North Texas head coach Todd Dodge kept more than a few of his secrets stashed away for another day in the Mean Green’s season-opener 45-6 loss to Kansas State on Saturday.

UNT built a reputation for running a wide-open offense and taking more than a few shots down the field in Dodge’s first season and was expected to unveil a host of new defensive wrinkles under new coordinator Gary DeLoach.

Those offensive fireworks and defensive looks are still in the Mean Green’s plans and could be unveiled Saturday in the Mean Green’s home opener against Tulsa.

“We were pretty conservative,” Dodge said of the Mean Green’s approach offensively against Kansas State. “We threw the ball 29 times and completed 16. Without the drops and four inaccurate passes we could have been 23-for-29. In hindsight we would have liked to get [redshirt freshman wide receiver] Sam Roberson more involved, but we went three-and-out on our first three possessions and I didn’t want the game to get crazy out of hand. People who have watched us know that our mode of operations is not to not take shots.”

UNT quarterback Giovanni Vizza finished 16-of-29 for 100 yards with a long completion of just 12 yards.

That type of outing is out of character for a quarterback and an offense that had a 99-yard touchdown passing play last season when Vizza hit wide receiver Casey Fitzgerald on a short pass and watched him scamper the length of the field in a win over Louisiana-Monroe.

UNT was also conservative defensively in its first game under DeLoach, who built a reputation as a coach who could put his players in position to make big plays in his first stint with the Mean Green that ended when he left for UCLA after the 2002 season.

The Mean Green was not credited with a sack or quarterback hurry in its loss to the Wildcats, who threw the ball 42 times. The bright spot for UNT was freshman safety John Shorter intercepting a pass and junior safety Kartey Agbottah forcing a fumble that was recovered by freshman cornerback Royce Hill.

“We didn’t feel like it was a game where we could get a whole lot of pressure,” Dodge said. “If you think you can get to him, you bring a whole bunch of folks. If you don’t get to him, you can give up explosive plays. We only gave up two. There are going to be other teams that we will come after.”

 

Dodge not pleased with passing game

UNT saw room for improvement in several areas after a loss to Kansas State in its opening game, particularly in the passing game.

UNT threw for just 100 yards, the lowest total in the Dodge era against the Wildcats.

Vizza finished 16-of-29 with a touchdown and was sacked twice while several of UNT wide receivers dropped passes at critical junctures.

“There were about seven plays in the game that could have made a big difference by keeping drives alive and keeping our defense off the field,” Dodge said.

Vizza missed three passes, all on crossing routes, while UNT’s receivers dropped four passes.

Dodge said Vizza needs to work on getting his feet set before throwing the ball, something the two will work on in practice this week. Dodge attributed the drops UNT made to mistakes.

“Our two best receivers are the ones who dropped them,” Dodge said. “Casey Fitzgerald might have dropped a ball in his career, but I don’t remember it. It’s the same way with Sam Dibrell. He just let a ball get into his body.”

UNT will look to rectify those problems heading into its game against Tulsa on Saturday.

“We have to get it corrected on the practice field,” Dodge said. “You don’t just say it will be all right. You make it all right on the practice field.”

 

Soccer

Mean Green looking forward to OU game

UNT will have an opportunity to build on an already impressive start to its season on Friday in a showdown with Oklahoma, perhaps the Mean Green’s biggest nonconference home game this season.

UNT has an impressive 3-1 all-time record against the Sooners with its only loss coming in a 1-0 nail-biter last season.

“I am very excited about Friday’s game,” UNT head coach John Hedlund said. “I am excited about coaching in a game like this and the girls are excited about playing in a game like this. It’s hard to get a Big 12 team on your home field. … I am excited right now and it’s only Tuesday.”

The Sooners recruit the Dallas area and will have several players on their roster who either played with or know players who are now at UNT.

“They all know each other,” Hedlund said. “OU has always been known to recruit the Dallas area. It’s going to be kind of neat. Both teams will battle and compete, but after the game you will see the kids go over and talk because they either played high school or club soccer together.”

 

UNT looking to do a better job finishing

UNT got off to an ideal start to its season over the weekend, when it beat Louisiana Tech and Xavier at home.

The Mean Green took out Tech 2-1 before shutting out Xavier 1-0.

About the only complaint Hedlund had about the Mean Green’s performance was that it didn’t finish more of its scoring chances. UNT out-shot Tech 15-4 and dominated Xavier in shots, 16-2.

“It’s a few things — chemistry, timing, new players playing with veterans and conditioning at times late in games,” Hedlund said of the reasons why UNT didn’t finish more of its opportunities. “We are looking at everything. Do we have the right mix of players? Are they where we want them? That’s something every coach goes through before the beginning of conference play.”

Junior midfielder Kendall Juett finished with a goal and an assist, while freshman forward Kelsey Perlman and senior defender Gennifer Hurst also scored. 

 

Volleyball

Transfer leads UNT in opening tournament

Cal Poly transfer Salah Schoenecke was named to all-tournament team at the Mean Green Volleyball Classic over the weekend when the Mean Green went 1-2 on its home court.

The junior outside hitter averaged 1.91 kills and 2.55 digs per game during the tournament that saw UNT beat Jackson State and fall to Texas Tech and UT-Arlington.

“Salah has had some pretty strong performances in practices this week,” UNT head coach Cassie Headrick said. “This is a kid who has been waiting two years to get on the court. Physically she has to get ready to carry the load she is going to carry on the outside. She has to be someone who is out there talking to her team, which is something that she hasn’t done in the past. She showed some development as a leader.”

Schoenecke finished with 11 kills and 13 digs in her best match of the weekend, a five-game loss to UT-Arlington.

 

Youman, others show signs of progress

Headrick said heading into the season that it could take a while for a number of younger players and transfers to mesh on the court.

Several of those players showed signs of breaking out during the Mean Green Classic, including Brittani Youman. The sophomore middle blocker posted 18 kills in UNT’s loss to UTA, the highest total during the tournament by a Mean Green player.

“The difference between the spring season to right now is unbelievable,” Headrick said. “As these kids continue to get game experience, they will gain confidence. She did some good things against Texas Tech and Jackson State. UTA focused on her quite a bit. Once we moved her around and we passed a little better, she was unstoppable on the right side. She is confident out there and puts up a really big block.

Sophomore outside hitter Roxana Casvan and sophomore middle blocker Amy Huddleston also had double-figure kill matches. Casvan posted 15 kills against UTA, while Huddleston had 10 against Jackson State.

 

Cross country

UNT to open season Saturday

The UNT men’s and women’s cross country teams will open the season on Saturday at the North Texas opener.

The UNT men finished second and the women sixth in last season’s Sun Belt Conference Championships.

“We will improve this year, at least on the women’s side,” UNT coach Robert Vaughn said. “We really can’t tell until we see what athletes the other schools recruited. You can recruit one or two athletes and really improve.”

UNT will look to a pair of runners on its women’s team who were not at their peak during last season. Amanda Kean had a case of mononucleosis last summer and was not in peak shape during the season, while Phanice Orora had a baby last year.

The UNT men return their top runner in sophomore Patrick Strong, who spent the offseason training at home in New Zealand. Strong is still adjusting to the warmer weather in Texas.

“Patrick will be better this year,” Vaughn said. “He trained a lot over the winter in New Zealand.”

 

Player of the week

The UNT soccer team swept a pair of matches over the weekend and got off to a solid start to the season, thanks in large part to Kendall Juett.

The junior midfielder scored a goal, added an assist and finished with a team-high three points for the weekend.

Juett broke a 1-1 tie with a goal to give the Mean Green a 2-1 win over regional rival Louisiana Tech to open the weekend. The goal was Juett’s 22nd of her career, moving her into 10th place all-time in UNT history.

Juett then made sure that the Mean Green would remain unbeaten on the season when she assisted on a goal by senior defender Gennifer Hurst that gave UNT a 1-0 win over Xavier.

For her performance over the weekend, Juett is the Denton Record-Chronicle UNT Player of the Week.

BRETT VITO can be reached at 940-566-6870. His e-mail address is bvito@dentonrc.com .