Women's Soccer Opens SoCon Play against Appalachian State Friday; Hosts Western Carolina Sunday
Game Notes (PDF)
GREENSBORO, N.C. – The UNCG women's soccer team travels to Boone, N.C. to open up Southern Conference action against in-state rival Appalachian State Friday at 7 p.m. at the Ted Mackorell Soccer Complex. The Spartans then return home to host Western Carolina Sunday at 2 p.m.
"We have our split weekend to begin conference play," said head coach Steve Nugent. "I think this weekend will be a good measuring stick for us and I am happy we are starting out with two good opponents. The SoCon is a tough conference top to bottom and every game is an absolute battle."
The Spartans (3-5) finished their non-conference schedule with two tough losses against Santa Clara (4-2) and Stanford (4-0). UNCG opens SoCon play with an astonishing 47-5-2 record in the last five years. The Blue and Gold were 7-3-1 last season in conference, including a perfect 5-0 on the road.
Freshman goalkeeper Jamie Simmons (Houston, Texas/Clear Brook) made 11 saves over the weekend against Santa Clara and then No. 3 Stanford. Simmons owns a SoCon leading 46 saves in eight games and has posted two shutouts.
Senior Cat Barnekow (Santa Rosa, Calif./Santa Rosa JC) and freshman Chesney White (Franklin, Tenn./Franklin) lead the team with three goals apiece after both scored goals against Santa Clara last Friday. Barnekow also has two assists to lead the team in points with eight.
This will be the 18th meeting between UNCG and Appalachian State with the Spartans holding a 15-2 advantage. UNCG is 13-2-2 against Western Carolina, including winning the last three meetings with the Catamounts.
Appalachian State enters the weekend with a 3-4 record after collecting wins against Belmont (1-0), Longwood (3-0) and UNC Asheville (4-2) in non-conference play. The Mountaineers are led by reigning SoCon Player of the Week Julia Holz, who has three goals and one assist, while Megan Roberson has a 1.14 goals against average with 18 saves in net.
Western Carolina has a 4-4 record with victories against Albany (3-1), Winthrop (2-1), Tennessee Tech (1-0) and Gardner Webb (2-0). Markie Studnicky has four goals and one assist to pace the Catamounts, while Katie Jacobs has started all eight games in goal making 40 saves with a 1.22 goals against average.
Appalachian State will provide live stats of Friday's contest at www.goASU.com. UNCG will provide live stats and live video Sunday against Western Carolina.
Be sure to follow all updates about the 2012 UNCG women's soccer team on www.uncgspartans.com or on twitter @UNCGsports/@CoachNugent.
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