Sun Belt Title On The Line As Soccer Closes Out Season At Home

This season head coach Kat Conner and the soccer team are raising funds in support of women fighting ovarian cancer through the Goals2Cure^TM initiative.

San Marcos, Texas – The regular season for the Texas State soccer team ends this weekend not only with two home matches at the Bobcat Soccer Complex but also the Sun Belt Conference regular season championship on the line.

The Bobcats take on Troy Friday at 7 p.m. for the team’s annual Pink Match and then battle South Alabama for the conference title at 1 p.m. Sunday on Senior Day.

Following the conclusion of Sunday’s contest, the team will honor this year’s senior class with a special ceremony. Being recognized for their contribution to the program are Chandler Cooney, Rachel Grout, Elizabeth Havenhill, Kassi Hormuth, Alyssa Phelan, Brooke Ramsey and Kira Zapalac.

Having won six consecutive matches, TXST enters the weekend 9-4-1 overall, 7-1-0 in the SBC and sitting in first place with 21 points and a 3-point advantage. The Trojans sport a 6-8-2 record on the season and are 4-3-0 in conference play while the Jaguars are 8-5-1 this year and are in second place with 18 points behind a 6-1-0 Sun Belt mark.

Rachel Grout leads the Bobcats with seven goals and 19 points. She tied for the team lead of five assists with Kassi Hormuth. The back-to-back SBC Offensive Player of the Week honoree is second on the team with six goals, 17 points, 35 shots and 17 shots on goal. She comes in with 44 career points, the ninth most in program history.

Contributing five goals and two assists, all during conference action, is Kaylee Davis. Finding the back of the net three times this year is Renny Moore and Sydney Kammer and Alyssa Phelan have both tallied two goals apiece.

Jordan Kondikoff has been credited with four assists from her defensive midfield position. Also with two assists on the year are Jamie Brown, Jessica Pikoff and Phelan.

Heather Martin, the Sun Belt Defensive Player of the Week winner for the third time in the last four weeks, leads all goalkeepers in conference play with a 0.49 GAA and five shutouts while her .886 save percentage ranks second. For the season, the sophomore has a 0.79 GAA, 41 saves and an .839 save percentage. Her eight victories between the posts are tied for the ninth most in a single-season in program history.

The Bobcats are coming off a five shutout streak, tying the school record set in 2001, that was snapped on Sunday at Little Rock and lasted 560:55. They are first in the SBC in points (84), goals per match (2.00), assists (28), assists per match (2.00), goals allowed (13), GAA (0.89) and tied for first in goals (28).

Scouting Troy

Troy has won three of its last four matches with the lone loss being a 2-1 overtime defeat at home against South Alabama. The Trojans have three contests left this season after Hurricane Nate forced the postponement of the contest against Georgia Southern that will be made up next weekend. Entering this weekend, Troy is in fifth place in the conference standings with 12 points. The team can finish as high as second but most win its last three matches.

When playing on the road, the Trojans are 3-3-1 this season and are 1-2-0 against Sun Belt foes. Their lone win was against Appalachian State while they fell to Arkansas State and Coastal Carolina. The non-conference victories were at Alabama State and Jackson State.

Julia Winter paces the team in goals (5), points (13), shots (25) and shots on goal (14). Qarli Stone has added four goals, two of which came against the Panthers, and been credited with two assists. Both Maddie Brune and Alison Watkins have found the back of the net twice.

Leading Troy with five assists is Haley Roberson. Entering with multiple assists to their names are Mecca Cobbin (2) and Kiersten Edlund (3).

In goal, Mikki Lewis has played in 12 matches and started eight of them. She has a 1.68 GAA, 29 saves and a .644 save percentage. The senior is tied for third in SBC history with 37 shutouts and holds the program record with 30 victories.

Haleigh Mercer has made seven appearances with six starts. She has surrendered seven goals for a 1.54 GAA and stopped 16 shots for a .696 save percentage. Katrine Jacobsen has played in five matches in net and started two of them. The true freshman from Denmark has given up a goal for a 0.37 GAA, made 17 saves and sports a .944 save percentage.

Series vs. Trojans

The all-time series between Texas State and Troy is tied 3-3. The Bobcats won the first three meetings but have dropped the past three including a 2-1 defeat last year at Troy. That contest saw Genesis Turman score her first career goal on a header off a corner kick from Kira Zapalac but the Trojans tallied two goals in the second half.

When playing in San Marcos, TXST is 2-0 against Troy. The last time the teams met at the Bobcat Soccer Complex, the Bobcats won 2-0 behind goals from Lynsey Curry and Grout.

Scouting South Alabama

South Alabama will play at Louisiana on Friday before taking on the Bobcats. Last weekend saw the Jaguars split their two matches with a loss at home to Arkansas State 1-0 and defeating Coastal Carolina 2-1 in overtime on the road. Sunday will be the third consecutive road contest for USA and will close out the regular season on Friday, Oct. 27 at home against Little Rock, a match that was postponed because of Hurricane Nate.

On the road this season, the Jaguars are 3-2-1 with all of their victories coming on SBC play at CCU, Georgia Southern and Troy.

Rio Hardy is tied for the league lead with nine goals and is tied for second with 19 points. She also paces USA in shots (48), shots on goal (29) and match-winning goals (3). Tiina Trutsi has tallied four goals, three coming by penalty kicks, and a team-high three assists. Danielle Henley has found the back of the net three times and both Ana Helmart and Briana Morris have scored two goals each.

Entering the weekend with two assists apiece are Chelsea Followwell, Deanna Green and Helmart.

Between the posts, Justice Stanford has played all 1,315:46 minutes. She has a 1.09 GAA, 46 saves and .742 save percentage heading into Friday’s match against the Ragin’ Cajuns.

Series vs. Jaguars

South Alabama holds a 4-0-1 advantage all-time against Texas State. Last season saw the Jaguars win 2-1 in Mobile after scoring twice in the first half. Lauren Prater cut the deficit in half early in the 77th minute after a through ball from Jamie Brown for her first career assist. Sunday will be just the second in the series to be played in San Marcos. The only other time was on Oct. 14, 2014, a 1-0 win for USA.

The lone draw came on Sept. 27, 2013 on the road and ended 2-2. It was the Bobcats’ first-ever SBC match.

Live stats and video will be available for both matches while an audio broadcast will only be offered for Sunday’s contest on 89.9 FM KTSW.

Goals2Cure

This season head coach Kat Conner and the soccer team are raising funds in support of women fighting ovarian cancer through the Goals2Cure^TM initiative. The players and staff are collecting pledges for each goal scored this season. Donations will go directly to benefit a scholarship program through the Texas Oncology Foundation.

Pledges can be made at PledgeIt.org/goals2cure.

For more information on the Texas State soccer team, visit the official website of Texas State Athletics at www.txstatebobcats.com, like on Facebook at Texas State Soccer and follow on Instagram and Twitter at @TxStateSoccer.

TROY Live Stats: http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=181496

TROY Video: http://txstatebobcats.com/watch/?Live=1338&type=Live

USA Live Stats: http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=181497

USA Video: http://txstatebobcats.com/watch/?Live=1339&type=Live

USA Audio: http://ktsw.net/apps/stream/#now

Game Notes: http://txstatebobcats.com/sports/2017/8/16/soccer-game-notes.aspx?path=wsoc