PREVIEW: SFA Hosts SLU in Pivotal Southland Matchup

Thursday, October 15

Nacogdoches, TX

7:00 p.m.

Stephen F. Austin

SLU

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Photo by: SFA Athletics

PREVIEW: SFA Hosts SLU in Pivotal Southland Matchup

10/13/2026 9:47:00 AM | Women's Soccer

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Ladyjacks welcome the seventh-place Lions to the Chopping Block

By: Jason Madden, Assistant Director for Communications

NACOGDOCHES, Texas – SFA Soccer returns to the Chopping Block on Thursday for a pivotal Southland Conference matchup against Southeastern Louisiana. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. on ESPN+ as the Ladyjacks look to close the four-point gap separating them from the Lions, who currently occupy seventh place—the final spot in the Southland Conference Tournament field.

SFA vs Southeastern Louisiana
  Date and Time: Thursday, October 15 at 7 PM
  Location: The Chopping Block, Nacogdoches, TX
  Broadcast: ESPN+

BROADCAST AND TICKET INFORMATION
For fans who can't attend in person, Thursday's match will be broadcast live on ESPN+ so that supporters can catch all the action from home. Single-game tickets are available for purchase HERE. Additionally, students can enjoy free entry, making it an excellent opportunity for the student body to support Ladyjacks Soccer.

PINK OUT THE PITCH
SFA Soccer is excited to host its Pink Out the Pitch night on Thursday. We invite all fans to wear pink in support of cancer awareness. Fans can also receive a free pink rally towel upon entry, while supplies last.

WHITTEMORE PREVIEWS THE WEEK
Head coach Ashley Whittemore discusses the Ladyjacks' priorities heading into this week's Southland matchups against SLU.

"The mindset going into SLU is business as usual. We are going to leave it out on the field Thursday. It means everything to the team to be on our home field. The team is motivated and excited to always play at home. The expectation is to go out and win and protect our house."

SOUTHLAND STANDINGS
The Ladyjacks enter the week in 10th place in the Southland Conference standings with a 4-11 overall record and a 1-5 league mark. SFA opened conference play with a win over Texas A&M–Corpus Christi before falling to McNeese, Northwestern State, HCU, Nicholls and Lamar.
Southeastern Louisiana currently sits in seventh place—the final Southland Conference Tournament spot—with a 2-3-1 league record. Four points separate the two sides entering Thursday's matchup.

SCOUTING THE LIONS
Southeastern Louisiana enters Thursday at 6-6-2 overall and 2-3-1 in Southland Conference play. The Lions are coming off a 1-0 win over UTRGV, a result secured by Brooke Opferman's 81st-minute goal.

SLU is a volume-driven attack. The Lions have produced 182 shots and 62 corner kicks in 14 matches, averaging 13.0 shots and 4.4 corners per game. Charlotte Lewis leads the team with 44 shots, while Alexandra Knight is the primary scoring threat with seven goals.

The Lions have been balanced overall, scoring 21 goals while allowing 21. They are willing to push numbers forward and create chances through sustained pressure, so the Ladyjacks will need to manage second balls, defend restarts cleanly and limit Lewis' looks around the box. Southeastern enters with momentum after its clean-sheet win over UTRGV and will be looking to carry that energy into Nacogdoches.

SERIES HISTORY
The Ladyjacks lead the all-time series 21-14-9 and own a 14-3-3 record in home meetings. SFA is 4-4-2 over the last 10 matchups. The most recent meeting finished 2-2 in Hammond, Louisiana, on Sept. 25, 2025. SFA won the previous meeting in Nacogdoches, 2-0, on Oct. 11, 2024. SFA is 14-3-3 against Southeastern Louisiana in Nacogdoches. The Ladyjacks' most recent home result in the series was a 2-0
win in 2024.

COMEBACK JACKS
SFA capped non-conference play with a thrilling comeback victory over Jackson State, as Alyce Chappelle scored the game-winner in the 77th minute. One week later, Chappelle delivered another late goal in the 88th minute to complete a comeback against the Islanders and move the Ladyjacks to 1-0 in Southland Conference play.

SECOND HALF
On the season, the Ladyjacks have scored 25 goals, with 18 coming in the second half. Head coach Ashley Whittemore addressed the team's second-half success.

"We are a strong second-half team," Whittemore said. "We just have to adjust in the first half and put the pedal to the floor in the first 45 minutes as we do in the second half."

SOUTHLAND NUMBERS
The Ladyjacks enter this week's matchups with forward Alyce Chappelle ranked second among the Southland Conference's top 10 goal scorers. Chappelle has scored seven goals in 14 matches, ranking second in the conference. Freshman standout Savanna Oberholtzer ranks third in the SLC with two game-winning goals, while Chappelle sits third as well. The Jacks rank third in the conference for assists per game with
1.60 and second for total assists with 24.

PLAYER TO WATCH
Alyce Chappelle: Alyce Chappelle leads SFA with 15 points, pairing a team-best seven goals with one assist in her first season as a Ladyjack. The Idaho transfer scored the game-winner against Jackson State as part of a two-goal performance and has quickly become a focal point of the SFA attack. Chappelle added her second game-winning goal in the 88th minute against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in the Southland Conference opener. She leads the Ladyjacks in five of six offensive categories and ranks fourth in the SLC in total goals. Against NSU, Chappelle netted two goals, including a last-second goal to give the Ladyjacks a first-half lead over the Lady Demons.

LADYJACKS LAND AT THE FIVE
Before the start of the 2026 season, the Southland Conference reintroduced its preseason polls. Coming off a historic 2025 campaign that included a berth in the Southland Conference Tournament championship match, the Ladyjacks were picked to finish fifth in the preseason poll. SFA received one first-place vote, making the Ladyjacks the final team in the preseason poll to receive a first-place selection. The Islanders were picked seventh in the preseason poll, receiving 51 points.

WILLIAMS EARNS SLC DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK (SEPT. 15)
Sydney Williams logged 180 minutes across matches against Texas Southern and Jackson State. She helped anchor the Ladyjacks' first shutout of the season in Thursday's 3–0 win over the Tigers, then scored the opening goal Sunday against Jackson State while leading SFA's backline to a second-half shutout in the Ladyjacks' comeback victory.

A LOOK TO THE NUMBERS
The Ladyjacks have 24 assists on 25 goals, led by Prié's and Platt's three assists. That total reflects an attack built on combination play rather than a single scorer, with Davis, Rosito, Platt and several others regularly involved in the final pass.

The Ladyjacks rank among the top 122 scoring offenses in the nation and are ranked 92nd in the country in assists per game and 108th in points per game at 4.93. The Ladyjacks have scored 25 goals this season, the 75th-most in the nation, while their 24 total assists rank 59th nationally. Alyce Chappelle leads the Jacks in goals and is ranked in the top 60 for goal scorers in the nation and second in the SLC.

MUST KNOW MUSSER
Goalkeeper Brandie Musser ranks in the top 50 keepers in the nation for total saves and number two in the Southland. Musser also sits at standalone fourth place in the Southland for saves per game, averaging 4.13 a match.

PRIÉ PK
Amélie Prié enters Thursday's match after scoring her first goal in a Ladyjacks uniform. The German defender has anchored SFA's backline this season with 767 minutes on the year. Prié has collected five points on three assists and one goal.

WHITTEMORE BEGINS CONFERENCE YEAR TWO
Head coach Ashley Whittemore enters Thursday with a 12-13-10 record at SFA. In her first season, she led the Ladyjacks to an 8-4-10 record, a 5-1-4 Southland mark and the program's second Southland Conference Tournament championship-match appearance since returning to the league.

LAST TIME OUT
SFA fell 2-1 to Lamar on Sunday at the Chopping Block. Prié scored on a PK for the Jacks to level both sides before the Cardinals took a second-half lead to hang onto for the remaining 90 minutes.

UP NEXT
SFA Soccer heads to Edinburg for the eighth meeting in the all-time series with UTRGV. The Ladyjacks own a 6-0-1 advantage after earning a 1-0 regular-season victory in Nacogdoches last season. SFA is 2-0-1 in matches played at UTRGV, with its most recent road win coming in 2024.

WOMEN OF THE MATCH
vs Sul Ross - Savanna Oberholtzer: Six shots, two shots on goal, one goal, 60 minutes
at Oklahoma State - Brandie Musser: 90 min, 3 goals allowed, four saves
at Arkansas State - Carlie Thurmond: 1 goal, 1 shot, 63 minutes
vs LA Tech - Kamrynn Davis: Played as a defender for 90 minutes as a forward, ran 8 miles, recorded 5 shots and 4 on goal.
vs ULM - BB Bonzheim: One shot, 55 minutes, made second start for SFA in the new season
at Texas A&M - Sydney Williams: Logged 90 minutes, won 77% of duels, 3 blocked shots
at Texas Southern- Lucie Platt: Logged 31 minutes, 3 shots, 3 shots-on-goal, 2 goals
vs Jackson State- Alyce Chappelle: Logged 39 minutes, 4 shots, 2 shots-on-goal, 2 goals
vs Texas A&M-Corpus Christi: Kensley Smith: 57 minutes, 1 SOG, 1 goal
at McNeese: Sawyer Kohutek: 76 minutes, 1 SOG, 1 goal
vs NSU: Alyce Chappelle: 51 minutes, 2 SOG, 2 goals
at HCU: Cassidy Hoang: 73 minutes

FOLLOW THE LADYJACKS
For all the latest information on SFA soccer, visit SFAjacks.com. For up-to-the-minute updates, follow the Ladyjacks on X, Instagram, and Facebook.

#AxeEm x #EarnThe90