VALDOSTA, Ga. – The Valdosta State women's soccer team looks to get back on the winning track this week with a home game against Georgia Southwestern at 6 p.m. on Wednesday and then the Blazers open Gulf South Conference play on Saturday at Montevallo at 8 p.m. ET.
 
The Blazers are 2-2 this season after a pair of losses last week with a 3-1 setback at Embry-Riddle and a 3-0 loss to Georgia College.  VSU opened the season with a pair of wins over Middle Georgia (3-0) and at North Greenville (1-0).  
 
Both contests this week will be broadcast on FloSports.  Check back with vstateblazers.com for links to live stats, audio/video streaming, ticket information and how to purchase FloSports.  
 
For the season, five different players have scored goals this season, while junior Katherine Kimmel leads the team with two assists.  Freshman Maria Rojas and senior Molly Wooldridge lead the team with eight shots apiece, while Rojas has a team-high six shots on target.  In goal, senior Emma Pruett is 2-1 in 264:26 minutes of action, allowing three goals (1.02 GAA) with six saves, two shutouts and she has faced 15 shots.  Junior Claire Timberlake has played in 95:34 minutes, allowing three goals, with three saves and has faced 11 shots.
 
Head coach Stephen Andrew won his 200^th career match with the 1-0 win at North Greenville (200-103-20), while he won his 60^th match at VSU (60-48-11).  He is the winningest coach in VSU history for women's soccer and is in his eighth season at the helm of the program.  The Blazers were picked sixth in the GSC preseason coaches poll released in August.
 
Georgia Southwestern enters with a 1-2 record after a 1-0 win over Brewton-Parker on Saturday.  The Hurricanes lost 3-0 to Florida Southern and lost 2-1 to Rollins.  Lucia Bustamante has one goal with two shots this season, while Ella Moody has one goal with a team-high eight shots and five on frame.  In goal, Alana Beddow is 1-1 on the year with a 1.2 goals against average, while she has ten saves and one shutout playing in 225 minutes.  
 
'Canes head coach Jacob Crawford is in his first season at the helm of the program after spending the 2023-24 season as the interim head coach at West Georgia.  He also served as head coach at South Georgia State College, compiling 48 wins and the program's first and second NJCAA Region XVII championship in 2021 and 2022. 
 
GSW was picked eighth in the preseason Peach Belt Conference preseason poll after finishing the 2023 season with a 6-9-3 record and a 2-5-2 mark in the league.  The team reached the quarterfinal round of the conference tournament.  
 
VSU leads the all-time series with GSW 2-0, including a 2-0 win in Americus, Ga., last season on Sept. 2.  Current senior Ana Moleka had the first goal of the match in the 13^th minute, while Kimmel scored the insurance goal in the 61^st minute.  VSU held an 18-5 lead in shots and a 9-0 advantage in shots on goal. The Blazers defeated GSW 6-0 in the first match in program history in 2011, in Valdosta.  
 
Montevallo enters with a 1-1-1 record after a 0-0 tie at No. 9 Catawba on Saturday in a very even match as both teams had nine shots and two on frame, while each had two saves.  UM won 1-0 over Kentucky Wesleyan to begin the year and lost 3-2 to McKendree.  Three different Falcons each have one goal this season, while Raylene Alcaraz leads the team with two assists.  Rilee Bradbury leads the team with eight shots and has three on frame.  In goal, Emily Hounsell has played all 270 minutes thus far, going 1-1-1 with three goals allowed (1.00 GAA), with seven saves, two shutouts and faced 26 shots.  
 
The Falcons were picked fourth in the GSC preseason coaches poll, after going 12-5-3 overall last season and 7-3-3 in GSC play.  UM lost in the GSC Championship match last season, falling 3-0 to Lee.  
 
VSU and Montevallo are tied 4-4-1 all-time in the series dating back to 2011.  UM has won the last three-straight and gone 4-0-1 in the last five.  Prior to that, VSU won the first four.   VSU has not scored since a 2-1 loss in double overtime on Oct. 29, 2021, marking a span of 267:57 minutes.  Montevallo won 1-0 last season in Montevallo and won 2-0 in Valdosta in 2022.  UM head coach Jake Wyman is 52-24-13 at the helm of the Falcons in his sixth season. 
 
Following the two matches this week, the Blazers return home to host Trevecca Nazarene (Sept. 27), beginning a four-match home stand.