB
Heading into the 2023 fall women’s soccer season, UT Permian Basin had two athletes make it on the Lone Star Conference preseason players to watch list. As a team the Falcons were projected to finish 13th in the conference receiving 78 total points.
On offense, Midfielder Tatiana Leggiero, who transferred from The College of Saint Rose, unfortunately, spent last year on the bench due to a right shoulder injury that sidelined her for the 2022 season.
Now back to 100 percent, Leggiero is eager to get back on the pitch and help her team in any way possible.
“I am looking to, first off, make it to playoffs. But also try to instill more of a winning mindset to the team so that we go through the season trying not to lose a single game,” said Leggiero. “It’ll be hard, I know that. But I think it’s possible.”
As a member of the Golden Knights, she played in 45 games, starting in 26 of them. She had her best season in 2021, where she played in 24 games, starting in 20 of them and recorded 1 goal, 5 assists, had a total of 7 points and recorded 10 shots on goal in the 1,098 minutes she played.
On the defensive end, Hayley Sawyer’s impact goes unnoticed a lot due to the fact the score sheet doesn’t record defensive statistics. But, week in and week out, teams know that Sawyer will make it hard on their attackers.
“For the team, I hope that we are able to make it to the playoffs. I think that is everyone’s main goal, to be honest,” said Sawyer. “Individually, I’m hoping to earn defensive player of the year. Standing out in the Lone Star Conference is a big award, so I’d like to do that.”
During the 2022 season, Sawyer finished with the second most minutes on the team (1,434) and started and played in all 16 games – helping her team earn four shutout victories against Univ. of the Southwest, Sul Ross State, Texas Women and Eastern New Mexico and a huge 2-1 victory over Angelo State.
The Falcons will be on the pitch on Friday, Sept. 1, taking on Abilene Christian on the road at 7 p.m.
