Ladyjacks Embark on Final Non-Conference Road Trip With Pair of Weekend Matches

Friday, September 8

Las Cruces, NM

4:00 p.m.

Stephen F. Austin

New Mexico State

Ladyjacks Embark on Final Non-Conference Road Trip With Pair of Weekend Matches

9/6/2017 5:02:00 PM | Women's Soccer

SFA will face New Mexico State on Friday and UTEP on Sunday

By: Kevin Meyer | Assistant Director of Athletic Media Relations

Match Five vs. New Mexico State
Friday, September 8 - 4:00 p.m. CT
NMSU Soccer Complex | Las Cruces, New Mexico
Live Stats | Video | Game Notes | 2017 Soccer Media Guide

Match Six vs. UTEP
Sunday, September 10 - 1:00 p.m CT
University Field | El Paso, Texas
Live Stats | Video (pay link) | Game Notes | 2017 Soccer Media Guide

NACOGDOCHES, Texas – In what has become a familiar scenario to start the 2017 campaign, the Stephen F. Austin women's soccer team will hit the road to face two more non-conference opponents this weekend. The 'Jacks first head to Las Cruces, New Mexico for a matchup with the New Mexico State Aggies of the WAC on Friday at 4:00 p.m., before traveling to face UTEP in El Paso on Sunday afternoon.

Playing away from home is something that the Ladyjacks have grown accustomed to in the opening stanza of the 2017 campaign, as the team has yet to play its first game at SFA Soccer Field, with one home match canceled due to Hurricane Harvey and the other pushed to nearby Nacogdoches High. Prior to that, SFA had made separate road trips to Mississippi to face two teams there, and forging ahead to San Antonio to face UTSA in a match that nearly got the axe itself due to the hurricane. Despite the adversity, SFA has evened its record to 2-2 on the season with wins in each of the last two matches over UTSA and Texas State.

In New Mexico State, the Ladyjacks face a formerly undefeated opponent that has been humbled in its last two matches, both lopsided losses to Colorado State and Northern Colorado. The sting from those defeats likely dampened the spirits of an Aggies squad that began the season 4-0-1, including wins over UTEP and New Mexico. Nonetheless, the Aggies remain a capable offensive squad that has scored in all but one match (a 0-0 draw), and went off for eight goals in a victory over SWAC opponent Alcorn State in a victory on August 28^th. Junior forward Audriana Chavez has tallied 11 points (4 goals, 3 assists) in seven games, while teammate Aileen Galicia has netted three goals in seven starts.

"I think the big thing is that we know their coaches, we know their program, and they've had success thus far with a 4-2-1 record", said SFA head coach Wally Crittenden. "As you look at their results, they've scored a goal in every game except one, so they're used to scoring goals, even in the two games they lost by significant margins this past weekend. They've won a lot of games, they've scored plenty of goals and they've played a good mix of teams up to this point, so I think it's going to be an experienced and balanced team that is used to winning."

As part of its impressive start to the season, New Mexico State was also strong on the defensive end. Junior goalkeeper Dmitri Fong put up video game-esque numbers in goal, stopping 29 0f 30 shots faced in five starts to post a .968 save percentage on the season. When the Aggies faced Colorado State and Northern Colorado, goalkeeper Ashley Martin drew the assignment in net and was tagged with nine goals in the two games, while making 13 saves. Having allowed just one goal in the five matches prior to last weekend, the Aggies have now allowed 10 overall through seven contests, for an average of 1.42 goals allowed per contest.

Friday's matchup between the two teams will be just the second between the two in history, with the only other contest taking place in 2013 and resulting in a 2-0 SFA victory. After facing the WAC-leading Aggies, Stephen F. Austin will travel to El Paso to face a Miners squad that the program is far more familiar with, with the programs having met a total of eight times since 1999. The series is tied 4-4, with each side holding a 3-1 advantage at home, and the 'Jacks have gotten the better of the series of late, winning the last three matchups in 2011 (home), 2013 (away) and 2016 (home).

The Miners have had some tough sledding this year, finding themselves on the wrong end of the result in their first five matches before finally hitting pay-dirt with a win against Idaho State on Sunday. All but one game of the 2017 schedule has been decided by one goal for the Miners, and that game (a 3-1 loss to Wyoming) has also been the only non-overtime decision for the team as well. UTEP's schedule also plays a part in the team's subpar record, as the Miners have had to run a gamut of capable programs that lend to the overall strength of schedule for the 2017 season.

"We've played UTEP pretty frequently throughout the past couple years", Crittenden added. "The first thing you need to look at with that squad is the quality of opponents that they have played, that is a schedule that has some pretty significant challenges in it, both home and away. They are all one goal games, except for Wyoming, and all were overtime games except for that one as well, so they are very used to playing in tight, one-goal games. Now what also gets me excited is that we have also played in tight, one goal games in every match this season, and the experiences we are going through are making us better."

The 'Jacks know a thing or two about close games, having seen all four matches decided by a goal. After dropping a 1-0 decision at Mississippi State, the 'Jacks lost to Southern Miss by a 3-2 margin, then rattled off a pair of 2-1 victories at UTSA and against Texas State.

The 1-5 Miners are a young team, which possesses a lack of depth despite returning six starters to the fold from the 2016 squad. Overall, 20 of the team's 27 players are either freshmen (12) or sophomores (eight), with only three seniors and four juniors on the team. One of those juniors is goalkeeper Alyssa Palacios, who is currently ranked 18^th in the country in saves per game, at 6.43/game. Palacios has started every game in goal for the Miners, surrendering 10 goals thus far and making 41 saves overall. Last season, SFA defended its home field with a 2-0 victory to even up the all-time series with the Miners, a fact that also lends itself to the buildup of Sundays match.

"I expect UTEP to be a big, physical, fast team that will be very energetic and committed to getting a favorable response after the result we got against them last year", Crittenden said. "I know their coach will have them ready to play on Sunday to try and make amends for last season's result, and we expect them to be a pretty direct team, which is what we've seen from multiple opponents thus far so it won't be anything we haven't seen already, but we will need to be up for the physical challenge before anything else."

Defensively, the Ladyjacks have been solid this season and continue to improve. While still searching for its first shutout, the team has held three of the four opponents to just one goal, including SEC squad Mississippi State. The 'Jacks possess not one but two starting quality goalkeepers in Allyson Smith and Madeline Talbot, and the duo have combined to give SFA an 80% save percentage.

"Defensively, I've been pleased with how we have gotten better through the year against good teams" Crittenden said. "There are still some personnel groups we have to address, as we look to play a little better, tighter and cleaner, but overall we held Texas State to just five shots and that was excellent. Part of that is in our possession and holding onto the ball, and the other part is recognizing the other team's special players and doing the right things defensively to limit them."

Another aspect of the team's backline that came out in Sunday's match against Texas State was a willingness and ability to make attacking runs and create scoring chances out of them. It was a superb shot from left back Carli Arthurs that gave the 'Jacks their first goal of the game, and separate attacks from Katie Jennings and Chloe Fowler nearly added second half insurance goals, turning into near misses that contributed to the shot advantage held by SFA in the game. Both on offense and defense, the SFA backs continue to make an impact on the game as the season progresses.

On offense, the team has responded well to being shutout in the season opener against Mississippi State, scoring a pair of goals in each of the three matches since. SFA's starting forwards Madison Hall and Breanna Moore have both been hard at work creating chances, with Hall netting a goal and an assist thus far, and Moore continuing to attract defensive pressure to open up the attack up front. That pressure has opened up the final third for other Ladyjacks to come in and make plays as well, as Hanna Barker and Katelyn Termini have both done. Other Jakcs have had good looks up front as well, including Sophie Fondren, Caylon McMillan, Lauren Hall and the aforementioned defenders on the attack. Averaging just under 12 shots a game, the 'Jacks are not having much trouble creating opportunities, and as the execution improves, the team's offense will continue to be an asset moving forward.