SFA Heads to Arkansas for Pair of Matches
8/31/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Aug. 31, 2005
NACOGDOCHES, Texas - The Stephen F. Austin Ladyjack soccer team picked up some momentum with quality matches against two Big 12 teams on last weekend's season-opening road trip. This weekend, the Ladyjacks will try to keep that momentum going when they head to Jonesboro, Ark. for two games at the Arkansas State Lady Indian Invitational.
SFA will take on Arkansas-Little Rock Friday at 2 p.m.,, then meet Arkansas State Sunday in a 1:30 p.m. match. Both contests will be played at Arkansas State's Indian Soccer Park in Jonesboro.
The Ladyjacks are fresh off last Sunday's 1-0 victory at Baylor. The win came on the heels of a season-opening 3-0 loss at Texas A&M, a nationally ranked program.
"The standards those games set for us have transferred into our training," SFA head coach Jaime Frias said. "The girls now know they can play and compete against quality opponents like A&M and Baylor."
Arkansas-Little Rock is coming off an 11-0 loss at Oklahoma State. The Trojans dropped their season opener to Missouri State, 4-0. Sunday's opponent, Arkansas State, also brings an 0-2 record to its 4:30 p.m. match with Tulsa on Friday. Last weekend, the Lady Indians fell to Missouri State (2-1) and Oklahoma State (3-0).
"At this point, we're focusing on us and what we need to do to get better," Frias said. "Again, we've got two away games, and it's a longer trip this time. We're trying to see how our girls respond to that."
Looking Back: The Ladyjacks opened the season in College Station, Texas with a 3-0 loss to Texas A&M. The Aggies are ranked No. 7 in the latest Soccer Buzz Magazine national poll. Texas A&M fired off 33 shots in the contest, and SFA senior goalkeeper Natascia Michalezki recorded nine saves.
Two days later, Michalezki earned her first shutout of the season, and the Ladyjacks picked up their first win, toppling Baylor, 1-0, in Waco. Freshman midfielder Amanda Lackey scored the game-winning goal on a penalty kick late in the first half.
The Ladyjacks played in front of a Texas A&M crowd of nearly 6,000 fans in their opener. The 5,447 people in attendance set new school and NCAA attendance records for a soccer match.
"It's good we got to experience that environment," Frias said. "A lot of positive things came out off it. It was great for the girls."
Looking Ahead: After returning from Arkansas, the Ladyjacks will make one last weekend road trip before playing Louisiana Tech in their home opener. SFA will head to Houston next weekend for matches against Rice and Houston. The Ladyjacks will meet Rice on Friday, Sept. 9, in a 7 p.m. contest. The match against Houston is slated for Sunday, Sept. 11, at 5 p.m. SFA will host Louisiana Tech on Friday, Sept. 16. The match is set for a 7 p.m. start at the SFA Intramural Complex.
Players of the Week: Two Ladyjacks were named to the season's first Aeropostale Soccer Student Athlete of the Week list on Tuesday. Michalezki was named goalkeeper of the week after recording 15 saves combined and a shutout win in SFA's opening weekend. Senior defender Kim Gray shared defensive player of the week honors with Louisiana-Monroe's Nicole Nichols.
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