A fresh start: Tweedy and UCO soccer look to prove themselves

Rebecca Tweedy made a game-winning shot off a cross from Madison Linavong in UCO soccer’s first home game of the season, Thursday night, sealing a 3-2 win after being down 0-2 against Angelo State.

Tweedy, a junior forward and team captain, entered this season eager to move up in the conference after working through an injury last year. 

“I mean it doesn’t feel good to be ranked seventh but we all know that that doesn’t define us,” said Tweedy. “We’re just going to show everyone what UCO soccer can bring to the table this year.”

Six-foot-tall defender Callie Halbert scored the first goal of the game for the Bronchos on a corner, followed by a game-tying free-kick by graduate student Rebekah George, a transfer from Texas A&M Corpus Christi. 

UCO soccer lost 3-4 at home, Sunday, against Dallas Baptist, who are ranked 12th. The Bronchos will host Southern Nazarene on Wednesday.

Thursday’s game was Amel Muhamedagic’s first home win as head coach after taking over the position following Mike Cook’s retirement earlier this year. Cook recruited Tweedy during her junior year of high school and he is still attending some practices and serving as a source of motivation for players.

“Mike Cook was an absolute legacy to our program,” said Tweedy. “Started from scratch and we’re all going to miss him so much, but Amel has been watching him over the years and has been working for him for as long as I know and I think we all trust him with our lives.” 

Tweedy is a Speech-Language Pathology major and plans on taking her medical redshirt year for the 2026 season, then working in acute care in the hospital system.

“My grandpa passed away a few years ago, and I knew instantly that I wanted to be in the hospital setting to help people, especially in acute care and high-intense situations,” said Tweedy. “I just want to help people and for them to get back to where they can be able to do daily activities.”

Tweedy said that playing soccer for the Bronchos has taught her true work ethic, grit, determination and time management, all of which she plans on utilizing in her future career. 

“I just appreciate that I’ve learned that because I don’t think I would take that to heart as much if I didn’t play college soccer,” said Tweedy.