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Leathernecks Host UT Martin, Tennessee Tech in Final Pair of Home Games

| By: WIU ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS
Where | John MacKenzie Alumni Field - Macomb, Ill.  
When | 
Thursday, October 17, 3 PM vs. UT Martin             Stream      Live Stats
Sunday, October 20, 12 PM vs. Tennessee Tech     Stream      Live Stats 
(All times central)

Meet the Skyhawks:
With just three matches left on the 2024 calendar, UT Martin (2-9-3, 1-5) presents possibly the biggest remaining opportunity for the Leathernecks to pick up points. UT Martin's only conference win comes over SIUE, a team the Leathernecks drew. Izzy Patterson will be a player to look out for in the match, as she leads the Skyhawks in points (10), goals (3), and assists (4). UT Martin and WIU have only played one match in school history, drawing 1-1 last year in Martin. 

About the Golden Eagles:
As long as Tennessee Tech (4-7-5, 4-1-1) picks up a point vs. Eastern Illinois on Thursday, they will be riding into Senior Sunday's matchup with the Leathernecks on a six-match unbeaten streak. After going winless in the non-conference, the 2024 preseason favorites have been on a tear, winning four in a row before tying with SIUE this past Sunday. Western Illinois will have a tough task to defeat the Golden Eagles, but the Leathernecks have emerged victorious on each of their last three senior days.

WIU So Far:
Going into the penultimate week of league play, Western Illinois (1-11-1, 1-4-1) finds themselves fighting for qualification for the OVC Tournament. WIU is sitting in eighth place with four points, SIUE sits two points ahead of them with six, and UT Martin and SEMO sit just behind Western with three points apiece. Every match is pivotal down the stretch, and the Leathernecks have just three left and will need to pick up points to qualify. The Leathernecks defeated SEMO a few weeks ago and drew with SIUE to get to four points. 

Senior Sunday:
Western Illinois Women's Soccer will be honoring six seniors following Sunday's match with Tennessee Tech. Isabel Navas Rodriguez, Sydnee Sagal, Rachel Balinao, Alexis Betker, Elise Bush, and Karaline Gray will be the six seniors honored. Navas Rodriguez is a fifth-year senior goalkeeper who has been at Western for all five years of her career. Sydnee Sagal has spent the last three years at WIU, after transferring from Drake. Balinao has been at Western for the past four years and will cross 50 career appearances this weekend. Betker joins Balinao as the only other four-year senior who spent their entire career at Western. Bush has spent the last two years in Macomb, after transferring from Youngstown State. Gray has appeared in 15 matches after joining the Leathernecks in 2023, as a transfer from Monroe College. 

Key Returners:
Western Illinois returns 23 players from its 2023 squad. Isabel Navas Rodriguez, a fifth-year keeper from Madrid, Spain, comes back to the Leathernecks after being named OVC Goalkeeper of the Week on three occasions last season. Sydnee Sagal, a fifth-year midfielder from Oconomowoc, WI, returns after starting in all matches in 2023. Junior outside back Hana Daoudi returns to this year's squad after finishing third among all outfield players in minutes last season. Alanna Pennington is looking to build on her 2023 freshman campaign where she started all 16 matches and scored thrice, leading the squad. 

Player to Watch:
Senior attacker/midfielder Kayla Turner was named Western Illinois' representative as a Player to Watch. Turner, in her fourth season with the Leathernecks, started 16 games as a freshman, scoring once and assisting three goals in the 2021 campaign. Turner missed most of her sophomore season, only playing three games, but bounced back last season in a super-sub role. Turner scored the Leathernecks' first goal of the OVC conference season, helping lead Western Illinois to a 1-1 draw at UT Martin. Turner also got an assist in a 3-1 win over Green Bay in 2023 and finished fourth on the 2023 side in shot attempts with ten.  

Fresh Faces:
Despite the 23 returning players, seven newcomers to the 2024 squad will look to make an impact. Coach Josee Primeau bolstered an offense that struggled to put the ball in the net in 2023, adding three junior transfer forwards to the squad. A native of Crocker, MO, Callie McMurtrey joins the team after a pair of seasons at Jefferson College. From Cody, WY, Autumn Wilson scored 16 goals in 16 games as a sophomore and will look to provide a scoring punch for the Leathernecks. Rounding out the group of transfers is Landry McCoid, who dominated ICCAC competition with Iowa Central CC in 2023. McCoid scored 35 goals in 17 games last season before joining the Leathernecks. Four freshmen also join this year's team, goalkeeper Ariel Bernard, outside back Hilary Halpin, defensive midfielder Aofie Boulter, and midfielder Ava Bell.
 
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