SAN MARCOS, Texas – A big West Division match takes place Thursday night at the Bobcat Soccer Complex when Texas State (8-4-4, 4-1-2 Sun Belt) takes on South Alabama (9-5-1, 4-2-1 Sun Belt) for a 7 p.m. kickoff. A win for the Bobcats would clinch the division and at least the No. 2 seed in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament.
Fans can watch the contest on ESPN+. The match will also be broadcast on KTSW 89.9 FM and live stats will also be available.
About Texas State
TXST looks to bounce back after its 10-match unbeaten streak ended last Friday at Old Dominion. The streak was the fourth longest in program history and was tied for the fifth longest active streak in the nation at the time. At home, the Bobcats are 4-2-1 with the most recent match being a 3-2 win over ULM on Oct. 13.
Mady Soumare continues to pace the squad with six goals, three of which have been match-winners. Netting four goals apiece has been
Sydney Bassa,
Victoria Meza and
Mya Ulloa. Three of Bassa's tallies have come from the penalty spot and Ulloa has converted two penalty kicks on the year. The five combine-made penalty kicks has already set a new team season record.
Coming in with a team-high four assists is
Kaylie Smith. The foursome of
Chloe Jones,
Zoe Junior,
Mady Soumare and Ulloa have been credited with three assists apiece.
Between the posts,
Caitlyn Draper has a .824 save percentage that ranks second in the conference. The sophomore also sports a 1.04 GAA with 56 saves. Also seeing action in goal is
Katelyn Chrisman, who has made 11 saves in six contests and nearly 400 minutes of action.
About South Alabama
The Jaguars come into the match fourth in the Sun Belt with 13 points, one behind both Old Dominion and the Bobcats. They are 7-2-0 this season on the road with a 3-1-0 mark in league contests. USA's last match was a 2-1 loss at Georgia Southern while it has earned conference victories at Arkansas State, Georgia State and Louisiana.
Leading the team with eight goals, 20 points, 43 shots and 21 shots on goal is Irene Campo, who has also been credited with four assists. Monique Gray has scored five goals and assisted on five others while pacing the squad with three match-winning tallies. A team-high six assists belongs to April Lantaigne. She is also one of four other Jaguars to have scored twice.
Allison Lockhardt has played and started 14 matches in goal. The fifth-year senior sports a 1.29 GAA with 58 saves and a .763 save percentage. Making one start has been McKenzie Hunninghake, who stopped three shots at Middle Tennessee on Sept. 12.
Series History
South Alabama leads the all-time series 10-1-2 and has won the last five meetings. Last year saw the Jaguars win 4-0 in Mobile and 2-1 in the quarterfinals of the Sun Belt Tournament. Scoring in the quarterfinal match was Ulloa, who was the first TXST player to find the back of the net in the series since 2018. The lone win in the series was a 1-0 match on Sept. 23, 2018 on the road that saw Kaylee Davis score the lone goal in the 10th minute and Heather Martin make 10 saves.
At home in the series, the Bobcats are winless in four matches. The last time the teams played in San Marcos was Oct. 20, 2022 and ended 3-0 for the visitors. Texas State has been shutout in all four of the home meetings with the closet being 1-0 contests in 2019 (2OT) and 2014 (OT).
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