VALDOSTA, Ga. – After a hard fought 2-1 loss to Flagler in the 2021 spring season opener on Wednesday, the Valdosta State women's soccer team heads to West Georgia for its Gulf South Conference opener on Sunday at 2:30 p.m., in Carrollton, Ga.
 
Fans can access links to live stats and streaming of the match at vstateblazers.com on the women's soccer schedule page.
 
Despite the loss on Wednesday, the Blazers played a very talented Flagler side as the Saints scored just 21 seconds into the match and led 1-0 at halftime.  After a second goal by the Saints in the second half, the momentum began to shift to VSU.  Junior Kyleigh Reedy was on the receiving end of a sophomore Rachael Howard pass and Reedy scored for a 2-1 deficit in the 68^th minute.  After tallying two shots in the first half, VSU had eight shots in the second including the score.  VSU junior goalkeeper Samantha Blanford had a career-high 12 saves in the match.
 
West Georgia enters with a 2-0 record and is 1-0 in GSC play after a 4-1 victory over Shorter on Feb. 14.  The Wolves opened the spring season with a 5-2 victory at Emmanuel (Ga.) on Feb. 7.  Including an exhibition game against Columbus State, this will be the fourth-straight Sunday the Wolves have played.
 
VSU head coach Stephen Andrew is in his fourth season at the helm of the Blazers.  He is 32-21-3 overall and 26-12-2 in Gulf South Conference play.  Andrew guided VSU to three-straight conference tournament appearances from 2017-2019, before the COVID-19 Pandemic cancelled the 2020 fall season.  Overall he is in his 14^th season of coaching as he is 172-76-12 all-time, coaching at Piedmont for nine seasons and Huntingdon College for one.
 
The Blazers were picked third in the GSC East Division Preseason Poll, announced last week by the league office.  VSU garnered 16 points in the poll as it was voted on by the head coaches in the league.  Teams received five points for a first-place vote, four points for a second-place vote, etc.  Head coaches were not allowed to vote for their own teams.
 
Lee was tabbed the East Division favorite with 24 points and received four of the six first-place nods, while Montevallo was second with 22 points and the remaining two first-place votes.  West Georgia was fourth with 14 points, followed by Auburn Montgomery (8) and Shorter was sixth with six points.
 
In the West Division, Mississippi College was named the favorite with 24 points and two first-place votes, followed by West Alabama (22 points / 2 first-place) and Christian Brothers was third with 16 points.  Delta State was selected fourth (12 points), followed by Alabama Huntsville (11 points) and Union was sixth with five points.
 
For the Wolves through the two matches this season, Ryelyn Wells leads the team with three goals, one assist and seven points.  She has fired eight shots with six on frame and has both game winners.  Sadie Prince has two goals with six shots and three on target, while Jazmine Santiago has three points with a goal and an assist and Cassidi Thomas leads the team with three assists.  Between the posts, Haley Brinkman is 2-0 with a 1.50 goals against average.  She has allowed three goals on 13 shots faced with four saves. 
 
VSU leads the all-time series with UWG 5-4-2 and has won the past two meetings, including a 3-2 win in 2019 in Valdosta and a 3-0 victory in Carrollton in 2018.  Prior to that, UWG had won three-straight.  VSU is 2-1-1 all-time in Carrollton and has outscored UWG 16-12 for the series.
 
Following Sunday's contest, the Blazers return home to host Lee University in a GSC match on Thursday, Feb. 25 at 2 p.m. at the VSU Soccer Complex and then again at home on Sunday, Feb. 28 at 3 p.m. versus Montevallo.