Game 10: Stephen F. Austin (6-2-1,
2-0 SLC) at Houston Baptist (2-5-3, 1-0-2 SLC)
Friday, Oct. 3
(7 p.m.) - Sorrels Field (Houston, Texas)
• Live Stats
Game 11: Stephen F. Austin (6-2-1,
2-0 SLC) vs. Sam Houston State (3-7, 2-1-0 SLC)
Sunday, Oct. 5
(1 p.m.) - SFA Soccer Field
• Live Stats | Video
NACOGDOCHES, Texas - The Stephen F. Austin
Ladyjack soccer team, after a 2-1 overtime thriller against Lamar last Sunday,
continues Southland Conference play with two matches this weekend. SFA will
play at Houston Baptist on Friday at 7 p.m., before returning to the SFA Soccer
Field to host Piney Woods rival Sam Houston State at 1 p.m. on Sunday.
"This
is a really important weekend regarding the race for the conference title,"
head coach Wally Crittenden said. "We play two teams currently in the top five
of the table in Houston Baptist in Houston and `The Battle of the Piney Woods'
here at home on Sunday against Sam Houston State. Both teams have been playing
their best soccer as of late, so there is no doubt they will demand our best.
As we head through the week, our coaching staff will work to make sure that we
appreciate every opportunity to make a play and improve as we progress closer
to Friday. It is so important to be prepared to execute and do your job the
best that you can regardless of opponent, but no doubt, in conference play each
of those opportunities is magnified.
"The
energy will be there, we have to make sure the execution is there too. We have
great talent on this team and if they are prepared mentally to match their
technical skill set, these will be really fun games to watch for sure. Anyone
looking for great soccer this weekend can find it at Houston Baptist's facility
on Friday and here in Nacogdoches at 1 p.m. for our match against Sam Houston
on Sunday."
NOTES:
• SFA vs. HBU - SFA and the Huskies will be
meeting for the fifth time on the pitch, when the two teams take the field on Friday
night. The Ladyjacks have not dropped a decision to HBU since first meeting in
2010, holding a 4-0 advantage. SFA is 2-0 against the Huskies on the road, picking
up 3-1 (9/12/10) and 2-0 (9/2/12) conquests in Houston. The Ladyjacks, who
defeated HBU 2-0 last season, have outscored HBU 10-1 across the all-time
series (four meetings). SFA at 2-0 and the Huskies at 1-0-2 are the only two
unbeaten teams remaining in SLC play.
• Scouting HBU - The Huskies enter Friday's match with a 2-5-3 overall record and a
1-0-2 mark in SLC play. HBU, 1-5-1 through its non-conference schedule, opened SLC
play with a 1-0 overtime win over Abilene Christian, before recording
consecutive 1-1 two overtime draws with Northwestern State and Lamar. Sophomore
Kristi O'Brien leads the Huskies with eight points on four goals through 10
matches played. She is one of four HBU players to score a goal this season,
joined by Natalie Hager (two goals), Rebekah Tovar (one goal) and Ellee Hall
(one goal). Senior goalkeeper Patty Walrath has played 778 of the 978 minutes
in the net for the Huskies this season. Through eight starts, all contests
started, Walrath has posted a 2-4-2 record in goal, recording 40 saves. In the
SLC, HBU ranks third in goals against average (1.20), fourth in goals allowed
(13) and saves (57), fifth in corners (40), ninth in points (24), assists (6)
and shots (114) and 10th in goals (9).
• SFA vs. SHSU - SFA and the Bearkats will be meeting for the 15th time on the
pitch, when the two teams face off on the SFA Soccer Field this Sunday. The
Ladyjacks leads the all-time series 12-2 with SHSU, having not dropped a
decision to the Bearkats since 2010. SFA is 7-0 all-time against SHSU at the
SFA Soccer Field. The Ladyjacks played the Bearkats twice last season, winning
1-0 in Huntsville, Texas, in overtime on October 6th, before downing SHSU 2-1
on November 8th in the semifinals of the Southland Conference Tournament.
• Scouting SHSU - The Bearkats enter Sunday's match with a 3-7 overall record and
2-1-0 mark in SLC play. SHSU, 1-6 through its non-conference schedule, opened SLC
play with a 3-2 loss Abilene Christian, before winning 4-1 and 4-2 over
Incarnate Word and McNeese State. The Bearkats will host Northwestern State on
Friday, before coming to Nacogdoches. Junior Ashley Alonzo leads SHSU with 11
points on five goals and one assist through seven matches played and six
starts. She is one of four Bearkats to score a goal this season, joined by Shelby
McDaniel (four goals), Allie Johnson (four goals) and Mariah Titus (one goal). Junior
goalkeeper Kylie Hambleton has played 720 of the 900 minutes in the net for
SHSU this season. Through eight starts, all contests started, Hambleton has
posted a 2-6 record in goal, recording 36 saves. In the SLC, SHSU ranks seventh
in goals (15) and corners (33), tied for seventh in points (40), eighth in
shots (130) and assists (10), 10th in goals against average (2.30) and 11th in
saves (39).
• Promotion(s) vs. SHSU - Fans are encouraged to come show their SFA spirit on Sunday
night for Kid's Day. SFA Athletics will have an inflatable moon bounce for
children and host a free 30-minute skills clinic following the match. The
Ladyjacks will also be continuing their "Frequent Fan Card" and
"Golden Goal" season-long promotions.
• Looking Ahead - Following Sunday's tilt with SHSU, the Ladyjacks will retake the
road for two consecutive matches. SFA will travel to McNeese State on Friday,
Oct. 12, before heading up to Abilene Christian on Sunday, Oct. 12.
• Crittenden On Last Time Out (against Lamar) - "It was a great result on the
home field for our home conference opener. Lamar came here with great purpose
and they played in a way that really demanded our best from a possession
standpoint. I thought we possessed the ball and managed the game well in the
first half. We definitely saw momentum shift going into the second half and
then our upperclassmen responded. It was a fantastic goal on the penalty kick -
the drive that Jasmine White had there to get in the box and draw the penalty
was fantastic. Then the finish by Zuri was very good. The game-winner by
Chelsea was huge. You have your senior scoring a big goal to get the result.
The fans will leave here excited, as they should. It was a great atmosphere.
There were a bunch of people here which was great to see."
• Raymond In The Record Books - Senior Chelsea Raymond, already the all-time
goals leader (45) and shots leader (275) at SFA, became the all-time career
points at SFA with a goal against Southern (9/14). Raymond scored her second
goal of the season at Louisiana-Monroe (9/12) to tie the all-time mark of 96
points, before striking on a one-on-one opportunity in the 53rd minute against
SU to hold the points outright with 98. Raymond has since added two more goals
to move her career points total to 102 (45 goals, 12 assists). She also sits
tied for seventh all-time with 12 assists in her career.
• Climbing In Assists - Seniors Zuri Prince and Chelsea Raymond continue to
climb the record book in assists. Prince entered the season with 13 assists and
has since added five through the first eight matches of the season to sit third
place all-time with 18 in her career. Raymond has 12 career assists, good
enough for a share of seventh all-time.
• SFA In The Rankings - The Ladyjacks currently possess the 21st best scoring
offense (2.56) in the country, also ranking 31st in points (6.67) and 34th in shutout
percentage (0.556). SFA currently sits 109th in RPI, the highest rank of any
team in the Southland. In the SLC, the Ladyjacks sit second in shutouts (5) and
goals against average (0.87), tied for third in goals (23), fourth in points
(60), assists (14) and corners (41) and fifth in shots (148).
• No Place Like Home - SFA owns a 107-41-12 (.704) all-time mark at home, but
it has been their recent success in Nacogdoches that stands out. The Ladyjacks
have posted a 34-4-0 record over last four-plus seasons at the SFA Soccer
Field.
• Dunnigan SLC Defensive Player of the Week - Senior Megan Dunnigan took home
her second Southland Conference Defensive Player of the Week honor of the
season, after helping the Ladyjacks to a 0-0 double overtime draw at LSU on
Monday, Sept. 8. The native of Round Rock, Texas (Vista Ridge HS), captained
the SFA back line, playing 99 minutes of lock-down defense in holding the
Tigers scoreless to pick up the first tie of the season for the Ladyjacks.
• Glick SLC Goalkeeper of the Week - Senior Morgan Glick took home
her second Southland Conference Goalkeeper of the Week honor of the season,
after helping the Ladyjacks to a 0-0 double overtime draw at LSU on Monday,
Sept. 8. The native of Boerne, Texas (Champion HS), anchored SFA, playing all
110 minutes in the net. The keeper made 10 saves and did not allow any goals
across 26 shots faced from the Tigers.
• Dunnigan SLC Defensive Player of the Week - Senior Megan Dunnigan took home
the first Southland Conference Defensive Player of the Week honor, after
helping the Ladyjacks to a 1-1 start to the 2014 season. The native of Round
Rock, Texas (Vista Ridge HS), captained the SFA back line to a 2-0 shutout of Oregon
State for the program's first-ever win in program history and followed by
limiting No. 9 Texas A&M to just one goal. Dunnigan played all 180 minutes
and took two shots.
• Glick SLC Goalkeeper of the Week - Senior Morgan Glick took home
the first Southland Conference Goalkeeper of the Week honor, after helping the
Ladyjacks to a 1-1 start to the 2014 season. The native of Boerne, Texas
(Champion HS), anchored the SFA back line to a 2-0 shutout of Oregon State for
the program's first-ever win in program history and followed by limiting No. 9
Texas A&M to just one goal. Glick, playing every minute in goal, made 10
saves across 39 shots faced, with eight coming against the Aggies.
• Entering The Season - The Ladyjacks enter the season looking to continue the
success that was achieved under Crittenden in his first season. In 2013, SFA
became the first three-peat conference champions in Southland history. Along
the way, the Ladyjacks matched the best regular season game win total with 15
wins, setting a new shutout record with 14 blankings of the opponent. SFA also
posted its first undefeated season on the road with a 9-0-3 mark. Last season,
the stout Ladyjack defense led the SLC in goals allowed (12) and shutouts (14)
while offense ranked fourth in goals (44) and assists (28). SFA, which at one
time led the nation in both respective statistical categories, ended the season
ranked ninth nationally with a .636 shutout percentage and 10th nationally with
a .520 goals against average.
• Picked To Click - SFA was picked to win the 2014 regular-season crown in
polls conducted by the league's coaches and sports information directors, the
conference office announced Thursday, Aug. 14. The Ladyjacks received 11
first-place votes from the coaches and nine first-place nods from the SIDs to
earn a total of 121 points in the coaches' poll and 119 in the SID poll.
• Preseason All-SLC - The Ladyjacks placed six on the 2014 preseason
all-conference teams, including a league-high four on the first team, the
Southland Conference office announced Wednesday, Aug. 13. Senior forwards
Chelsea Raymond and Zuri Prince and sister defenders Megan Dunnigan, a senior,
and Brooke Dunnigan, a sophomore, made up the first team, while junior
defenders Rachel Owens and Chantal Curry each earned a spot on the second team.
• Follow SFA on social media - Not following SFA athletics? Sign up or sign in now and like and follow to find out what's happening. You'll stay up-to-date on the latest news and receive live in-game updates at each and every match. Fans can follow the exploits of all 17 varsity sports, by following @SFA_Athletics on Twitter and Instagram or by liking the official Facebook page. Each sport also has a twitter account dedicated to that team. Fans can follow @SFA_Soccer on Twitter or like the Ladyjacks' official Facebook page.
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