Ladyjacks Head to Incarnate Word, Abilene Christian for Weekend Road Matchups

Friday, October 20

San Antonio, TX

5:00 p.m.

Stephen F. Austin

Incarnate Word

Ladyjacks Head to Incarnate Word, Abilene Christian for Weekend Road Matchups

10/18/2017 1:41:00 PM | Women's Soccer

By: Kevin Meyer | Assistant Director of Athletic Media Relations

NACOGDOCHES, Texas – With a spot in the 2017 Southland Conference Tournament already secured, the Stephen F. Austin women's soccer team will hit the road this weekend looking to earn two good results and keep on track for the league's regular season title. SFA is just three points out of first place, and with tough matchups awaiting first-place Lamar and McNeese in the waning weeks of the season, could be poised to close that gap.

A vital step in that formula is keeping pace in the win column, and road tests against a reeling but desperate Incarnate Word squad and a capable Abilene Christian team are far from guaranteed. The Ladyjacks (9-6 overall, 6-2 SLC) will face a Cardinals squad on the brink of elimination from postseason contention during Friday's match, and should expect to see the Cardinals best efforts despite being mired in a 2-11 season. In ACU on Sunday, the Ladyjacks will face a Wildcats squad that is 6-9 on the season (4-4 SLC) and looking to improve their tournament seed with a result.

Friday's match against Incarnate Word is scheduled for a 5:00 p.m. start at Gayle and Tom Benson Stadium in San Antonio, while Sunday's matinee at Elmer Gray Stadium in Abilene will start at 1:00 p.m.

"We like the trip to San Antonio, we've already made that trip this year when we've played UTSA, so we're comfortable in that environment" said SFA head coach Wally Crittenden. "Incarnate Word is certainly going to challenge us from an emotional standpoint, a physicality standpoint, and they're in a position where they have to get a result to keep their postseason hopes alive, so they will no doubt play with an urgency and a commitment that we will have to match. I think we match up well on a personnel standpoint, I think we match up well on a shape standpoint, and I think the biggest priority for us is going to be making sure we are ready to match and even raise the intensity of that match."

A cursory look at the Southland Conference statistics sets the scene for the matchups, with the major storyline being the matchup between one of the better offenses in conference play in SFA versus two of the conference's worst defensive teams in UIW and Abilene Christian. Incarnate Word is tied for the most goals given up in conference play after a 7-0 thrashing at the hands of McNeese last weekend, while ACU has had struggles of their own, giving up 14 goals in conference play, a figure that is the fourth highest in league play. The Wildcats also own just a .576 save percentage in conference play, far and away the lowest mark in the league in that category.

After falling behind last season's historic goal scoring pace, Stephen F. Austin has seven goals in the past three games, including a pair of three-goal wins over the weekend. The team's 15 goals through conference play is tied with Abilene Christian for the fifth best scoring mark in the conference, and gives SFA a +10 margin in scoring through eight conference games thus far. The team has gotten contributions from a handful of different players as of late, as freshmen Sophia Fondren and Katelyn Termini continue to make plays on the offensive end. Breanna Moore notched three points over the weekend and may be starting to hit her stride, and Madison Hall has already surpassed last season's goal total, with four strikes this season. The host of weapons that SFA has on the offensive end is what makes them so dangerous as a team, and puts added pressure on teams that would try to game plan against Hanna Barker (seven goals, six assists), the team's leader in points.

As part of SFA's current three-game winning streak, both the offense and the defense have been superb. The team has yielded just one run of play goal in the past seven matches, with two of the five goals surrendered in that span coming off of penalty kicks and the other two coming off of set pieces. Ranking second in the conference for fewest goals allowed in league play is one thing, but recognizing how those goals have been allowed is another, and the 'Jacks have worked to correct the mistakes in technique and over aggressiveness that have yielded those opportunities. Embracing the starting role, goalkeeper Allyson Smith has posted a 5-1 record in her past six games to go along with a .902 save percentage, a 0.67 GAA and four shutouts. Her efforts in week eight led to her being recognized as the Southland Conference Goalkeeper of the Week, but her recent stretch has seen her play like the conference's best goalkeeper.

Smith and the rest of the SFA defense will face each of their opponent's best shots this weekend. The Cardinals have scored a Southland-worst eight goals on the season, with forward Sam Batley providing three of those strikes. The Wildcats, however, are not lacking offense in the campaign, as they have posted 15 goals in league play and have 27 on the season. Dylan Owens (14 points) and Christina Arteaga (12 points) have formed a solid 1-2 punch for ACU this season, with a balanced scoring attack behind them as well. Last season, the Ladyjacks scored a late goal to lift them over the Wildcats 3-2 at SFA Soccer Field, before registering a 2-0 shutout against UIW two days later.

"I'm hoping that ACU gets a great match out of Sam Houston State on Friday, because SHSU is in a position where they need a result to get into the tournament, so I hope that game will demand a lot out of ACU on Friday night", Crittenden added. "We have some good balance and depth throughout our roster, and so I feel confident that we will be as fresh as we need to be on Sunday. Abilene Christian has an excellent facility and we've always played well there, both because of the quality of the field and the stakes that are always in play. Sunday will challenge us, it will be a fantastic match between two talented teams."

SFA will carry the momentum into each matchup this weekend, as the Cardinals are in the midst of a six-game slide in which they have been outscored 18-1, and the Wildcats have dropped two straight contests, surrendering a trio of goals in each.

With the expansion of the conference tournament to eight teams this season, the conference standings have become a battleground, as every team's postseason hopes remain alive with three games left on the schedule. This added intensity has led to a handful of different scenarios throughout the league table, whereas separation in previous seasons between a few select teams and the rest of the field negated the possibility of a highly contested race for the regular season title. SFA has an excellent opportunity to move ahead in the standings in the final three weeks of play, as both McNeese and Lamar will face fourth place Houston Baptist as well as each other in the final three weeks, promising movement atop the table. SFA defeated McNeese 2-0 and dropped 1-0 and 3-2 decisions to Houston Baptist and Lamar, respectively, with both matches being decided by the referees instead of the players on the field.

"What I do think is that as a whole the league is the tightest it has been since I've been here", Crittenden said. "In the past five years, there has been separation with the top two teams, but as of right now, depending on results the top four teams all have a shot at the top spot. It's in our favor that one and two still have to play each other, and one and two and four still need to play each other. From a fan standpoint, it's a very exciting final three weeks, everyone is fighting and the expansion to eight teams in the tournament has raised that intensity and that's exciting because that's how the league should be."