SWOSU (3-2-1, 0-0 GAC) at Southern Nazarene (4-2, 0-0 GAC)
Friday, Sept. 27 | 7 pm | Bethany, Okla.
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SWOSU (3-2-1, 0-0 GAC) at East Central (0-6, 0-0 GAC)
Sunday, Sept. 29 | 2 pm | Ada, Okla.
Live Stats | Live Video |
Weekly Notes (pdf)
Setting the Scene
Conference play begins for Southwestern Oklahoma State University soccer this weekend when the Lady Bulldogs hit the road to face two in-state foes. SWOSU will play at Southern Nazarene on Friday night before heading to Ada to face East Central on Sunday afternoon.
The Coaches
Mark Persson is in his fifth season at SWOSU in 2013. He has orchestrated an amazing turnaround and he holds a 43-34-7 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.
Julie Duncan is in her fifth season after becoming school's fifth head coach prior to the 2009 season. Duncan was previously an assistant for SNU's program for six years and coached both boys and girls soccer at Moore HS before taking the helm for SNU. She is 42-45-3 overall at Southern Nazarene.
Riley Bailey is in his fifth season as the head coach of the East Central University women's soccer program. Bailey led the Lady Tigers to Great American Conference regular season and postseason tournament championships in 2011 and to the GAC semifinals in 2012. Bailey has a 27-42-9 record through four-plus seasons leading the Lady Tigers.
About the Opponents
Southern Nazarene is 4-2 in non-conference action heading into Friday's GAC opener. The Crimson Storm have defeated Texas A&M-International, Rogers State, Missouri Southern and Oklahoma Christian while losing at St. Edward's and Texas A&M-Commerce. All four SNU victories have been shutouts and they rank second in the GAC allowing an average of 1.33 goals against. SNU has attempted 87 shots in six games, the highest number in the conference.
East Central is still looking for their first victory of the 2013 season after dropping their first six contests. Among the teams the Lady Tigers have faced are CSU-Pueblo, UC-Colorado Springs, Northeastern State, Missouri Southern, Texas Woman's and Midwestern State. The lone common opponent for the teams is Missouri Southern, who SWOSU defeated 4-1 in the season opener and ECU lost to by a score of 2-0.
Last Time Out
The No. 24-ranked SWOSU soccer team battled in-state foe Central Oklahoma on Sunday at the SWOSU Athletic Complex, falling 1-0 to the Bronchos in non-conference action.
The teams played a scoreless first half with UCO attempting five shots to four for the Bulldogs. Early in the second half, in the 51st minute, UCO's Emily Hahn found Caitlin Bond, who became the first opponent to score a goal on
Courtney Flores at home this season.
SWOSU attempted six shots on goal in the match but were unable to get any past UCO's Brandi Bartley.
Alexis Russell,
Jessica Carbonara and
Eva Rule each had two shots on goal.
Back-to-Back Player of the Week
A second consecutive shutout and a weekly average of 0.50 goals against has earned
Courtney Flores the Great American Conference's Goalkeeper of the Week. The award was announced Tuesday by the conference office.
Flores needed just one save to shutout Wayland Baptist on Friday and she helped SWOSU to the 4-0 victory. Then against Central Oklahoma on Sunday, she stopped five-of-six shots on goal by the Bronchos but took the hard-luck loss as the Lady Bulldogs were held scoreless.
For the week, Flores was 1-1 with a 0.50 goals against average and six saves with a save percentage of .857. She is now 2-1-1 on the year with two shutouts and a goals against average of 0.47, the best mark in the GAC.
Flores, a freshman from Plano, Texas, has now earned two straight GAC weekly awards and given the Lady Bulldogs an honor in three straight weeks.
Samantha Nunez earned the offensive honor two weeks ago.
Out of the Polls
Sunday's 1-0 loss to Central Oklahoma, the second loss of the season for SWOSU, caused the Lady Bulldogs to fall from the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Top 25 Poll.
Looking Ahead
Great American Conference action comes to Weatherford next weekend as the Lady Bulldogs welcome Harding (Oct. 4) and Ouachita Baptist (Oct. 6) to the athletic complex.
