Ladyjacks Set For UTEP Miner Classic
8/27/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Aug. 27, 2009
NACOGDOCHES, Texas -
WEEKEND SCHEDULE
Stephen F. Austin at the UTEP Miner Classic
SFA at UTEP
Friday, Aug. 28 • 7:30 p.m.
El Paso, Texas
SFA vs. Utah State
Sunday, Aug. 30 • 10 a.m.
El Paso, Texas
GAME INFORMATION
This Week: The Stephen F. Austin Ladyjack soccer team will play its first full weekend of the season, when the squad travels to El Paso, Texas, for two games in the UTEP Miner Classic. SFA will take on host team UTEP Friday night then meet Utah State Sunday morning. Both teams are first-time opponents for SFA. The Ladyjacks come into the weekend with a 1-0-0 record after opening the season with a 3-1 win at Louisiana-Lafayette last Sunday. Both UTEP and Utah State will bring unblemished records to the 'Classic after opening the season with wins this past weekend.
Last Week: The Ladyjacks gave up their first goal in more than five games -- dating to last season -- and went to halftime of their season opener at Louisiana-Lafayette tied, 1-1. But redshirt freshman Breanne Vernon scored two goals in the second half to push SFA to a 3-1 verdict and its first season-opening road win since 2001. The Ladyjacks played nearly air-tight defense, holding the Ragin' Cajuns to just five shots total and only two shots on goal. At the other end of the field, SFA blasted away at the net 25 times with 12 of those shots landing on goal.
The Miners: UTEP opened its season last Friday with a 1-0 overtime thriller against first-year program New Mexico State. The win improved the Miners to 8-1-0 in nine season-openers under head coach Kevin Cross. UTEP is 62-7-3 at home since 2002, having outscored the opposition by an average of a little more than two goals per game in that time span.
The Aggies: Utah State knocked off Northern Arizona, 2-0, in its opener on Friday. The Aggies are coming off a 13-8-1 record in 2008 that saw them win the Western Athletic Conference title with a 7-0-0 league mark. That 13-win season marked Utah State's third consecutive campaign with double digits in the win column. The Aggies are projected to repeat as WAC champions. Utah State will open play in the Miner Classic on Friday afternoon with a game against Texas Tech.
Coverage: Both SFA games this weekend will be available via Gametracker through UTEP's athletics Web site. Friday's contest against the Miners will be streamed live on UTEP's All-Access portal. See links below.
Gametracker for UTEP Game
Live Video for UTEP Game (requires subscription)
Gametracker for Utah State Game
Next Week: SFA will play its first home game of the regular season when the Ladyjacks entertain Rice on Friday, Sept. 4. The game against the Owls is set for a 7 p.m. start from the SFA Soccer Complex. The Ladyjacks will be seeking their first victory against Rice in four tries.
NEWS AND NOTES
STREAK-STOPPER: Junior goalkeeper Courtney Bauder surrendered a game-tying goal to Louisiana-Lafayette in the 38th minute. That marked the first time in more than five games for Bauder to give up a goal. Her shutout streak covered five complete games and lasted a total of 561 minutes and 36 seconds, dating to a game against Texas State last season.
WAITING HER TURN: After sitting out the 2007 and 2008 seasons recovering from a knee injury, redshirt freshman Breanne Vernon made an impact in her first game as a Ladyjack. The Calgary native scored two second-half goals in SFA's 3-1 win over Louisiana-Lafayette. She is the first freshman to score a goal in a season-opener since Kelli Wilson scored as a true freshman in the 2006 debut, a 4-1 home win against Grambling.
GRANDE OPENING: With its 3-1 win over Louisiana-Lafayette, SFA moves to 7-7-1 all-time in season openers. The Ladyjacks are now 3-5-0 all-time when opening the season on the road. Sunday's victory is the team's first season-opening road win since defeating Arkansas State, 1-0, in the 2001 opener.
FRESH LEGS: With 13 true freshmen, one redshirt rookie and four transfers on the 2009 roster, the Ladyjacks have more first-year players (18) than any other team in the Southland Conference. The next-closest rookie total is 15, shared by UTSA and Lamar.
First-Year Players in the SLC
Team........Players
SFA..........18
UTSA........15
LU...........15
SHSU........13
SELA........10
NWLA........10
MCN..........10
UCA..........7
TXST........6
NICH........3
NEW FACES, NEW PLACES: To go along with the 18 first-year players on the Ladyjack roster for the 2009 season, the team will play a total of five first-time opponents in nine non-conference games. So far, SFA is 1-0-0 against the fresh competition.
ROAD-TESTED: SFA opened the 2009 season with a 3-1 victory at Louisiana-Lafayette. That win moved the Ladyjacks' road unbeaten streak to six straight games, dating to a 1-0 verdict against Southeastern Louisiana in last season's SLC opener. SFA went undefeated in SLC road games last year (4-0-1), marking the third time in program history that's happened. The Ladyjacks will play nine road games and one neutral-site contest in 2009.
NINE WINS: SFA finished the 2008 season with a 9-7-2 overall record. This marks the sixth consecutive season for the Ladyjacks to pick up at least nine victories and is the program's sixth straight winning season. The last time an SFA squad failed to reach the nine-win plateau was 2002, also the last time the Ladyjacks posted a losing season (7-9-4).
BUILDING MOMENTUM: Since its beginnings in 1995, the Ladyjack soccer program has compiled an overall record of 123-125-25 (.496). However, the Ladyjacks have really turned the corner in the last seven years. Since the 2002 season, SFA is 78-43-14 (.630) overall. In that same stretch, the Ladyjacks have gone 47-12-10 (.746) in Southland Conference play with three regular-season championships and a tournament title to their credit.
SAFE AT HOME: SFA holds an all-time record of 71-33-12 (.658) in home games, but that mark is even better at the current venue. Since moving from Homer Bryce Stadium to the SFA Soccer Complex for the 2003 season, the Ladyjacks are 40-6-5 (.827) in home contests. Against Southland Conference foes, SFA is a very tough 23-3-3 (.833) at the Soccer Complex.
TITLE TOWN: The SFA women's soccer program has brought an unprecedented five Southland Conference regular-season championships back to Nacogdoches. That total is nearly half of the 12 possible regular-season titles in SLC Soccer history.
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