Women's Soccer Heads to Drake on Thursday

CARBONDALE, Ill. - The Southern Illinois University women's soccer team (1-4-3) is looking to get back-on-track on Thursday at 7 p.m. when it travels to Des Moines, Iowa, to take on Drake.

Details
Who: Drake University (5-2-2)
Time: 7 p.m.
Date: Thursday, Sept. 21, 2023
Where: Drake Stadium - Des Moines, Iowa
Live Stats: Here
Watch: ESPN+

Quick Hits

Heading into Thursday's match, SIU holds a record of 1-4-3 overall and 0-1 in Missouri Valley Conference play.
In their conference opener, the Salukis fell to UIC, 1-0, on Sunday, Sept. 17. Both teams had seven shots in the contest, while Chantelle Symes made two saves in-goal.
Dana Cruz's two shots led the way for SIU in the loss. Cruz is now tied for second on the team with eight shots, only trailing McKensey Bunch's nine.
As a team, the Salukis have scored six goals so far this season. Bunch leads the squad with three goals on the year, and has scored twice in her last four appearances.
Kaitlin DuCharme is second in scoring with two goals while also tallying one assist.
DuCharme now has six goals and five assists in her Saluki career. The graduate student is third all-time in goals at SIU, trailing only Liz Brechtel (10) and Emma Spotak (nine). DuCharme's five assists are the most in program history.
Symes has been the primary goalkeeper for Southern Illinois, starting in six of the team's eight matches. In those games, the Sydney, Australia, native has allowed eight goals and made 26 saves.
Defender Kylie McDermott has played a full 720 minutes so far for the Salukis. Veronica Gonzalez is second on the team in minutes played with 705.

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 Drake

The Bulldogs are 5-2-2 overall and 1-0 in MVC action entering Thursday's game.
In its last match, Drake defeated Northern Iowa, 2-1, on Sunday. Zoey Mahoney and Emma Nagel found the back-of-the-net in the victory, while Addie Ford made six saves in-goal.
Drake holds a record of 3-2-2 at home, and Thursday's fixture will mark the eighth consecutive match the Bulldogs have played in Des Moines.
As a team, the Bulldogs have scored 15 goals on the season. Nagel's five goals leads Drake, followed by Angela Gutierrez, Layla Kelbel, and Maddie Rosenblum, who all have two.
Mahoney is the squad's leader in assists with three.
Ford has made 21 saves and allowed four goals in seven appearances for the Bulldogs.
Drake is led by head coach Lindsey Horner, who has been in the role since 2008.

Series History

SIU is 0-1-2 against Drake all-time.
In their last meeting, the Salukis and Bulldogs drew, 2-2, on Sept. 18, 2022, in Carbondale.
Both goals for the Salukis came in the final 10 minutes, with Sam Dodd getting SIU on the board in the 84th minute and Quinn Parks scoring the game-tying goal in the 86th minute.

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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Players Mentioned

Liz Brechtel

McKensey Bunch

Dana Cruz

Sam Dodd

Kaitlin DuCharme

Veronica Gonzalez

Kylie McDermott

Quinn Parks

Emma Spotak

Chantelle Symes

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