SFA Soccer Set to Play in Pair of Weekend Exhibitions

Friday vs. Louisiana-Monroe (Exhibition)
Nacogdoches, Texas
5:00 p.m. | Live Stats

Sunday at Houston (Exhibition)
Houston, Texas
6:00 p.m.

NACOGDOCHES, Texas – The Stephen F. Austin women's soccer team will see its first action against an opposing squad this weekend, playing one exhibition at home and another on the road to serve as a final tune-up before the season opener. The Ladyjacks will host the Warhawks of ULM on Friday at 5 p.m., before traveling to Houston to face the Cougars at 6 p.m. on Sunday.

"These are two great games to further help define our preparation routine and rotations heading into competition", said SFA head soccer coach Wally Crittenden. "Both of these teams will challenge us in different ways and I am really excited to see how our players respond. Our kiddos have responded to every challenge this camp and we are at a point in preseason now where it is time to suit up and play someone else as getting video and metrics to help define our final 5 days of preseason are the priority now for sure."

Friday's exhibition against Louisiana-Monroe represents a bit of a rarity for SFA, which has not hosted a home exhibition match since a match versus Rice in 2014. By contrast, Sunday's exhibition marks the third straight season in which SFA has traveled to Houston for a preseason exhibition match.

The Warhawks are in their third season under head coach Keyton Wheelock (11-22-5) and looking to improve upon a 3-13-2 mark in the 2017 campaign. The Warhawks were beset by scoring woes last season, notching just eight goals in 18 games and failing to score in 11 contests. A total of 15 returners, including returning scorers Taylor Altieri (2 G), Alexis Cherry (1 G) and Taylor Wiest (1 G) pace the Warhawks, while a group of nine newcomers will be on hand for ULM as well.

Louisiana-Monroe saw plenty of action against the Southland last season, facing four teams (Central Arkansas, Northwestern State, McNeese and Southeastern Louisiana) from SFA's conference. Those matchups did not go the Warhawk's way, as a 7-1 scoring margin against led them to an 0-3-1 record in those contests.

On Sunday, the 'Jacks will travel to face Houston, a team they last faced in Crittenden's first season at the helm in 2013, a double-overtime tie in Houston. The Cougars finished the 2017 season with a 7-9-1 record overall, just missing out on The American Athletic Conference Tournament with a seventh place finish. The Cougars feature American Conference Preseason Team honoree Jazmin Grant, who finished last season with five goals and five assists to finish second on the team with 15 points. Aside from Grant, the Cougars return 13 players from a year ago, and welcome plenty of newcomers to the fold in 2018.

Head coach Diego Bocanegra begins his second season at the helm after leading the Cougars to a 7-9-1 record in his first. Overall, Bocanerga carries a 41-23-9 coaching record, with stops at Notre Dame, Cal State Fullerton and Cal State San-Bernardino as well.

For the Ladyjacks, the pair of exhibitions represents the last opportunities to accrue game experience before the matches start to count next weekend. The Ladyjacks are a capable group of 23 players, 14 of whom lettered for the team last fall and nine of whom started multiple contests. Additionally, Crittenden's nine newcomers further break down into a pair of transfers as well as a group of seven highly touted freshmen. The Ladyjacks return just about 50 percent of total points, goals and assists generated during the 2017 campaign, which saw the Ladyjacks reach double-digit wins for the 11^thtime in the past 14 seasons.

Fans are encouraged to follow along with the progress of the weekend matches via social media, where the Ladyjacks are on Twitter (@SFA_Soccer). Live updates of the game will be available there, with a recap of each game available on sfajacks.com afterwards.

-SFA-

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SFA Soccer Set to Play in Pair of Weekend Exhibitions

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