Salukis return home Thursday to face Alabama A&M

CARBONDALE, Ill. - After a two-game road trip to Bellarmine and Missouri, the Southern Illinois women's soccer team is back at home on Thursday night to host Alabama A&M at the Lew Hartzog Track and Field Complex.

Details
Who: Alabama A&M Bulldogs (2-2-0)
Time: 6 p.m.
Date: Thursday, Sept. 1, 2022
Where: Lew Hartzog Track and Field Complex - Carbondale, Ill.
Live Stats: Here
Game: Match No. 4

Quick Hits

Southern Illinois is 0-2-0 to start the 2022 campaign.
In their most recent match, the Salukis fell to Missouri, 3-1, on the road on Thursday. SIU fell behind early, but Alyssa Fallon tied the match at 1-1 in the ninth minute of play off a corner for her first goal of the season.
Fallon's goal was SIU's first against a Power 5 school in program history.
Senior Christy Murauskis picked up the assist on Fallon's goal. The assist was Murauskis' first of the year after tallying two in 2021.
Senior Maddy Alaluf made her first appearance of the season against Missouri. Alaluf made four saves in the match, a number she reached in eight of her 14 games played last season.
Thursday's match against Alabama A&M will be the second game played at home in 2022, and fourth overall for the Salukis. Their second match, which was on the road vs. Bellarmine on Aug. 21, was postponed after around 30 minutes played due to weather stoppages. Both teams will work to find a make-up date, with that date yet to be announced.
The Salukis tallied 21 shots to open the season, averaging 10.5 per game. 10 of the 21 shots have been on target.
Seniors Sam DeJulio and Paris Walsh lead the team in minutes-played, with both playing 180.
DeJulio paced the Salukis in minutes in 2021 as well, playing 1402 in 16 appearances.
Junior Sam Dodd currently is atop the shots leaderboard, putting up six overall and four shots-on-goal.
Sophomore Chantelle Symes is the only other goalkeeper to have played a full 90 minutes in the early going, making two saves in the home opener against Lindenwood on Aug. 18.

Head Coach Craig Roberts

Roberts is in his first season as Southern Illinois' head coach. For the last two seasons, Roberts served as the head coach at Grambling State, where he led the Tigers to a combined record of 17-9-5 and back-to-back trips to the Southwestern Athletic Conference championship match.
Prior to Grambling State, Roberts coached nine seasons at Ball State, totaling 99 wins to become the winningest coach in program history. Under his guidance, the Cardinals won four-consecutive Mid-American Conference West Division titles from 2015-2018 and claimed back-to-back MAC regular-season championships in 2015 and 2016.
Roberts' first head coaching job was with UT Martin, which went from 2006-2009. In 2009, he and the Skyhawks won their first-ever Ohio Valley Conference regular season championship.

Looking at Alabama A&M

The Bulldogs begin the season 2-2-0 through their first four games.
Alabama A&M is coming off of a 1-0 loss against Jacksonville in its last match on Sunday, Aug. 28. The lone goal came in the final minute of the first half.
The hosts were out-shot 15-7 overall, and 8-3 in terms of shots on goal in the defeat.
The Bulldogs had previously won back-to-back games against Troy and Jacksonville State, with both scores being 1-0. Both game-winning goals came in the later stages of each match, with freshman K'la Barnes-Blackwood scoring the winner vs. Troy at 79', and senior Jameela Barrett found the back-of-the-net in the 85' to defeat Jacksonville State.
Barrett is coming off of a three-goal 2021 campaign, her third consecutive season scoring at least three goals.
Alabama A&M's leading scorer from a season ago, Makalya Rushing, has five shots but no goals yet in 2022. Rushing scored 10 goals in 2021.
The Bulldogs have allowed just one goal in their last three games, out-scoring opponents 2-1 during that span.
Senior goalkeeper Laura Jansa has started in all four matches so far this season, allowing four goals and making 22 saves.

Series History

This will be the first meeting between the two programs.

Upcoming Schedule

The Salukis will turn their attention towards IPFW once Thursday's match concludes. Southern will host the Mastodons on Sunday, Sept. 4, at 1 p.m. at the Lew Hartzog T&F Complex on its Senior Day.
Southern Illinois will conclude its three-game homestand on Thursday, Sept. 8, vs. SIUE.

Keep up with all the latest news and information on the Salukis by following the team on Twitter at @SIU_Soccer, on Facebook at Facebook.com/SalukiSoccer and on Instagram at @SIU_Soccer. Fans can also download the "Salukis" Mobile App on the App Store or Google Play Store.

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Players Mentioned

Maddy Alaluf

Sam DeJulio

Sam Dodd

Alyssa Fallon

Christy Murauskis

Chantelle Symes

Paris Walsh

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