VALDOSTA, Ga. – The Valdosta State women's soccer team opens Gulf South Conference play with a pair of home matches this weekend. The Blazers kick-off conference play with No. 9 West Florida on September 24 at 7 p.m., and then will host Spring Hill College Sunday at 1 p.m. 

The match against West Florida will mark the first match for the Blazers since Sept. 12 versus North Georgia. The Blazers defeated UNG 2-1 to clinch their first win over the Nighthawks in school history and moved to 3-1 on the season.  Last week, VSU and Embry-Riddle were slated for a Sept 17 match, but it was canceled due to the threat of inclement weather.  

The No. 9 ranked Argos enter Friday's match with a 4-0 record, recording wins against Texas A&M International, 2-1, St. Mary's, 1-0, Saint Leo, 1-0, and Florida Southern, 1-0.  UWF also hasn't competed since Sept. 12, with games against West Alabama and Alabama Huntsville postponed due to inclement weather.  UWF was picked second in the GSC preseason coaches poll and hasn't played since 2019.  UWF went 12-5-1 overall and 8-4 in GSC play in 2019.  The Argos opted out of the 2021 spring season after the 2020 fall campaign was canceled due to the COVID-19 Pandemic.

The Blazers are 1-8-3 all-time against the Argos, with the most recent meeting being in the 2019 season with the Argos coming out on top 5-0.  VSU's first and only win against UWF was in the 2014 season, where the Blazers recorded a 2-1 win in the GSC tournament to advance to the program's second trip to the GSC title match.  The Blazers and Argos tied in 2017, 2013 and in 2011 in the conference tournament as VSU won on PK's, in VSU's inaugural season.

On Sunday, the Blazers will welcome Spring Hill College to the VSU Soccer Complex. The Badgers are 0-6 on the season coming into the match with notable losses against Georgia College (4-0), Albany State (3-0), West Alabama (3-1) and Alabama Huntsville (3-0).   The Blazers are 4-0-2 against the Badgers, with the most recent meeting in the 2019 season with VSU dominating the scoreline 4-0.   VSU holds a 3-0 home record against Spring Hill and look to continue the unbeaten streak at home against the Badgers.

 

Gameday Storylines  
  
Dynamic Duo, Inside the Box Score
The Blazers are led this season by sophomore Bailey Hern and freshman Molly Woolridge, who each have recorded three goals and three assists for nine points.  

Hern leads the team with 15 shots and nine on target along with one game winner, while Woolridge has nine shots and three on frame. Hern comes in at fourth in the GSC with shots on goal, goals scored, and game-winning goals.

Junior Lauren Hicks has four points on the year on two goals.  Hern, Oballe and junior Kate Katzman each have game winners.  
 
In goal, freshman Landon Carter is 2-1 in three games played with three starts, logging 228:46 minutes.  She has allowed five goals with nine saves and combined on the shutout at Albany State.  

Junior Samantha Blanford is 1-0 in three matches with one start and has allowed one goal.  She has played 120:45 minutes and has three saves, while freshman Emma Pruett has played in one match for 22:49 minutes.  
 
As a team, the Blazers have scored 16 goals with 13 assists for 45 points.  The team has recorded 72 shots (.222) with 43 on goal (.583) and three game winners.  VSU also has an own goal to its credit this season.  The Blazers are second nationally in points per game at 11.25 for tops in the GSC and second in scoring offense at 4.00 per game, while they are third in assists per game at a 3.25 clip and fourth in total assists (13), total goals (16) and total points (45) to all lead the GSC.
 
First Wins
The Valdosta State women's soccer team clinched its first win in program history against the University of North Georgia, 2-1, on Sunday at the VSU Soccer Complex in the 2021 home-opener. The Blazers recorded their third win of the young season and improved to 3-1 overall while the Nighthawks fell to 0-1-1. 
 
Looking at West Florida
For the third straight weekend in a row, the Argos will be on the road after having to postpone their past two home games.  In the GSC Coaches Preseason Poll, the Argos were voted to finish second in the conference. In the United Soccer Coaches Poll the Argos are ranked ninth nationally. In the regional poll West Florida is second behind Florida Tech.  Leading the Argos in goals are Senior Blair Cowan with four. Julia Comin, Destiny Hammac and Brianna Pope all have goals on the season. Cowan leads the team in goals with four, scoring in each match thus far.  The team is averaging 1.5 goals per game and 15.5 shots per game.

Looking at Spring Hill College

The Badgers come into the match with a 0-6 record. The team has been outscored 19-2 by opponents and outshot by competitors 113-33. Sophomore Carson Reeves leads the team in goals, scoring all the goals for the Badgers this season.   Sophomore goalkeeper Anna Brunner has recorded 477 minutes on the season with 20 saves and 17 goals against her. Sophomore Hannah Linss has recorded 62 minutes on the season and has eight saves with two goals scored. Combined, the duo has 28 saves with 19 goals scored. 

Upcoming Matches
Following the weekend's match, the Blazers have their first GSC road trip at Shorter on October 1 at 7 p.m. The Blazers will then travel to Lee on October 3 to take on the Flames at 1 p.m.   
 
Preseason Predictions
The Blazers were picked sixth in the GSC Preseason Coaches' Poll and had two players named to the Preseason All-GSC Team in Hall and sophomore Rachael Howard. 
 
Hall a native of Jacksonville, Fla., recorded 545 minutes over seven games in the spring, and currently sits ninth all-time in VSU women's soccer history in minutes played.  She scored one goal on two shots in the spring, while playing in 56 games with 48 starts for her career.  Hall has scored two goals and tallied five assists for her career.  She earned second-team all-league honors in 2019 and first-team accolades in 2018.   
  
Howard, a sophomore forward and native of Walsall, England, started in all seven games her first season as a Blazer after transferring from the University of Bridgeport (Connecticut). Howard led the Blazers with five goals and three assists on 12 shots. She was named United Soccer Coaches Player of the Week and GSC Women's Soccer Top Performance of the Week during the spring.  

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