Ladyjacks Poised For Pivotal Showdown at Central Arkansas on Friday

CONWAY, Arkansas – Throughout the 2017 season, the Stephen F. Austin women's soccer team has shown that it is capable of producing all the necessary components to be a championship caliber team. A solid defense, a dangerous goal-scoring offense, excellent team chemistry on and off the field, outstanding physical fitness and a strong understanding of schemes and formations are all things have been on display by the Ladyjacks in 2017.

On Friday, the team will look to piece these components together to get a pivotal three points as they take on Southland leader Central Arkansas (7-6, 4-1 SLC) in a battle of two top-five conference teams in Conway, Arkansas. The Ladyjacks (6-6, 3-2 SLC) have found themselves on the short end of several tough results this season, but are as committed as ever to competing for championship glory in the 2017 campaign.

"They (Central Arkansas) have got good players and a good identity as a program", said SFA head coach Wally Crittenden. "They'll be athletic, they like to play the width of the field, which will benefit us as well and allow us to match up athlete vs. athlete. We'll be playing a great team on a great playing surface, and it will be every bit a game of two top teams going at each other.

Both teams will have momentum carrying them into the match, with UCA having won two straight games, and SFA having competed well and scored four goals in two weekend matches. The weekend is also a solo game weekend around the conference, which means that both teams will be well rested and able to focus solely on Friday night's match instead of two matches on the weekend.

The Sugar Bears are a very capable offensive team, even while reigning Southland Conference Player of the Year Camille Bassett has been quiet on the offensive end this season. Despite leading her team in shots this season by a wide margin, Bassetts two's goals this season are dwarfed by her 13-goal campaign in 2016, leading to a tie with SFA's Hanna Barker with 30 points on the season. Even still, the Sugar Bears do not rely on any one player to be successful on the attack, and have gotten goals from 13 different players this season, led by Dayna Mounie's four tallies.

"Camille Bassett is a great player that's been relatively quiet this year, but is a threat to break out at any moment", explained Crittenden. "There is no doubt that she is a catalyst for them on offense, and she brings and energy to that team. Dayna Mounie is a good left winger for them, and she's going to present some challenges for us on defense as well. There's a lot of things they do well on the attack."

Both Mounie and Bassett are names that the 'Jacks are familiar with, as both

To combat UCA's offense, which ranks as the Southland's second highest scoring, the Ladyjacks counter with one of the more stout defensive units in the league. SFA has surrendered just four goals in conference play through five games, with all but one of those goals coming via a set piece or penalty kick. In the run of play, the Ladyjacks have done an excellent job in limiting their opponents on the attack.

"At the end of the day, I think we're doing a pretty good job defending, but we need to make a few more plays here and there", said Crittenden. "We need to keep doing what we've been doing on defense, and focus on limiting set pieces and free kicks. We're going to approach this game with the same mentality that we did the games with McNeese and Lamar. We need to make sure that our mentality is set, that our focus and composure is where we want it to be for this game."

After finishing second in the Southland in goals last season with 42 (2.33/game) the Ladyjacks have regressed slightly to the tune of a 1.33 goal per game average this season. If last weekend's matches were any indicator, however, the Ladyjacks offense may be starting to come together as anticipated. The Ladyjacks hung two goals on the very stout defense of McNeese on Friday in a very efficient offensive performance, then traveled to Beaumont and scored a pair of goals against the Cardinals as well. Additionally, members of each line of play got in on the action for the 'Jacks in the weekend slate, as five different players registered a point.

In keeping tune with their offense, the Sugar Bears are no slouch on the defensive end as well, tying SFA for the second lowest total in conference goals allowed. The defense has done well to limit shots, and the play of Lauren Mercuri (7-3) in net has been a boon for UCA as well. The junior goalkeeper has posted an .823 save percentage, allowing just 11 goals all season and making 51 saves. For her efforts over the weekend, Mercuri was named Goalkeeper of the Week, representing UCA on the weekly awards alongside defender Stacia Carroll (Defensive Player of the Week).

It goes without saying that the stakes are high for Friday's game, as the Ladyjacks could conceivably move into a tie for first place pending other results around the league. The matchup will be the 12^th of the all-time series between the two teams, with the Ladyjacks carrying a 7-2- edge all-time. Despite that, the results have not been favorable for SFA in both of the previous two matchups, with the Sugar Bears dispatching SFA on their way to the conference regular season championship last season, and a tie between the two in the 2015 season.

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Ladyjacks Poised For Pivotal Showdown at Central Arkansas on Friday

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