VALDOSTA, Ga. – The Valdosta State women's soccer team is set to kick off its postseason run on Sunday at 1 p.m. against West Florida at the VSU Soccer Complex in the Gulf South Conference Quarterfinal. VSU enters the match with an 11-5-1 record, and 8-4-1 in Gulf South Conference play. 

The playoff match marks the first time the Valdosta State soccer program has hosted a GSC playoff match. VSU is making its ninth appearance in the GSC Tournament since 2011. Last year, the Blazers fell to West Alabama in the GSC Spring Championship Series second round. 

The Blazers head into Sunday's showdown as the No. 4 seed, while West Florida ended the regular season with an 11-2-2 record and 7-2-2 in the GSC and comes to Titletown as the No. 5 seed in the tournament. 

Sunday's match will be broadcast on FloSports and can be accessed by clicking on the link here to sign up and watch.  All GSC Championships this season are broadcast on FloSports.  

GSC Women's Soccer Championship Playoff:

No. 1 – Lee vs. No. 8 Christian Brothers 

No. 4 Valdosta State vs. No. 5 West Florida 

No. 3 Delta State vs. No. 6 West Georgia 

No. 2 Mississippi College vs. No 7 West Alabama

Tickets for Sunday's match will only be sold at the gate. Gates will open at noon and are CASH ONLY. 

GSC Tournament Ticket Prices:

Adults – $5 

Senior Citizens – $3 

Youth – $3 

Five and Under – Free Admission

Gameday Storylines 

GSC Tournament History 

The Valdosta State soccer program is no stranger to the GSC Tournament. In the program's first year, the team defeated the West Florida Argonauts 5-3 in penalty kicks after a 2-2 draw to advance to the semifinals. The Blazers fell to North Alabama, 5-3 in the championship match, to end the 2011 season. 

In the 2012 season, the Blazers faced the West Georgia Wolves in the first round of the GSC tournament and fell 1-0. The Blazers also had their first NCAA Tournament appearance in 2012 but lost 1-0 to North Alabama in the first round. 

For the 2013 season, the Blazers battled to a 2-1 loss against the Alabama Huntsville Chargers. The season marked the second year in the row the team made the NCAA tournament but fell to Florida Tech, 1-0 in the first round. 

2014 marked a standout year for the Blazers. The Blazers defeated West Florida, 2-1, and then North Alabama, 3-0, to clinch the team's first GSC Championship. The Blazers also picked up their first win in the NCAA tournament, 1-0 against the Christian Brothers Buccaneers, but fell to Rollins 1-0 in the second round. 

The 2015 and 2016 seasons were the only years the Blazers haven't appeared in the GSC tournament since the program's start. 

In 2017, the Blazers returned to the GSC tournament with a 3-3 draw versus North Alabama, but advanced 5-4 on penalty kicks to the semifinals, before a 5-1 loss to Lee 5-1 in the semifinals. 

In 2018, the Blazers fell to West Alabama, 2-0 in the opening match and in 2019, the Blazers fell to Lee in double overtime in the first round. The 2019 season saw Lee win in the 109^th minute of double overtime, 1-0 in the first round.

Last year, the Blazers fell to aforementioned West Alabama in the Spring Championship Series second round. All GSC teams made the championship series last year as the 2020 Fall season was cancelled due to COVID-19. 

Inside the Box Score 

This season, the Blazers' offense is led by sophomore Bailey Hern, this week's GSC Offensive Player of the Week, and freshman Molly Wooldridge. Hern has six goals on the season with four assists, while Wooldridge has recorded nine goals and three assists. She has picked up 21 points on the year, while Hern has 16. Hern also leads the team with 38 shots and 19 on target, along with three game-winners, while Wooldridge has 35 shots and 17 on frame, and two game-winners. 

 Senior Lauren Hicks has seven points on the year with three goals and one assist, while senior Kyleigh Reedy has put away two goals on the year and has assisted five, combining for nine points.

Freshman goalkeeper Emma Pruett has combined for five shutouts on the year in VSU's wins against Albany State on September 8, Spring Hill on September 26, Delta State on October 20, Union on October 15, and Alabama Huntsville on October 24. Pruett has played in nine matches for 588 minutes and has recorded 14 saves for a 0.737 save percentage and a 4-2-0 record on the year. 

Between the posts, senior Samantha Blanford has played in nine matches with seven starts, logging 632:40 minutes. She has a 1.28 goals-against average with 33 saves for a .786 save percentage. Blanford is 4-2-1 on the year with one shutout and combined on two other shutouts. 

As a team, the Blazers have scored 38 goals with 26 assists. The team has 208 shots with 114 on frame and 11 game-winners. VSU also has an own goal to its credit this season. 

Second Time Out with West Florida

The Blazers battled to a 0-0 double-overtime draw earlier this season to open up GSC play, also in Valdosta. The match marked VSU's fourth draw in program history with the Argos, as VSU is 1-8-4 all-time against UWF.  The Blazers are currently 0-4-2 at home, and the only win came during the 2014 season during the GSC semifinal match, where the Blazers went on to win the GSC title. 

The Argos enter Sunday's match, coming off a 4-0 road win over Spring Hill College on November 4. West Florida is unbeaten in its last five games, picking up wins against Mississippi College, Shorter, Christian Brothers, and Spring Hill and picking up a draw with Delta State last month. West Florida averages 1.93 goals per game and 17.1 shots per game. Blair Cowan leads the Argos' offense with nine goals on the year and five assists, while Brianna Pope has four goals on the year and one assist. Charline Favier has played the most minutes for UWF between the posts and has 21 saves in 56 shots faced for a 0.750 save percentage and a 6-1-1 record on the year. 

To stay up to date on all things Blazer soccer and the GSC Championship Tournament, follow Blazer Athletics on social media or visit vstateblazers.com.