Leathernecks Prepare for Golden Eagles and Jaguars

Western Illinois will play Oral Roberts and IUPUI in a crucial weekend of matches.

MACOMB, Ill. - Fighting Leatherneck women's soccer enters the weekend with a 2-11-1 record overall, and a 1-2-1 record in conference play with four matches remaining. On Friday (Oct. 24), the Leathernecks play host to the Golden Eagles of Oral Roberts before travelling to IUPUI on Sunday (Oct. 26) in a pivotal weekend in The Summit League.

Western Illinois sits in seventh place in the current standings, just two points behind IUPUI (2-3) in fifth. Due to the ineligibility of Omaha, IUPUI would be in The Summit League Championships in the final position. Friday's match between Western and Oral Roberts features the seventh and eighth placed teams in the standings but Oral Roberts has played one less game than the Leathernecks. Western has played one game fewer than IUPUI.

The Leathernecks are coming off of a draw with Fort Wayne on Friday (Oct. 17).

FOLLOW THE ACTION:
Friday, October 24
Oral Roberts at Western Illinois
Live Stats

Sunday, October 26
Western Illinois at IUPUI
Live Stats

MATCH NOTES:

A LOOK AT THE GOLDEN EAGLES: Oral Roberts enters Friday's match with a 2-7-3 record overall and a 1-2-1 mark in Summit League play... The Golden Eagles make their return to Macomb after spending the previous two seasons in the Southland Conference... Oral Roberts picked up its first win since Sept. 5 on Oct. 19... The Golden Eagles defeated IUPUI 2-1... During that stretch, ORU went 0-5-1 and allowed 10 goals while scoring once... Led by Madison Valenzuela, the Golden Eagles have scored eight goals this season but have allowed 22... Valenzuela has three assists on the year with one goal, coming against Southern Methodist on Sept. 5... Valenzuela has not recorded a point since that match... Ashley Martin is the leading goalscorer, with two goals... Maddie Rhodes and Helen Erb have split time in goal... Erb was in net for the win over IUPUI, earning her sixth start... In 541 minutes, Erb has allowed eight goals, collecting the Golden Eagles only two wins of the season... Roger Bush is in his second year at Oral Roberts.

SERIES HISTORY: Friday marks the 17th meeting between Western Illinois and Oral Roberts and the first since 2011... Western trails the all-time series 7-9... After losing the first seven contests to Oral Roberts, Western won seven of the next nine matches... Each of the previous three matches between the two programs have gone into overtime, with the Leathernecks coming away with a 1-0 win in 2009 and a 3-2 win in 2010 before falling 1-2 in 2011.

A LOOK AT THE JAGUARS: IUPUI has off on Friday and brings a 4-9-3 mark into Sunday's match... After suffering a loss to Oral Roberts, IUPUI is 2-3 in Summit League play and currently occupy the vital fourth position with only two weekends remaining of conference play... Tori Minnich leads a Jaguar attack that has scored 18 goals this season... Minnich has found the back of the net seven times... Krissy Kirkhoff has scored six times and has added an assist as well... Nicole Kulovitz and Catherine Schmidt have both spent time in goal... Kulovitz has earned ten starts, conceding 14 goals with one shutout... The Jaguars have been outscored 25-18 this season... IUPUI is 2-2-2 at home in 2014 and have not lost at home since Sept. 5... Chris Johnson is in his 11th year at IUPUI.

SERIES HISTORY: Western Illinois leads the all-time series 9-7 after picking up wins in 2012 and 2013... Last year, Sarah Hall scored twice in a 5-2 victory for Western Illinois... Departing seniors Jordan Spaciel, Hannah Van Eendenburg and Amber Davis also scored for the Leathernecks... Tori Minnich and Alyssa Fox scored for IUPUI.

LAST TIME OUT: The Leathernecks went on the road to face Fort Wayne on Friday (Oct. 17)... Western Illinois came away with a valuable point on the road, as the Leathernecks and Mastodons played 110 scoreless minutes... The Leathernecks outshot the Mastodons 17-12 and earned 13 corners in the draw.

IN THE HUNT: With its win over North Dakota State and the draw against IPFW, Western Illinois is in position to finish in the top four in 2014 and make a trip to The Summit League Tournament... Currently, the Leathernecks (2-11-1, 1-2-1) have four points in conference play, just two behind IUPUI in fifth... Omaha (eight points) occupies the fourth position in the league but remain ineligible as it completes the transition to Division I... With four games remaining, Western could end 2014 with 16 points, which could result in the regular season title if other results go its way... Of the Leathernecks four remaining matches, three (IUPUI, South Dakota, Omaha) are against teams above them in the league standings... The other contest (Oral Roberts) features a team just one point behind the Leathernecks and with one more match to play.

CRUCIAL SUNDAY: Sunday's match against IUPUI could prove to be crucial as the season winds down... Western has four games remaining, while IUPUI has three... The Leathernecks, currently two points behind the Jaguars, could move four points in front of IUPUI at the end of the weekend, with only two matches remaining for both sides.

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Players Mentioned

#8 Hannah Van Eendenburg: M; Senior

#13 Jordan Spaciel: D; Senior

#6 Amber Davis: F/D; Senior

#18 Sarah Hall: F; 5' 10"; Senior; St. Joseph's

Players Mentioned

#8 Hannah Van Eendenburg
: Senior
: M

#13 Jordan Spaciel
: Senior
: D

#6 Amber Davis
: Senior
: F/D

#18 Sarah Hall
: 5' 10"; Senior; St. Joseph's
: F