MACOMB, Ill. - The Leathernecks women's soccer program will visit Cedar City, Utah and look to regain its early season momentum on Thursday with a clash at Southern Utah (2-7-3, 0-3) at 5 p.m. (CDT). Western Illinois and Oral Roberts (4-8-1, 1-2) will battle in Tulsa, Okla. on Saturday at 1 p.m. (CDT) to conclude the weekend.
MacKenzie Alumni Field was not as kind to the Purple & Gold this past weekend as it had been in the past as a 12-match home unbeaten streak came to an end on Friday at the hands of South Dakota State.
The Match Up
Who • Western Illinois (6-7, 0-4) vs. Southern Utah (2-7-3, 0-3)
When • Thursday, Oct. 13 (5 p.m. CDT)
Location • Cedar City, Utah • Thunderbird Soccer Field (500)
Coverage
Live Stats • GoLeathernecks.com
Twitter • @WIUAthletics
The Match Up
Who • Western Illinois (6-7, 0-4) vs. Oral Roberts (4-8-1, 1-2)
When • Saturday, Oct. 15 (1 p.m. CDT)
Location • Tulsa, Okla. • Case Soccer Complex (1,000)
Coverage
Live Stats • ORUGoldenEagles.com
Twitter • @WIUAthletics
SCOUTING THE THUNDERBIRDS: Head coach Brian Stock (Akron, 1995) is in his 12th season leading the Thunderbird program... Southern Utah is 2-2- overall and 0-3 in the Summit League... in 2010 SUU went 5-11-1 and 2-7 in conference play... the Thunderbirds return 14 letterwinners and seven starters from last season... it will be the 11th all-time meeting between Western and SUU and the Leathernecks trail the series 3-5-2... Western took last season's match up 1-0 in Macomb... Southern Utah took the first ever game in 2001, 3-2, in Macomb.
THUNDERBIRDS TO WATCH: Junior forward Missy Lazcano has three goals including one game-winner... junior forward Shelby Ostler has two goals (one game-winner) and an assists this season... seniors Elyse Osborne and Riley Bassett both have a goal and three assists... sophomore forward Sabrina Hernandez has two goals in 2011... the Thunderbirds have used two goalkeepers. junior Charley Booth had made seven starts in net while fellow junior Breeana Fitzgerald has five starts including SUU's most recent game... neither has recorded a shutout.
SCOUTING THE GOLDEN EAGLES: Head coach Ryan Bush is in his fourth season at Oral Roberts... the Golden Eagles have a 4-8-1 record overall including a 1-2 mark in league play... in 2010 ORU was 9-8-1 and 4-4-1 in the Summit... Saturday will be the 16th meeting between the two programs... Western trails the all-time series 7-8... the Leathernecks won a thriller last season 3-2 at home in double-overtime... Oral Roberts won the first seven meetings and Western has won the last six battles.
GOLDEN EAGLES TO WATCH: Senior midfielder Maria Grados has six goals and two assists including three game-winners... senior defender Anna Van Valin has two goals and an assist in 2011... sophomore midfielder Whitney Brannan has a goal and three assists this season... seven other Golden Eagles have one goal... ORU has started three different goalkeepers this season... senior Amanda Wheeler has the most experience with seven starts in 2011 and started every match in 2010... Wheeler has yet to record a shutout and has a 2.14 goals-against average.
BY THE NUMBERS: This is how the Leathernecks stack up with the rest of Summit League as a team... 198 shots (2nd).... 18 goals (2nd)... 13 assists (3rd)... 23 goals allowed (6th)... 49 points (3rd)... 1.38 goals per game (2nd)... 1.00 assists per game (4th)... Trisha Quinn and Victoria Kappel also rank near the top of the league in a few individual categories... Quinn is tied for second with her three assists... Kappel is third with her 62 saves and 3rd with her four shutouts.
DEFENDING HOME TURF: The loss in Macomb On Friday was the first home defeat since Oct. 18, 2009... the home unbeaten streak stretched 12 matches (9-0-3)... in 2009, both South Dakota State and North Dakota State visited Macomb during the same weekend and both left with victories, marking the last time Western went winless during a weekend at home before this most recent weekend... under Coach Guinn the Leathernecks are 24-8-5 (.717) on MacKenzie Alumni Field including unbeaten seasons at home in 2007 (8-0) and 2010 (5-0-3).
SCORING DROUGHT: The Leatherneck offense is in the midst of a scoring drought that dates back to the UMKC match when Miranda Graham scored in the sixth minute on Oct. 2... after being shutout in back-to-back games Western has not scored in 264 minutes and 43 seconds.
EVEN DISTRIBUTION: Western has had 14 different Leathernecks score goals this season... already surpassing 2010's mark of 13... the goal-scoring group of 2011 includes four newcomers.
STRENGTH THE PENGUIN: Shaymus Guinn, son of head coach Tony Guinn, recently entered the hospital to begin his second fight against cancer... After overcoming Ewing's sarcoma, Guinn now must face A.L.L. leukemia... Shaymus had made previous road trips this season, including to Iowa City, and was an inspiration on the sideline for the team. Shaymus will be alongside the team on Friday in the form of his favorite animal, a penguin... In honor of Shaymus, Coach Guinn has asked the team to represent his son by bringing a penguin, named Strength, to all games and practices... read more about the story here.
VICTORIA-OUS: Freshman goalkeeper Victoria Kappel (6-5, 0-2) is providing excellent play in net for the Leathernecks... her four shutouts are third most in the Summit League... Kappel has 46 saves, which is third in the conference... she was named Summit League Defensive Player of the Week on Sept. 19 after her shutout at Green Bay.
QUINN: Freshman M/D Trisha Quinn was involved in every goal against SIUE and Drake and all three started with Quinn taking a corner kick... in the win over SIUE she collected an assist and a goal in a late first half flurry, both on her corner kicks... against Drake she again provided the offense with a corner kick that found Katie Condon for the goal... to top her weekend off she earned Summit League Offensive Player of the Week.
FAST START: The 4-1 start was the best start that the Leathernecks have had under Coach Guinn and one of the best in program history.... in 2008 the Purple & Gold started 4-1 before falling to 4-4... in 2007, Western set a program record with 16 wins and started 5-1-1 before improving to 12-1-1 before its next loss.
PRESEASON POLL: The Leathernecks were picked to finish fourth in The Summit League... Head Coach Tony Guinn's squad received 48 points and a first-place vote... Western has become accustomed to exceeding expectations as it was slotted in the fifth-place slot prior to the 2010 season.
ALL-FRESHMAN TEAM: Western returns two members of 2010's Summit League All-Freshman team... Kristin Becker and Jordan Spaciel both collected the honor after strong debuts for the Purple & Gold... Spaciel collected four goals and one assist in 20 games and 10 starts and notched the game-winning goal against Green Bay... Becker played a large role in a strong defense and will be asked to do the same in 2011.
TRENDING UPWARD: 2010 saw the Leathernecks put up some impressive numbers as a team... the 10 wins is the third most in program history... the squad also collected nine shutouts, the most in program history... the 76 points last season is fifth all-time... the Purple & Gold put 151 shots on goal, which is second all-time while taking 291 total shots, also second all-time.
CLUTCH: Last season the Purple & Gold won four of the last five regular season games to qualify for the Summit League Tournament... the program has reached the tournament three out of the last four seasons.
HIGH SCHOOL ALL-AMERICAN: The strong recruiting class will offer exceptional depth and talent across the board... included in that class is NSCAA All-American, Sarah Hall... Hall was named All-State after she finished her prep career with 88 goals, 33 of which came as a senior... she also dished out 20 assists and was a Gatorade Indiana Player of the Year candidate.
2011 SENIORS: This season will be the final one for four longtime Leathernecks... Laura Lins, Nora Potempa, Kristin Kuhar and Lauren DeWolf all have played their entire careers for the Purple & Gold... Amy Unzicker will also exhaust her athletic eligibility this season.
