SAN MARCOS, Texas – The Texas State soccer team opens the regular season this weekend with two home matches at the Bobcat Soccer Complex. First up on Friday is Incarnate Word at 7 p.m. followed by a 1 p.m. contest on Sunday against Prairie View A&M.
 
Live stats will be available for both matches while there won't be a video stream for any home contest this season. Both matches will be broadcast on KTSW 89.9 FM with Connor MacKinnon and Jude McClaren on the call. Admission to all home matches is free.
 
Last Time Out: The Bobcats battled with Baylor, the 14th-ranked team in the nation, for all 90 minutes but fell 2-1 in TXST's lone exhibition match. Ally Kewish netted the opening goal just over three minutes into the contest that came off a cross from Kaylee Davis.
 
In net, Heather Martin made three first half saves. Kathryn Budde played the second half and made two stops.
 
Preseason Awards: Five players were named to the All-Sun Belt Preseason Team, the most by any team in the conference. Kaylee Davis, Jordan Kondikoff, Heather Martin and Genesis Turman were named to the squad for the second straight year with Sarah Everett joining them after earning second team all-conference honors last season.
 
Davis and Martin were picked as the Sun Belt's Preseason Offensive and Defensive Player of the Year, respectively. The duo are coming off historic program seasons. Davis set a Bobcat mark with seven match-winning goals while her 18 total tallies tied the program mark and was tied for third in the nation. Martin posted new program records for GAA, save percentage and solo shutouts.
 
National Recognition: At the beginning of August, Davis was named to the MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List. The award is given to the most outstanding male and female soccer player each year. The Allen, Texas native is the first Texas State player ever to be selected to the watch list and first women's Sun Belt honoree since 2011. She was also ranked No. 88 on Top Drawer Soccer's Preseason National Top 100 that was released on Aug. 21.
 
Who's Back: The Bobcats return 20 players from last year's championship team including eight starters. Along with the five preseason all-conference honorees, other top returners are starters back are Addison Gaetano, Haley Groff, Jessica Pikoff, Renny Moore, Mackenzie Smith, Hannah Solano, Holly Streber, Budde and Kewish.
 
Who's New: Texas State welcomes 10 true freshmen to the team. The class consists of four midfielders, three forwards, two defenders and one goalkeeper.
 
Scouting Incarnate Word: The Cardinals went 3-12-1 overall last season with all three victories and lone draw coming in conference play. They dropped two exhibition contests to UTRGV (1-0) and UTSA (2-0) and were selected to come in 11th in the 12-team Southland Conference.
 
Senior defender Amy Howard is the top returning goal scorer with two. Fourth other returners added one goal apiece. Andrea Reyes finished last season with a team-high three assists.
 
Cailey Croson appeared in five matches, starting two, last year. She allowed 10 goals for a 3.23 GAA while making 10 saves and posting a .667 save percentage.
 
All-Time vs. Cardinals: Friday will be the first regular season meeting between the programs. The teams have met twice for exhibitions in 2016 and 2018 with both taking place in San Antonio. The 2016 match ended in a 1-1 draw while last season's exhibition saw TXST come out on top 3-0 behind two goals from Davis.
 
Scouting Prairie View A&M: The Panthers completed the 2018 season with a 7-10-2 overall record. They finished fifth in the Southwestern Athletic Conference with a 5-3-2 mark. The conference's preseason poll has PVAMU finishing fourth in the 11-team league. Before facing Texas State, the Panthers will take on Houston Baptist Thursday night on the road.
 
Jojo Bernal is the top offensive returner after netting five goals, two of which were match-winners. She led the team with 48 shots and placed 30 attempts on goal. Alexis Mack added two scores while Gina Zavala de Rojas added two assists along with one goal.
 
Quinn Josiah started all 19 matches between the posts in 2018. She surrendered 25 goals for a 1.28 GAA, made 123 saves and posted a .831 save percentage. The sophomore also recorded seven solo shutouts with six coming in conference play.
 
All-Time vs. Panthers: Texas State has not only won all 12 previous meetings against Prairie View, it has done so without allowing a goal. It is the tied for the longest active streak against a single opponent in the nation with North Carolina's shutout run against Georgia Washington, although those teams haven't met since 1994.
 
Last season's meeting in Prairie View, Texas saw the Bobcats come out on top 3-0 as Kondikoff played a role in all three tallies. She put the first two goals into the back of the net in the first half and assisted on the final score from Groff in the 76th minute.
 
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