Blackburn looking for positive start as Texas Tech hosts Troy in home season opener
Macy Blackburn has been waiting for this moment.
The Texas Tech defender, who was named to the preseason All-Big 12 team earlier in the week, could not contain her excitement as she described her feelings for the 7 p.m. Thursday regular season opener against Troy at the John Walker Soccer Complex.
“I mean, I always get so nervous in every game,” said Blackburn, who was also selected to the Big 12 All-Freshman team, Midwest All-Region second team and the TopDrawerSoccer.com All-Freshman second team. “It doesn't matter if it's a scrimmage, practice — really anything. I get so nervous because I'm so competitive, and I don't want to ever lose the game — especially being our first home game. It really does matter. And I just know we're gonna do great.”
Blackburn, a sophomore who’s listed at 5-foot-7, wears that passion on her sleeves — whether they're white, black, red or another color, depending on the uniform choice.
And on Wednesday, she provided a bit of context to her fervor by committing to play for Texas Tech back when she was in the eighth grade.
“I didn’t make her an offer, she just sat in my office and said, ’By the way, I’m coming here. I was born in a Texas Tech onesie and I’ve been to more football games than you have, Coach Stone,” Texas Tech coach Tom Stone recalled. ”My parents (Ryan and Bianca) went here, my grandparents went here. You work it out with my dad, but this where I’m coming.”
Blackburn is one of several underclassmen expected to contribute in big ways for the Red Raiders thanks to her quick development on the pitch.
She went on to become a standout for Keller Timber Creek High School, just outside of Fort Worth, and competed for Solar Soccer Club and the Under-17 Women’s National Team among other accolades before trekking to Lubbock.
As a freshman, she found different ways to help the Red Raiders — starting 19 matches while logging around 1,500 minutes and notching a full 90 minutes in 11 contests. Blackburn helped out the attack by dishing out a team-best nine assists, as well.
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Blackburn is also ready to become a linchpin on the back row along with several other familiar faces who return from a season that ended with an 11-6-3 overall record and 4-4-1 mark in Big 12 Conference play.
That’s all in the past, and the current squad is beaming following a pair of exhibition wins — 7-0 over Lubbock Christian in three 25-minute periods and a 1-0 road triumph over Denver last weekend.
“These are steps towards playing our best when it counts,” Stone said Wednesday. ”That’s what we’re hoping for here in the next month, we’ve got to round ourselves into that team."
Sophomore Ashleigh Williams and senior Macy Schultz are expected to highlight a cast of talented scorers that also includes several freshmen. Stone wouldn’t point out specific names, but seemed to imply they’d be known when they check into the next few contests.
”They’re very different,” Stone said of Williams and Schultz on the attack. ”One is more hold-up play, powerful, super strong, can hold off three players at one time and can set you up and is really dynamic in the 18-yard box. … Macy is those things too, but she’s a vertical threat. She’s a sprinter, she can get behind ya.”
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The Red Raiders will have a challenge against the Trojans, who despite finishing 7-10-1 last season, return five of their top scorers in Erin Bloomfield, Ella Owen, Taytum Terrell, Nia Wilson and Lisa Blankenstein.
In between the pipes, Lindsey LaRoche ranked second in the Sun Belt with a 0.90 goals-against average last season.
Even with that experience, Troy is a bit of a mystery as it introduced a new coach, Robert Lane, who joined the program after three seasons as the first assistant coach at Georgia.
”They have a new coach and a new system and a new energy and everybody wants to prove to the new guy (coach) how good they are,” Stone said of the Trojans. “So I think we’re going to get a very interesting Troy team. They’re not gonna make it easy on us for sure.”
TEXAS TECH VS. TROY
When: 7 p.m. Thursday
Where: John Walker Soccer Complex
Records: Season opener for both squads.
Game updates: Follow @cmsilvajr on Twitter for play-by-play and look for the recap on www.lubbockonline.com.
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Blackburn looks for positive start as Tech hosts Troy in season opener
