MACOMB, Ill. – The Western Illinois women's soccer team will welcome South Dakota State and North Dakota State to Macomb this weekend on October 30 and November 1 for the last matches of the regular season. Friday's match against SDSU is slated to begin at 1 p.m. at John Mackenzie Alumni Field, while kick off on Sunday is set for 11 a.m.
 
A LOOK AT YOUR LEATHERNECKS: The Leathernecks (2-13 overall, 1-5 SL) sit ninth in The Summit League standings with three points. Skyler Jessop leads the squad with four goals this season. Daniela Salinas and Brianna Hughes also have scored two goals apiece. Tyra Markey and Madeline Edwards have each contributed with two assists each. Victoria Kappel has handled the netminding duties all season and has logged 1,310:06 minutes in goal with 51 saves and 34 goals allowed.
 
SENIOR SENDOFF: Prior to Sunday's match, seniors Victoria Kappel, Gina Scaffidi, Skyler Jessop, Lindsey Kuitse, Daniela Salinas and Meagan Wilson will be honored as they don the Purple and Gold and take to John Mackenzie Alumni Field one last time for Western as a part of Senior Day.
 
FREE PIZZA: Free pizza will be provided for all Western Illinois students during Sunday's match. Fans are encouraged to stay and attend the men's soccer game, which kicks off at 1:30 following the women.
 
A LOOK AT THE JACKRABBITS: The Jackrabbits boast a 9-5-2 (4-1-1 SL) record and rank third in The Summit League with 13 points. Diana Potterveld and Madison Yueill lead the team with six and four goals, respectively. Nicole Inskeep has been a powerhouse in goal for the Jackrabbits all season, as she currently ranks first in the league in save percentage (.835) and goals-against average (.96). Inskeep has also made 76 saves while only allowing 15 goals.
 
SERIES HISTORY: The Leathernecks are looking for their first win over the Jackrabbits since 2007, a 1-0 victory at home. Western trails the all-time series, 1-8-1. Last season, the Leathernecks fell to SDSU in overtime. Jessop got Western on the board in the fourth minute off an assist from Markey. WIU held the lead until the 59th minute when the Jackrabbits hit the equalizer. South Dakota State then went on to score one minute into overtime to take the match by a score of 2-1.
 
A LOOK AT THE BISON: North Dakota State sits atop The Summit League standings with a 5-0-1 (10-5-1 overall) league record. The Leathernecks will have to keep an eye on Lauren Miller who leads the league with 13 goals. Miller also leads The Summit League in points (31) and shots (69). Amy Yang will also be an offensive target, as she leads the league with eight assists. Sierra Bonham will be in net for the Bison. Bonham ranks second in The Summit League with 88 saves and a save percentage of .822, and has only allowed 19 goals all season. The Bison will play at IUPUI on Friday prior to Sunday's contest.

SERIES HISTORY: The all-time series between the Bison and Leathernecks is tied at 5-5-1. Western has taken the last two meetings, including a 2-1 overtime victory last year in Fargo. Amy Bennett scored 28 minutes into the match to give the Leathernecks the lead. The Bison would score moments later, and after 90 minutes of play the match was knotted at 1-1. A few minutes into the overtime period, Sarah Wright found the back of the net off an assist from Markey and the Leathernecks took the match by a score of 2-1.
 
LAST TIME OUT: Western dropped matches to Denver and South Dakota over the weekend. The Pioneers took an early 1-0 lead after an own goal from the Leathernecks. DU held the lead until the 58th minute when Jessop scored the equalizer off of an assist from Hughes. Less than ten minutes later, Denver answered and would eventually take the match by a score of 2-1. Western looked to bounce back against South Dakota on Sunday. Scaffidi and Kayla Kirkwood each scored in the first half to give the Leathernecks a 2-0 lead heading into halftime. The Coyotes were scoreless until ten minutes into the second half when they scored their first of four second-half goals. South Dakota would go on to score in the 78th, 79th, and 81st minute to move past Western and take the match by a score of 4-2.

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