VALDOSTA, Ga. – The Valdosta State women's soccer team returns home to host Union and Christian Brothers University to close out the 2018 home regular season slate this weekend.  The Blazers and Union are set to battle Friday at 7 p.m. at the Soccer Complex, while VSU and Christian Brothers battle Sunday at 1 p.m. for Senior Day.
 
VSU enters the week with an 8-5 record and a 6-3 mark in the Gulf South Conference.  The Blazers are sitting just outside the top eight in the initial NCAA Division II South Region rankings, which were released Wednesday. Barry leads the rankings, followed by West Florida, Mississippi College, Rollins and Lee round out the top five. Nova Southeastern is sixth, followed by Christian Brothers, VSU's opponent Sunday, and West Alabama is eighth. The top six teams in the final rankings, released Sunday, Nov. 4, will advance to the NCAA postseason.  VSU will be looking for its fourth trip to the NCAA postseason in program history since it began the program in 2011.
 
Blazer, fans who attend the No. 7-ranked VSU Homecoming Football game against North Greeville on Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m. at Bazemore-Hyder Stadium and bring their ticket stub will be admitted free to Sunday's soccer match against Christian Brothers. 
 
Women's soccer then will conclude the regular season next Thursday and Saturday at Shorter and Lee, respectively. VSU currently sits tied for fourth in the league standings with Christian Brothers, both at 6-3.  With a strong finish, the Blazers have a chance to host a GSC Playoff Super Tuesday match on Oct. 30.  
 
Prior to Sunday's match against Christian Brothers, the Blazers will honor three seniors playing in their final regular season home match in a Blazer uniform.  Seniors Carley Montgomery, Suvi Savolainen and Mallory McDaniel comprise the 2018 senior class.  The trio has combined for seven goals and eight assists this season, along with one game winner.  
 
Last week, the Blazers had their matches moved due to Hurricane Michael.  VSU dropped a heartbreaking 1-0 loss at Mississippi College on Sunday, before responding with a 4-0 win in inclement weather at Delta State Tuesday.  Against the Choctaws, VSU went toe-to-toe with MC, before surrendering a goal in the final 10 minutes of regulation.  The Blazers then blitzed the Statesmen as juniors Ashley Lewis and Riley Tennant each scored two goals and McDaniel had two assists in the match in the 4-0 win.
 
Nationally speaking, the Blazers are fourth in the GSC and 36^thnationally in assists per game at 1.85, while ranking third in the league and 39^thnationally in total assists with 24.  VSU is fifth in the league and 54^thnationally in total goals with 29, while ranking fifth in the conference in total points with 82 for 50^thnationally.  The Blazers are averaging 2.23 goals per game for fifth in the league and 46^thnationally.  
 
Individually, Lewis leads the league in game winning goals with five for 11^thnationally, while she is second in the league in goals per game (0.85) for 22^ndnationally and third in the conference in points per game (1.85) for 35^thnationally.  Lewis is second in total goals with 11 for 23^rdnationally and third in the GSC in total points with 24 for 40^thnationally. McDaniel leads the team with five assists for fourth in the conference.  
 
Head coach Stephen Andrew is in his second year at VSU and is 18-11-1 and 158-66-12 in 12 years of coaching overall.  He is 1-0 against Union with a 4-1 win last season and is 0-1 against Christian Brothers with a 2-1 loss in 2017.
 
Lewis leads the team with 11 goals on the year and is tied for the school-record for single-season goals with current teammate Taylor Snell.  Lewis has two assists on the year for 24 points as that also is tied with Snell for the single-season record.  She leads the team with five game winners, while leading the team with 56 shots (.196) and 27 on frame (.482).  Tennant is second in scoring with 11 points on four goals and three assists. She has 16 shots with 11 on frame and one game winner.  McDaniel leads the team with five assists and is tied with Tennant in scoring with 11 points. McDaniel has 17 shots and 10 on frame.  Freshman Lauren Hicks is fourth in scoring with seven points on three goals and one assist.  She has 15 shots and eight on goal.
 
Between the pipes, sophomore Caroline Embler is 5-5 on the year with a 1.04 goals against average in 11 matches with 10 starts.  She has logged 867:24 minutes with 47 saves and three shutouts, while freshman Samantha Blanford is 3-0 with a 1.46 GAA in six matches with three starts.  Blanford has 14 saves on the year. 
 
Union enters with a 0-10-1 record and a 0-8-1 mark in GSC play.  The Bulldogs have scored just one goal in their last eight matches in a 1-1 tie against Shorter on Oct. 12.  Union has six goals on the year, while allowing 37.  Anna Barkey leads the team with two goals and one assist on the year.  She has 20 shots and 12 on frame.  Anna Venckus has played in all 11 matches with 10 starts, logging 877:26 minutes.  She has a 3.39 GAA with 67 saves.
 
VSU leads the all-time series with Union 3-1-2, with a 4-1 win last season on the road as Tennant tallied a hat trick in the match.  VSU is 1-0-2 at home against the Bulldogs and 2-1 on the road.  VSU has outscored Union 12-7 in the six matches.
 
Christian Brothers enters the week with a 7-4-1 record overall and the same 6-3 mark as VSU in league play.  The Lady Bucs will play at West Georgia on Friday, before heading South to face VSU Sunday.  CBU has won its last two matches with a 3-2, double-overtime win over Lee and a 1-0 win over Shorter.  The VSU match will be the fourth-straight road game for the Lady Bucs.   
 
For the Lady Bucs, they are third in the GSC and 23^rdnationally in assists per game at 2.00, while ranking third in the league in total assists with 24 for 39^thnationally.  CBU is 29^thin points per game for third in the league at 7.17, while ranking fourth in total points with 86 for 44^thnationally.  The Lady Bucs are 29^thnationally in scoring offense for third in the league at 2.58 per game, while recording 31 total goals for fourth in the conference and 44^thnationally.  
 
Individually Bailey Tadlock is third in the conference and 24^thnationally in assists per game at 0.58, while ranking 23^rdnationally and third in the league in total assists with seven.  Sinead Tierney is fourth in the league in goals per game (0.82), while ranking fourth in the league in points per game (1.73).  She has nine goals to lead the team and 19 points, ranking fourth and fifth in the league, respectively.  In goal, Riley Chafin has logged 1062:10 minutes for sixth in the league, while ranking sixth in goals against average (1.44) and seventh in save percentage (.788).  
 
VSU leads the all-time series with Christian Brothers, 4-2-1, but CBU has gone 2-0-1 in the last three meetings, including a 2-1 win in Memphis, Tenn., last season.  VSU won the first four meetings in the series dating back to 2011. The Blazers are 2-0-1 at home against CBU and are 2-2 on the road.  VSU has outscored CBU 11-9 in the seven meetings.