Women's Soccer to host SIUE on Thursday in search of third straight win

CARBONDALE, Ill. - Southern Illinois women's soccer is looking to make it three consecutive victories on Thursday night at 6 p.m. when the Salukis play host to SIUE.

Details
Who: Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Cougars (1-3-1)
Time: 6 p.m.
Date: Thursday, Sept. 8, 2022
Where: Lew Hartzog Track and Field Complex - Carbondale, Ill.
Live Stats: Here
Game: Match No. 6

Quick Hits

The Salukis have rattled off two-straight wins to improve their record to 2-2-0 on the season.
In their last match, the Salukis came-back from a 1-0 deficit to defeat Purdue Fort Wayne, 2-1. McKinley Stiff scored her first goal of the season to bring the match level at 1-1 in the 33rd minute. Kaitlin DuCharme scored the decisive goal during the 58th minute to secure the win for Southern.
The win comes after Southern Illinois' 2-0 shutout vs. Alabama A&M on Sept. 1. Maddy Alaluf made five saves in preserving the clean sheet, while both McKensey Bunch and Liz Brechtel found the back-of-the-net in the victory.
This is the first time since Aug. 27-30, 2019, the Salukis have won back-to-back games. Southern has out-scored its opponents 4-1 in its last two matches.
Southern Illinois currently sits second in the Missouri Valley Conference. UNI, 3-2-1, is in first place through its opening six games.
For the first time in program history, the Salukis received Missouri Valley Conference player of the week honors for this past week. Brechtel was named the MVC's Offensive Player of the Week and Paris Walsh was the MVC Defensive Player of the Week.
Brechtel tallied one goal and one assist during the week, while Walsh played a full 180 minutes in two games where the Salukis allowed just one total goal and earned two wins.
The Salukis have scored five goals in four games, with five different goalscorers: Brechtel, Bunch, DuCharme, Stiff, and Alyssa Fallon.
Alaluf has played 270 minutes in goal to start the year for SIU, allowing just four goals while making 12 saves. The senior goalkeeper's .750 save percentage is fourth best in the MVC.
Sam DeJulio is the team-leader in minutes played (360), followed by Brechtel and Walsh (356).
Sam Dodd's eight shots and five shots-on-goal are both team-highs.

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 SIUE

The Cougars hold a record of 1-3-1 through their opening five matches.
Edwardsville ended a three-game losing streak in its last match on Sept. 1 with a 0-0 draw vs. Evansville.
SIUE began the season with a 2-1 victory vs. Indiana State on Aug. 18. This result was followed by defeats against IUPUI, Northwestern, and Loyola Chicago.
Four different players have scored for the Cougars so far this season, as Sidney Christopher, Grace Cobb, Savannah DeFini, and Lily Schnieders all have one goal each.
Edwardsville's leader in assists is Christopher with two on the year.
Goalkeeper Taylor Spiller has started all five matches for the Cougars, allowing 11 goals and making 13 saves.
SIUE is coached by Derek Burton, who is in his 14th season. Burton has collected 102 wins during his time as the Cougars' head coach.

Series History

This will be the third meeting between the two programs, and the second consecutive season where the two sides have played one another.

Upcoming Schedule

The Salukis will return to the road for their next match on Sunday, Sept. 11, at Southeast Missouri State. Conference action begins the following Sunday, Sept. 18, when SIU hosts Drake at the Lew Hartzog Track and Field Complex.

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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