MACOMB, Ill. – The Western Illinois women's soccer team will hit the road for the second straight week when it travels to Grand View and South Dakota on Sept. 3 and Sept. 6.

The Fighting Leathernecks (0-2-1) are coming off two hard-fought losses to Austin Peay and Miami University at last week's Austin Peay Invitational in Clarksville, Tenn.

Western will face Grand View on Friday at 7 p.m. in Des Moines, Iowa before traveling to Vermillion, S.D. to take on South Dakota at 1 p.m. on Monday in a rematch of the 2010 regular-season opener.

The Leathernecks trailed the Coyotes 1-0 on Aug. 22 before Jenny Green scored the equalizer in the 34th minute of an eventual 1-1 double-overtime draw.

Grand View (0-3-0) enters Friday's match on a three-game losing streak after falling to St. Xavier and Robert Morris this past weekend. South Dakota (1-1-1) picked up their first win against UMKC last weekend. The Coyotes face IUPUI on Friday before the Leathernecks come calling.

Coverage
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The First Strike
Jordan Spaciel's goal in last week's 2-1 loss to Miami marked the second time in the past two years that a Leatherneck freshman has scored her first career goal in the second match of the season.

Courtney Bresnahan picked up her first goal in a 2-0 win over Southern Indiana in the second match of the 2009 season. Last year, Western's freshmen scored 11 of the team's 27 goals on the season.

A Dominant Effort
The last time Western Illinois faced Grand View, the Leathernecks dominated every aspect of the match. Western outshot the Vikings 25 to three on its way to a 7-0 victory on Sept. 26, 2009, the team's largest margin of victory during the 2009 season.

Kellie Julius led the way with two goals while Caitlin Barrett, Chrissy Campbell, Katie Condon, Abby Davis and Nora Potempa each found the back of the net once. Keeley Murray and Demi Vance notched two assists and former Leatherneck goalkeeper Meghan Tyk made three saves for her record-tying 20th career victory.

Smyth Returns
The Leathernecks will look to receive a boost at the forward position with the return of senior striker Ali Smyth. Smyth missed the first three regular-season matches while playing for the Northern Ireland women's national team in World Cup Qualifying last month.

The Ballymoney, Northern Ireland native led Western's attack with five goals last season, including a game-winner in a crucial double-overtime win at Oral Roberts last August.

All-League Honorees Return
Western returns three of four all-league players from a year ago. Green, a first team all-league selection, led all Leatherneck defenders with three goals. Kellie Julius, an all-newcomer selection, tallied 11 points on four goals and three assists as the team's leading scorer.

Laura Atkinson was named as a second team all-league selection after finishing 23rd in the nation leading the conference with a .859 save percentage. Atkinson finished with a record of 5-3-1 and was named as the league's Defensive Player of the Week after recording two victories, including a shutout of Oral Roberts, in the second to last weekend of the season.