SFA Primed To Host Lamar On Friday
9/25/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Game 9: Stephen F. Austin (5-2-1, 1-0 SLC) vs. Lamar (3-5, 1-0 SLC)
Friday, Sept. 26 (7 p.m.) - SFA Soccer Field
• Live Stats | SFA All-Access
NACOGDOCHES, Texas - The Stephen F. Austin Ladyjack soccer team, after a dominant 4-0 win at Northwestern State to open Southland Conference play on Sunday, returns to Nacogdoches for their league home opener on Friday. SFA will host Lamar in a 7 p.m. match at the SFA Soccer Field on National Lumberjack Day.
"I am looking forward to Friday," head coach Wally Crittenden said. "It is going to be a great match against a great team, as Lamar is going to come in here highly motivated. When you look at some different statistical indicators across the conference, when you look at fouls, that kind of gives you an idea of the competitive edge and physical commitment a team will bring. Lamar ranks just below us in fouls, so I have a feeling it is going to be a very tactful match that is going to be decided on execution of tactical schemes and how one team imposes themselves on the other from a possession standpoint as opposed to a combative standpoint.
"Although, I will tell you that the emotions will be high. To think that Lamar-SFA is not going to be an emotional game that results in fouls and challenges and kids being up to compete, I think that would be inaccurate. It will absolutely present that. I would expect them to come in and try to do what they do and execute on what they do better than we do. Ultimately, you got to protect your home field and you have to get points when you're at home. You want to win every game, but you got to make sure you're prepared to compete and use your home field advantage, because, with the travel demands in this conference, you got to make sure you can take points where you can get them."
NOTES:
• SFA vs. LU - SFA and the Lady Cardinals will be meeting for the ninth time on the pitch when the two teams take the field on Friday night. The Ladyjacks have not dropped a decision to LU since first meeting in 2007, holding an 8-0 advantage. SFA is 3-0 against the Lady Cardinals at home, with their last win coming in a 3-1 decision on Oct. 21, 2012. The Ladyjacks defeated LU 3-0 in Beaumont, Texas, last season.
• Scouting LU - The Lady Cardinals enter Friday's match with a 3-5 overall record and a 1-0 mark in SLC play. LU opened the season with a 1-0 win at San Jose State, before dropping their next five matches against Cal Poly (L, 2-1), Rice (L, 2-0), North Texas (L, 1-0), Texas State (L, 3-0) and Louisiana-Lafayette (L, 7-2). The Lady Cardinals snapped their losing streak with a 4-0 blast of Texas Southern (Sept. 15) and followed with a 4-1 win over Northwestern State on September 19th to carry a two-game winning streak into the second SLC match of the season. LU has been outscored 16-12 across their first eight matches. Senior forward Kimmy Albeno leads LU with 11 points on the season with five goals and one assist. Her five goals also are a team-high. Senior goalkeeper Bailey Fontenot has played 658 of the 708 total minutes in goal for the Lady Cardinals this season. Through eight matches, all contests started, Fontenot has posted a 3-5 record in the net for LU, recording 46 saves. As a team, the Lady Cardinals rank second in the league in saves (49), sixth in goals per game (1.50), assists (9) and assists per game (1.12), seventh in points (33) and goals (12), eighth in shots (101) and corners (27), tied for eighth for goals allowed (2.00) and ninth in goals-against average (2.03).
• Promotion(s) vs. LU - Fans are encouraged to come show their Lumberjack spirit on Friday night for National Lumberjack Day. SFA Athletics will have a foam axe giveaway for the first 250 fans in attendance and a halftime performance by the Sylvan Lumberjack Team. The Ladyjacks will also be continuing their "Frequent Fan Card" and "Golden Goal" season-long promotions.
• Looking Ahead - Following Friday's tilt with LU, the Ladyjacks will retake the road, traveling to Houston Baptist for a 7 p.m. match at Randy and Cheryl Sorrels Field on Friday, Oct. 3.
• Crittenden On Last Time Out (at Northwestern State) - "Another good test for our team on a really hot afternoon on the road to open up conference play. We played against a high-pressing and physical Northwestern State that demanded we match a high physical commitment while maintaining our quality. Our kids did a great job at that task and the result was some really great goals by multiple players. It feels great to start conference on the right foot and with us playing really well."
• Raymond In The Record Books - Senior Chelsea Raymond, already the all-time goals leader (43) and shots leader (266) 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 one goal to move her career points total to 100 (44 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 24th best scoring offense (2.63) and shutout percentage (0.625) in the nation. SFA is also tied for 34th in points (7.00), while sitting 120th in RPI, the highest rank of any team in the Southland. In the SLC, the Ladyjacks sit second in shutouts (5), goals per game (2.62), fewest goals allowed (7) and goals against average (0.85), fourth in points (54), goals (12), corners (37) and assists per game (1.50) and fifth in shots (127) and assists (12).
• No Place Like Home - SFA owns a 106-41-12 (.704) all-time mark at home, but it has been their recent success in Nacogdoches that stands out. The Ladyjacks have posted a 33-4-0 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.
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