PREVIEW: Ladyjacks Open Southland Road Play at McNeese, Host NSU for Parents’ Weekend

Thursday, September 24

Lake Charles, LA

7:00 p.m.

Stephen F. Austin

McNeese

PREVIEW: Ladyjacks Open Southland Road Play at McNeese, Host NSU for Parents’ Weekend

9/23/2026 3:33:00 PM | Women's Soccer

Game Notes ESPN+ (McN)Live Scoring (McN)ESPN+ (NSU)Live Scoring (NSU)Tickets

SFA travels to Lake Charles on Thursday before welcoming preseason-favorite Northwestern State to the Chopping Block on Sunday.

By: Jason Madden, Assistant Director for Communications

NACOGDOCHES, Texas – Stephen F. Austin women's soccer opens Southland Conference road play Thursday at McNeese before hosting preseason favorite NSU on Sunday for Parents' Weekend at the Chopping Block.

SFA at McNeese
  Date and Time: Thursday, September 24 at 7 PM
  Location: Cowgirl Field, Lake Charles, Louisiana
  Broadcast: ESPN+

SFA vs. Northwestern State
  Date and Time: Sunday, September 27 at 1 PM
  Location: The Chopping Block, Nacogdoches, Texas
  Broadcast: ESPN+

BROADCAST AND TICKET INFORMATION
For fans who can't attend in person, Sunday'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.

WHITTEMORE'S MESSAGE TO JACK NATION
SFA Soccer Head Coach Ashley Whittemore encouraged parents, students, and Purple Haze to pack the Chopping Block for Sunday's Southland Conference matchup against NSU during Parents' Weekend.
"Our fans are important to us, and having everyone out there in the stands means the world to us and our players," Whittemore said. "People being there to support and be loud raises the atmosphere and motivates the team to play harder."

SOUTHLAND STANDINGS
The Ladyjacks rank fourth in the Southland Conference standings behind Lamar, Southeastern Louisiana and UIW. SFA enters the week at 1-0 in conference play, while McNeese sits seventh at 0-1 and NSU is 10th at 0-0.

SCOUTING THE COWGIRLS
McNeese enters Thursday's matchup with a 5-5 record after opening Southland Conference play with a 2-1 loss at Southeastern Louisiana. The Cowgirls faced familiar non-conference opponents in Louisiana Tech and Jackson State, earning 2-0 victories over both teams.

Tabbed seventh in the Southland preseason poll, McNeese enters its conference home opener under head coach Alexsis Cable. The Cowgirls have scored 13 goals while allowing 15 this season. Sophomore Rhiannon Maynes-Tourond leads McNeese with three goals and one assist for seven points. Goalkeepers Shannon Dempsey and Celeste Marijnissen have combined for 51 saves and a 0.733 save percentage.

SERIES HISTORY (McNEESE)
Thursday is the 42nd all-time meeting between SFA and McNeese. The Ladyjacks lead the series 30-8-3 and have won the last three meetings, including a 4-0 result in Nacogdoches on Sept. 18, 2025. In Lake Charles, SFA owns a 12-4-3 edge in the series; the most recent meeting at Cowgirl Field was a 3-0 Ladyjacks victory on Oct. 25, 2024.

SCOUTING THE LADY DEMONS
The Lady Demons enter the Chopping Block as the top selection in the Southland Conference preseason poll. NSU concluded non-conference play with a 4-2 win over Grambling on Thursday and will host Lamar in its conference opener. The Lady Demons carry a 3-5 record, highlighted by a historic 24-1 victory over Arkansas-Pine Bluff.

NSU has scored 35 goals and allowed 31 this season, averaging 4.38 goals per game. 2025 All-Southland First Team selection Paige Baumgartner leads the Lady Demons with eight goals. NSU has used three goalkeepers, with Saki Tsuchiya appearing in seven matches and leading the team with 21 saves and a .457 save percentage.

SERIES HISTORY (NSU)
The Ladyjacks and Lady Demons will meet for the 38th time, with SFA holding a 23-8-6 advantage in the all-time series. Last season's matchup ended in a scoreless draw after 75 minutes when weather forced the match to end early. SFA also owns an 11-5-3 record against NSU at the Chopping Block. Since 2014, the teams have met 10 times, with the Ladyjacks posting a 6-2-2 record.

ROAD HISTORY FAVORS THE LADYJACKS
SFA is 12-4-3 all-time in Lake Charles against McNeese. The Ladyjacks won their last trip to Cowgirl Field, 3-0, on Oct. 25, 2024, and enter Thursday on a three-match winning streak in the series.

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 18 goals, with 15 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."

TEAM EFFORT
Northwestern State and SFA enter Sunday's matchup as the top two teams in the Southland Conference in assists. The Lady Demons lead the conference with 36 assists, while the Ladyjacks rank second with 22.

SOUTHLAND NUMBERS
The Ladyjacks enter this week's matchups with forward Alyce Chappelle ranked among the Southland Conference's top 10 in goals. Chappelle has scored 11 goals in 10 matches, ranking second in the conference for total goals. The Jacks also rank second in the conference with 2.20 assists per game and 22 total assists. SFA also leads the Southland in saves per game, averaging 5.20.

UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Last season, the Ladyjacks and Lady Demons played to a scoreless draw after 75 minutes before weather forced the match to end early. SFA entered that matchup in Natchitoches ranked second in the conference, trailing only NSU. This season, the teams meet in Nacogdoches as the 2025 Southland Conference Tournament runner-up faces the 2026 preseason favorite.

PLAYERS TO WATCH
Alyce Chappelle: Chappelle enters the week leading the Ladyjacks with 11 goals this season and is one of the top 10 goal scorers in the Southland Conference. Her most recent goal came in the 88th minute against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, sealing a 2-1 victory in the Southland Conference opener. Chappelle ranks 42nd nationally in game-winning goals and is among the top 75 in total goals this season.

Savanna Oberholtzer: Oberholtzer leads all SFA freshmen in goals and points this season. She ranks second on the Ladyjacks in goals behind Chappelle and ranks 42nd nationally in game-winning goals.

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 over the Tigers.

A WILLING PASSING TEAM
The Ladyjacks have 22 assists on 18 goals, led by Prié'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.

Nationally, the Ladyjacks sit at 40th in the nation for assists per game, and second in the Southland. They are also top 75 in the nation for points per game at 5.80 and 68th in the nation for total goals.

LEAGUE ROAD WARRIORS
SFA takes its first Southland Conference road trip of the season to Lake Charles. Last season, the Ladyjacks opened conference play against McNeese and earned a 4-0 victory in Nacogdoches. In 2025, SFA also went undefeated in conference road matches with a 1-0-4 record.

WHITTEMORE BEGINS CONFERENCE YEAR TWO
Head coach Ashley Whittemore enters Thursday with an 11-10-10 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 completed a second-half comeback after trailing Texas A&M-Corpus Christi 1-0 at halftime in its Southland Conference opener. Chappelle and Kensley Smith each scored for the Ladyjacks in the final 45 minutes, while the Pine Curtain backline held its second straight opponent scoreless in the second half. SFA defeated the Islanders 2-1 at the Chopping Block to move to 1-0 in conference play.

UP NEXT
SFA opens October with a rematch of the 2025 Southland Conference Tournament Championship at HCU. The Ladyjacks and Huskies will meet in Houston in the 20th all-time matchup, with HCU claiming the most recent matchup in the 2025 SLC Tournament. SFA still holds a 13-6 advantage in the all-time series over HCU.

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

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