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Wayland Baptist (5-2) at #24 SWOSU (2-1-1) Friday, Sept. 20 | 3 pm SWOSU Athletic Complex Live Stats

Central Oklahoma (2-3) at #24 SWOSU Sunday, Sept. 22 | 1 pm SWOSU Athletic Complex Live Stats

Weekly Notes (pdf)
 
Setting the Scene
      With one week left until Great American Conference play starts, the SWOSU soccer team will host two non-conference opponents. The Lady Bulldogs play Wayland Baptist on Friday before welcoming in Central Oklahoma on Sunday for a crucial regional matchup.
 
The Coaches
      Mark Persson is in his fifth season at SWOSU in 2013. He has orchestrated an amazing turnaround and he holds a 42-33-7 record leading the Lady Bulldogs, becoming the program's all-time winningest coach during the 2012 season. Persson has twice been recognized as a conference coach of the year, most recently claiming the GAC's honor in 2012.
      Shiloh Posey joined the Wayland coaching staff in 2007 after the reinstatement of the women's soccer program following a three-year absence. He has led the Pioneers to two Sooner Athletic Conference berths, the program's first ever in 2008 and again in 2012.
      Mike Cook came to UCO when the school started the program in 1998 and has guided the Bronchos to an amazing 232-78-19 record over the past 15 years.  He has a 20-year women's record of 318-97-20, ranking among the Division II coaching leaders in all-time wins and winning percentage (.754).
 
About the Opponents
      Wayland Baptist already has seven games under their belt, with a 5-2 record. Both of their losses have been shutouts against larger schools, a 3-0 loss to Lone Star Conference member Angelo State and a 2-0 defeat to NCAA Division I Abilene Christian. The Pioneers do have one victory over a Divison II foe, a 2-1 win over UT-Permian Basin on Tuesday. Other wins for WBU have come against Howard Payne, University of the Southwest, Huston-Tillotson and Lubbock Christian.
      Central Oklahoma has faced a tough early-season schedule, but they have picked up two wins and have a record of 2-3. UCO defeated Oklahoma Christian and Texas Woman's with losses against nationally-ranked William Jewell along with Upper Iowa and Dallas Baptist. The Bronchos visit Missouri Southern, a team SWOSU defeated 4-1, on Friday night before coming to Weatherford.
 
Last Time Out
      After scoring within the first five minutes of the game, the SWOSU soccer team was engaged in a defensive battle with Nebraska-Kearney on Sunday afternoon at the SWOSU Athletic Complex.
      The difference in the match was a goal from Miranda Balezentis in the fifth minute of the game. Balezentis knocked in a goal following the UNK goalie blocked a shot from Samantha Nunez to give SWOSU the 1-0 lead.
 
Player of the Week
      Freshman goalkeeper Courtney Flores wasted no time making an impact for SWOSU Soccer, allowing just one goal in her first two games last week. For her efforts, Flores was named the Great American Conference's Goalkeeper of the Week by the conference office on Tuesday.
      Flores made her first start of the year on Thursday at West Texas A&M. She allowed one goal but made seven saves in 110 minutes of action. The game went to two overtimes and ended in a 1-1 tie. On Sunday, Flores held Nebraska-Kearney without a goal and helped SWOSU defeat the Lopers 1-0 in the team's home opener. The game also gave Flores the first win of her collegiate career.
      For the week, Flores was 1-0-1 with a goals against average of 0.45 and seven saves with a save percentage of 0.875. This is the first conference player of the week award for Flores and the second by a Lady Bulldog this year after Samantha Nunez earned the offensive honor last week.
 
Back Among the Ranked
      The Southwestern Oklahoma State University soccer team has returned to the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Top 25 poll. The Lady Bulldogs debuted in a tie for 24th with Columbus State in the poll, released on Tuesday.
      The Bulldogs enter the poll nearly one year to the day they first appeared in the poll. SWOSU garnered a national ranking for the first time in program history on September 18, 2012, when they earned the No. 13 ranking. The Lady Bulldogs were ranked in each of the successive nine polls during the 2012 season, reaching as high as No. 8 on November 6th.
 
Looking Ahead
            Conference play starts next Friday (Sept. 27) with a trip to Southern Nazarene followed by a Sunday visit to East Central.