Ladyjacks Begin Home Slate Friday Night
9/10/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Stephen F. Austin (0-5-0) vs. ULM (3-3-1)
Friday, September 11 • 7:00 p.m.
SFA Soccer Field • Nacogdoches, Texas
Watch Live • Live Stats
Stephen F. Austin (0-5-0) vs. Texas State (3-2-0)
Sunday, September 13 • 1:00 p.m.
SFA Soccer Field • Nacogdoches, Texas
Watch Live • Live Stats
NACOGDOCHES, Texas -- Stephen F. Austin women's soccer fans will finally get a chance to see their Ladyjacks in action at SFA Soccer Field this weekend as the team is set to open the home portion of the schedule on Friday night. The Ladyjacks play host to Louisiana-Monroe starting at 7:00 p.m. on Friday before taking on Texas State on Sunday afternoon at 1:00 p.m.
The Ladyjacks get the opportunity to play in front of their home fans for the first time this year on Friday night after a very difficult road stretch to begin the 2015 season. SFA played four teams from Power Five conferences, most recently dropping games over the weekend at No. 24 Arizona State and against undefeated Arizona at the Sun Devil Desert Classic in Tempe.
"We have experienced some adversity, we've faced some challenges and we're definitely uncomfortable, but we're excited about getting on the field in front of our home crowd this weekend," said head coach Wally Crittenden. "We want to see how much we've improved after going through this tough opening stretch on the road against some of the best teams in the nation. There's no doubt that we have had significant improvement because of the challenges that we've faced.
"The energy from the team right now is good and we had a great week of practices this week so our preparation is good. Now it's just time to cut loose and play."
The Ladyjacks have been dominant at home over the last five years, posting a 39-4-0 record on their home soil. During three of those years (2011, 2012, 2014), SFA went undefeated. The Ladyjacks will go for their ninth consecutive win in Nacogdoches on Friday night.
"Playing in front of our home fans -- the SFA students, families from the community, our players' families -- while going through our normal routine at home will be very nice," said Crittenden. "For the first time this year, we'll have the opportunity to prepare from the comforts of our own locker room and utilize a full week of practice as opposed to the short weeks we've had with significant travel. To play at home is very special. With our setting and with our facilities, our kids are very excited. A lot of good things are on the horizon."
Fans can watch both home matches this weekend via a live stream on SFAJacks.com and can also follow live stats through the links above. More updates will be provided on Twitter @SFA_Soccer.
NOTES
SFA vs. ULM: The Ladyjacks and Warhawks will be meeting for the 14th time when the two teams take the field on Friday evening. SFA holds an 8-3-2 advantage in the all-time series, winning six of the last eight meetings (6-1-1) dating back to the 2001 season. The Ladyjacks edged the Warhawks the last time out, earning a 3-2 comeback victory on September 12 last year in Monroe. Hanna Barker scored two goals, including one in the first minute and one to tie things up at 2-2, before Chelsea Raymond recorded the game-winner in the late stages of the match. SFA is 4-0-2 all-time against ULM at home.
Scouting ULM: The Warhawks currently sit at 3-3-1 this season with wins against Akransas-Pine Bluff, Mississippi Valley State and SLC member Northwestern State. ULM has made its way around the Southland as they have also dropped games to McNeese State (2-1) and Central Arkansas (1-0) while drawing even with Southeastern Louisiana (2-2). The Warhawks were picked to finish 10th out of 10 teams in the Sun Belt Conference in a preseason poll conducted by the league. Senior midfielder Mariah Mitchell leads the team with three goals this year with senior forward Karlea Fehr, junior midfielder Mary Ashton Lembo and sophomore midfielder Danielle LaFrance each contributing two goals.
SFA vs. Texas State: The Ladyjacks are 10-11-2 all-time against former Southland member Texas State heading into Sunday's showdown, although SFA is 7-3-0 in the last 10 matchups since 2005. The last meeting between the programs was on August 25, 2013 in Nacogdoches. A penalty kick was the difference in a 1-0 SFA victory.
Scouting Texas State: The Bobcats enter the weekend with a 3-2-0 overall record this year. They have already dabbled in the SLC, losing to McNeese State 1-0 on August 28 and beating Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 3-1 on September 4. The Bobcats, who were picked third out of 10 in the preseason Sun Belt Conference polls, will play Northwestern State on Friday night before making the trip to Nacogdoches. Junior forward Lauren Prater currently has the team-lead with three goals in 2015 with sophomore forward Kassi Hormuth posting a team-best four assists. Senior forward Lynsey Curry is the only other Bobcat with more than one goal this season with two.
Last Time Out: The Ladyjacks are coming off two losses against No. 24 Arizona State and undefeated Arizona in Tempe at the Sun Devil Desert Classic last weekend. SFA couldn't get on the board in a 2-0 loss to the Sun Devils and a 3-0 loss to the Wildcats, but redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Lillie Ehlert and her defense kept the Ladyjacks in both games. Ehlert recorded a career-high 11 saves on Friday night at ASU and then matched that total on Sunday afternoon against Arizona. She came up with a huge diving save on a penalty kick in the 54th minute of Friday's match to keep the Ladyjacks within reach down 1-0.
`A' Effort for Ehlert: Redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Lillie Ehlert was the star of the weekend for SFA in Tempe. With a career-high 11 saves in each game over the weekend, she bumped her total to 34 saves on the year. After Sunday's match against Arizona, that total was the 22nd best in the country. As a team, the Ladyjacks rank 20th nationally and first in the SLC in total saves per game (7.60). Freshman keeper Allyson Smith stopped two shots against Arkansas to contribute to that average.
Home Sweet Home: SFA has enjoyed a significant home field advantage over the last five years and hope to continue the trend when the home portion of the schedule begins on Friday. The Ladyjacks are 39-4-0 at SFA Soccer Field since 2010, including undefeated home slates in 2011, 2012 and 2014. SFA is currently riding an eight-match home winning streak after going a perfect 8-0-0 at home last season.
Seeing Yellow: After five games to start the 2015 season, the Ladyjacks have been given six yellow cards -- the 17th most in the nation. Attributed to their physical play, SFA has been booked in each of the last four games. The six cards are the most given to any team in the Southland Conference.
No Sub Needed: Junior defender Brooke Dunnigan and senior midfielder Rachel Owens have played every minute of the 2015 season so far for the Ladyjacks, staying on the field for a total of 450 minutes over five games. Junior defender Kelly Ann Craig has been on the pitch a majority of the time as well, playing 427 minutes thus far. Dunnigan led the team in minutes played in 2014 with 1,781. She was the only Ladyjack to start all 20 games.
Strength of Schedule: The Ladyjacks are preparing themselves for the Southland Conference regular season with a difficult non-conference slate to begin the year. SFA has already faced teams from the SEC (Arkansas), Big-10 (Minnesota) and Pac-12 (Arizona, No. 24 Arizona State). The first five opponents on the Ladyjacks' 2015 schedule currently boast a 16-5-3 record combined over the first three weeks.
Preseason All-SLC: The Ladyjacks were well represented with the release of the 2015 Preseason All-Southland Conference teams, earning five selections between the first and second squads. Junior defenderBrooke Dunnigan and senior defender Chantal Curry were each named to the first team with sophomore forward Hanna Barker, senior midfielder Rachel Owens and junior midfielder Amanda Doyle representing SFA on the second team.
SFA Picked to Win Fifth Straight SLC Title: SFA was picked to win the 2015 Southland Conference regular season championship in polls conducted by the league's coaches and sports information directors, the conference office announced on Wednesday, August 12. The Ladyjacks claimed 116 points with eight first-place votes in the coaches' poll and 119 points with nine first-place votes in the SID poll.
Looking Ahead: After this weekend's games against ULM and Texas State, SFA will open up Southland Conference play with Northwestern State at home on Friday, September 18. The Ladyjacks will play two games at home the following week to conclude their five-game home stint.
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