Texas State Soccer Opens Sun Belt Conference On The Road

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 – For just the second time since becoming a Sun Belt Conference member, the Texas State soccer team will open up conference play on the road. First up is Georgia State on Friday at 3 p.m. CDT at the GSU Soccer Complex. Sunday sees the team take on Coastal Carolina at 12 p.m. CDT on the pitch at the CCU Soccer Stadium.

The Bobcats head into league play with a 2-3-1 record on the season that was capped off with a 4-0 victory over Prairie View A&M. The Panthers are 2-4-1 overall and also closed out their non-conference slate with a shutout over Chattanooga (2-0). Entering the weekend with a 5-2-0 mark is the Chanticleers.

Rachel Grout, Kassi Hormuth and Renny Moore have all scored a team-high two goals this season. Grout paces TXST as well with three assists and seven points while Hormuth has placed a team best eight shot attempts on goal. Heading into the match with two assists on the season as well are Jordan Kondikoff and Jessica Pikoff.

In net, Kathryn Budde has played in all six matches and sports a 1.13 GAA, 13 saves and a .722 save percentage. Appearing in four contests has been Heather Martin. She goes into SBC action with a 2.00 GAA, 10 stops and a .714 save percentage.

Scouting Georgia State

Georgia State will be playing its second of three straight home matches on Friday. Both of the Panthers’ victories have come at home over Southeastern Louisiana (3-0) and the Mocs. Their lone loss in Atlanta came against Kennesaw State by the score of 4-3 on Aug. 20.

Netting a team best two goals apiece has been Alex Addington and Suzanne Arafa. Others finding the back of the net this season are Yvonne Ploeg, Caitlin Ray, Brooke Shank and Ashley Thomas, who is second on the team with two assists. Coming in with a team-high three assists is Siobhan Wilson.

Brie Haynes started the first six matches this season for GSU. She has compiled a 1.32 GAA and .786 save percentage with 22 saves. Olivia Francis played all 90 minutes between the posts against Chattanooga to record a shutout and had to make just one stop. Coming off the bench in two matches has been Olivia Mitrovich, who has not allowed a goal and stopped two shots in 60:23 minutes of action.

Series vs. Panthers

The Bobcats lead the all-time series 4-2-0 over the Panthers. Last season TXST won 3-1 at home that saw Alyssa Phelan be credited with a career-high two assists. When playing in Atlanta, the Bobcats are 0-2 with losses coming on Oct. 26, 2014 (1-0) and in the 2015 SBC Tournament (2-1).

Scouting Coastal Carolina

Coastal Carolina closed out its non-conference slate with a 9-1 loss at Georgia. Prior to the defat, the Chanticleers had won three straight, all of them coming at home, against Charleston Southern (3-0), Davidson (1-0) and Winthrop (2-1). Their other two victories were on the road at College of Charleston (2-1) and Wofford (3-0). CCU’s first loss of the year came at then 21st-ranked North Carolina State by the score of 3-0. Before hosting the Bobcats on Sunday, the Chanticleers will host Georgia Southern on Friday.

Leading the team and the conference with six goals and 13 points is Daniella Famili. Her 21 shots are the third most in the SBC. Brooke Horist is the only other player to have multiple goals this season with two. Other than Famili, Elizabeth Rockhill has reached the double-digit mark in shots (15) and shots on goal (10) while recording a team-high three assists.

Starting all seven matches in goal has been Rylee Atteberry. She enters the weekend with a 1.55 GAA, 28 saves and a .737 save percentage. Eva Knapstein has made two appearances in net off the bench. She has given up four goals for a 7.12 GAA in 50:32 minutes of action and has made five stops.

Series vs. Chanticleers

The only meeting between CCU and TXST saw the Chanticleers win 1-0 last season in San Marcos. CCU scored on a penalty kick in the 13^th minute after a controversial foul call in the box. Sunday’s contest will be the first on the road in the series and in the state of South Carolina.

Live stats will be available for both matches while video will only be provided for Sunday’s contest. Links can be found on the Bobcat soccer team’s schedule page.

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.

GSU Live Stats: http://stats.statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=181457

CCU Live Stats: http://www.goccusports.com/gametracker/launch/gt_wsoccer.html?event=1548261&school=coas&sport=wsoccer&camefrom=&startschool=&

CCU Video: http://www.goccusports.com/collegesportslive/?media=559528

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