MACOMB, Ill. - The Fighting Leatherneck women's soccer team will begin Summit League play on the road this Friday against South Dakota (0-7-2) and UMKC (2-5-3) on Sunday. The Purple & Gold will conclude a four-game road trip this weekend.

This will be the first weekend with two matches for the Leathernecks in two weeks. Western Illinois (6-3) fell to No. 15 Milwaukee on Friday, 4-0.

The Match Up
Who • Western Illinois (6-3) at South Dakota (0-7-2, 0-0)
When • Friday, Sept. 30 (4 p.m. CST)
Location • Vermillion, S.D. • USD Soccer Field

Coverage
Live Stats • USDCoyotes.com

Twitter • @WIUAthletics

The Match Up
Who • Western Illinois (6-3) at UMKC (2-5-3, 0-0)
When • Sunday, Oct. 2 (Noon CST)
Location • Kansas City, Mo. • Durwood Soccer Stadium & Recreational Field (850)

Coverage
Live Stats • UMKCKangaroos.com

SCOUTING THE COYOTES: Head Coach Mandy Green (Macalester, '99) is in her second season as the leader of South Dakota's women's soccer program... the Coyotes are 0-7-2 in its first season as a Summit League member... last season USD was 4-12-2 and returns five letterwinners and four starters from that team... this is the third meeting all-time between the Leathernecks and Coyotes and the Leathernecks trail the series 0-1-1, with both of those games occurring in 2010... Western tied the match in Macomb and lost the battle in Vermillion, S.D.

COYOTES TO WATCH: Sophomore Jenny Teslow led the squad in 2010 with eight goals and two assists... in 2011 she has a team-high three goals along with her two assists... Teslow was the first Summit League Offensive Player of the Week in 2011... freshman goalkeeper Mackenzie Victor has started all nine games and has54 saves on the season... 1.71 goals against average and a .761 save percentage.

SCOUTING THE KANGAROOS: Head Coach Chris Cissell (William Jewell, '94) is in his first season as the Kangaroos' leader... UMKC went 1-15-2 including a an 0-7-2 mark in league play... the squad returns 13 letterwinners and nine starters from 2010... this will also be the the third meeting all-time between the Western and UMKC... Western leads the series 2-0 with wins in 2009 and 2010.

KANGAROOS TO WATCH: Sophomore Taylor Bare has five goals in 201, which is second in the Summit League... as a freshman Bare collected three goals in 2010... Bare was recently named Summit League Offensive Player of the Week this week... junior goalkeeper Jami Finnell has made six starts in net for UMKC... she has a 1.70 goals against average and a .813 save percentage... she is also fifth in the nation in total saves.

SUMMIT LEAGUE ACTION: League play amps up this weekend with a full slate of conference play with all 10 teams in action... Western has the second best overall record at 6-3 trailing only NDSU's 7-2-1 mark... there has been one Summit League match already in 2011 as Oral Roberts defeated Southern Utah on Sep. 16, 4-0.

BY THE NUMBERS: The Leathernecks are near the top of the Summit League in almost every stat category... 148 shots (2nd).... 16 goals (2nd)... 12 assists (T2nd)... 14 goals allowed ( T2nd)... 44 points (2nd)... 1.78 goals per game (2nd)... 1.33 assists per game ( 2nd)... 1.56 goals against average... Trisha Quinn and Victoria Kappel also rank near the top of the league... Quinn is tied for second with her three assists... Kappel is fifth with her 1.56 goals against average... 39 saves (3rd)... four shutouts (2nd)... 4.33 saves per game (T4th).

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 (6-2) is providing excellent play in net for the Leathernecks... her four shutouts are tied for the most in the Summit League... Kappel's 1.25 goals against average is fourth in the league... 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... on Sunday, 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.

DEFENDING HOME TURF: Western Illinois has not lost at home since Oct. 18, 2009 (9-0-3)... the win over Grand View continued that undefeated streak... under Coach Guinn the leathernecks are 24-6-5 (.788) on MacKenzie Alumni Field including unbeaten season at home in 2007 (8-0) and 2010 (5-0-3).

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.