VALDOSTA, Ga. – Following the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, the Valdosta State women's soccer team returns to the pitch on Friday at 5 p.m. versus Alabama Huntsville and Sunday at 1 p.m. versus West Alabama.  The matches have been moved to Americus, Ga., on the campus of Georgia Southwestern University. 
 
VSU had its previous two home matches postponed versus Trevecca Nazarene and Lee last week due to the Hurricane as those matches will tentatively be rescheduled later in the season.  The Blazers are 3-3 on the year and 0-1 in Gulf South Conference play, following a 3-1 loss at Montevallo on Sept. 21.
 
In the match versus Montevallo, the Blazers and the Falcons played to a scoreless draw in the first half with a combined four shots through the first 45 minutes.  UM scored at the 64:46 mark for a 1-0 lead and added with a penalty kick for a 2-0 lead less than three minutes later. VSU then got on the board with a nice goal from freshman Maria Rojas at the 76:58 mark on a penalty kick, but the Falcons added the insurance goal at the 83:24 mark.  Rojas finished with two shots and one on frame and the PK for the Blazers.
 
This season, the Blazers are led by junior Katherine Kimmel who has a team-high five points on one goal and three assists, as her three assists also lead the team.  She has two shots, both on target and has converted one penalty kick.  Rojas is second in scoring with four points and leads the team with two goals.  She has a team-high 12 shots with nine on frame and converted a penalty kick. 
 
In goal, senior Emma Pruett is 3-2 on the year in 437:20 minutes of action, allowing six goals (1.23 GAA) with ten saves and has two shutouts and one combined shutout.  Junior Claire Timberlake has played in 95:34 minutes and allowed three goals with three saves on the year, while sophomore Tori Vliet has played one match for just over seven minutes with one save and combined on a shutout. 
 
As a team, the Blazers have scored nine goals with seven assists and 25 points, while registering 65 shots (.138) with 37 on target (.559) and has gone 2 for 3 in penalty kicks.  Conversely, the opposition also has scored nine goals with eight assists and 26 points.  The opponents have 46 shots (.196) with 2 on frame (.500) and are 1 for 1 in PK's.  VSU has a 1.50 GAA in 540 minutes with three shutouts. 
 
The Blazers lead the all-time series with UAH 8-5, but the Chargers have won the last two meetings, including a 2-1 decision on Sept. 22, 2023, in Valdosta.  In last season's meeting, UAH scored the winner on a free kick in the 81^st minute by Evelina Gustafsson for her second goal of the match.  Current senior Jocelyn Oballe scored the first goal just 3:08 into the contest and Gustafsson's first score came in the 41^st minute.  VSU held a 19-12 lead in shots and a 6-5 advantage in shots on target.  Blazer head coach Stephen Andrew is 3-3 against UAH at the helm of the Blazers.  He is 201-104-20 all-time in 18 seasons of coaching and is 61-49-11 at VSU as the winningest coach in program history in his eighth season. 
 
The Chargers enter with a 2-4-1 record overall and a 1-1-1 mark in GSC play.  UAH lost most recently 2-1 to Montevallo, while tying with Lee (1-1) and winning 1-0 over Trevecca Nazarene in conference play.  Sabrina Da Silva leads the team with four points and two goals, while registering ten shots and four on target this season.  Jayla Gillespie lads the team with 16 shots and ten on frame with one penalty kick goal and one assist.  Mailen Mera leads the team with two assists.  In goal, Cece Szopa has played all 630 minutes with six goals against (0.86 GAA), 29 saves and two shutouts while facing 74 shots. 
 
UWA enters with a 1-4-1 record overall and an 0-2-1 record in league play.  The Tigers will face Auburn Montgomery at home on Friday, before heading to Georgia Southwestern for Sunday's matchup with the Blazers.  UWA dropped a 3-0 decision to Lee, while tying Trevecca Nazarene 2-2 and lost 1-0 to Montevallo for its conference results to date.
 
This season, the Tigers have had three players score one goal and three have one assist.  Aileen Charles, Selis Demirci and Abbey Roberts each have goals this season, while Karlie Denius, Shayan Graff and Lily Graham each have assists.  Graff leads the team with eight shots and two on target, while Demirci had the lone game winner.  In goal, Dior Wilson has played all 540 minutes with a 1.33 GAA with 35 saves and one shutout.  
 
The series with West Alabama is all square at 6-6-3 all-time as the teams played to a 1-1 draw last season in Valdosta on Sept. 24.  In that match, UWA took the lead 1-0 in the 80^th minute, but current Blazer senior Ansley Decenzo scored in the 87^th minute for the equalizer.  VSU held a 19-10 lead in shots and a 10-4 advantage in shots on goal as Dior and Timberlake made a combined 11 saves between the pipes.  UWA has gone 5-1-1 in the last seven meetings in the series dating back to a 4-3 win by VSU in 2017 in Livingston, Ala.