Southern Illinois Concludes Regular Season on Thursday at Missouri State

CARBONDALE, Ill. - The Southern Illinois University women's soccer team (1-10-5) is heading to Springfield, Mo., on Thursday at 7 p.m. to take on Missouri State in the final match of the regular season.

Details
Who: Missouri State University (10-1-5)
Time: 7 p.m.
Date: Thursday, Oct. 19, 2023
Where: Betty & Bobby Allison South Stadium - Springfield, Mo.
Live Stats: Here
Watch: ESPN+

Quick Hits

The Salukis are 1-10-5 overall and 0-7-2 in Missouri Valley Conference play entering Thursday's season finale in Springfield.
Southern came up short in its last match on Sunday at Murray State. Dana Cruz scored the lone goal for the Salukis, while Ary Lougher made three saves in-goal. SIU out-shot Murray, 13-10 overall, in the game.
Cruz's goal was her second of the season and first since scoring at Lindenwood in a 1-1 draw on Sept. 3.
McKensey Bunch leads SIU in goals on the year with four. Bunch is looking for her first goal since Sept. 21 against Drake.
Kaitlin DuCharme's three goals this season are second on the team.
Both DuCharme and Emma Spotak have tallied seven goals and three assists during their careers at SIU. The duo is tied for second all-time in goals at Southern Illinois, trailing just Liz Brechtel who had 10 as a Saluki.
Lougher made her third start of the season in-goal for Southern on Sunday in Murray. On the season, the junior has allowed five goals and made 18 saves.
Chantelle Symes has started the other 13 games as SIU's goalkeeper, allowing 17 goals and making 47 saves across those 13 appearances.
Bunch's 26 shots are the most on the team, followed by Spotak's 20. Bunch also has a team-high 11 shots-on-goal.
Freshman Veronica Gonzalez's 1425 minutes lead SIU, with fellow freshman Molly Tapak's 1404 being the second most on the squad.

Head Coach Graeme Orr

Graeme Orr is in his first season as head coach of the women's soccer program. Assistant coaches Carley Kandel and Ash Phillips are also in their first year with the Salukis, while Jake Edwards returns for his second season as a graduate assistant on the coaching staff.
Orr comes to SIU after spending the previous 12 seasons as the head coach at Division II West Alabama. He was announced as the Salukis' head coach on May 30, 2023.
The Eaglesham, Scotland native, was the first head coach in West Alabama women's soccer history, starting the program in 2011. During his 12 years with the program, Orr posted an overall record of 115-78-19 and conference record of 79-44-9.
UWA recorded 10-consecutive and had 11-straight postseason appearances under Orr.
Orr was previously an assistant coach at North Alabama before arriving at West Alabama.

Looking at Missouri State

On the season, Missouri State is 10-1-5 overall and 5-0-3 in MVC play.
The Bears have won two consecutive games, and have held each of their last six opponents scoreless, out-scoring the opposition, 7-0, during a stretch that dates back to Sept. 24.
In conference play, Missouri State has conceded just one goal, which came against Illinois State on Sept. 21.
In their last game, the Bears defeated Northern Iowa, 1-0, on Sunday. Hailey Chambliss scored the game-winning goal in the 77th minute, while Camielle Day made three saves in the shutout.
Missouri State's lone loss came against Missouri, 2-0, on Sept. 10.
Gracie English's six goals are the most on the team, followed by Chambliss' four. Grace O'Keefe's seven assists lead the Bears.
Day has been the primary goalkeeper, making 15 starts, allowing seven goals, and tallying 45 saves on the year.
Missouri State is led by head coach Kirk Nelson, who is in his second season in the role.

Series History

The Salukis are 0-3 all-time against the Bears, including a 2-0 loss last season in Carbondale on Sept. 29, 2022.
This will be the second meeting to take place in Springfield, with the previous one coming on April 7, 2021.

Follow the Salukis
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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