Oct. 9, 2003

Cape Girardeau, Mo. - Soccer begins the heart of their conference slate this weekend as they host two OVC newcomers, Samford and Jacksonville State. The squad will face the Samford Bulldogs, Friday, October 10 at 7:00 p.m. Then they will pair-up with Jacksonville State, Sunday, October 12 at 2:00 p.m. Both games will be held in Houck Stadium.

Scouting Samford...The Bulldogs (6-2-3, 2-0 OVC) are coming off two consecutive overtime victories in conference play. Sophomore, forward Marian Wagner one-timed a cross into the back of the net in the 99th minute to record her third season goal in their 1-0 victory over Tennessee-Martin in overtime. In conference play before that, the bulldogs came from behind with a three goal deficit to stun Murray State 4-3 in overtime. In earlier action, Samford and Southeast faced one common non-conference opponent, #24 Auburn. Against Auburn, Samford fell 1-0 off an early Tiger goal, while Southeast fell 2-0. This will be the first meeting for the two teams, as they are both 2-0 in the conference and look to be evenly matched. The Otahkians will need to shut down junior forward Lindsay Shanks. She is currently dominating the offensive board with 4 goals, 5 assists, 23 shots, and 13 points.

Scouting Jacksonville State...The Gamecocks (6-2-3, 1-0-1 OVC) are currently coming off their first-ever OVC win, 2-0 over Murray State. The team scored a goal in each half and recorded their 2nd straight conference shutout, in just two games. In earlier OVC action, the Gamecocks played Tennessee-Martin to a 110 minute draw. The squad has currently shutout their opponents 7 times on the season. The team will now hit the road for a two-game conference road-trip as they will pair-up with Eastern Illinois, Friday October 10, before facing Southeast this Sunday, October 12. The team being led offensively by sophomore, defender Joanna McCaughey and freshman, forward Tiffanie Stewart. McCaughey and Stewart are both tied with 4 season goals.

Scouting Southeast... The Otahkians are currently 2-0-0 in the OVC as they look to continue their 2-game shutout streak in conference play. The squad (7-2-3) is coming off a 1-0 blank over Morehead State last Sunday, as they recorded their 5th season shutout. Sophomore midfielder Megan Hejlek scored the lone goal at the 27:41 mark. The play started as junior midfielder, Marla Gianino took a corner kick off from the right side. The ball glanced off the body of teammate Heather Reding directly to Hejlek, who while standing on the goal line, kicked a shoulder-high shot past MSU keeper Stefani Workman. In earlier conference action, Southeast shut out Austin Peay 5-0. Southeast has four players leading the scoring with 3 goals a piece, sophomore Ashley DeRoy, junior Diana Poovey, sophomore Molli Beard, and junior Erin Slattery. While junior Marla Gianino is due for a goal as she has led the attack all season with 26 shots currently, but is yet to score.

What's up next...After their weekend of hosting conference play, the Otahkians hit the road for a 2-game road series next weekend. The team will face Tennessee-Martin on October 17 at 4:00 p.m. in Martin, Tenn. and then Murray State on October 19 at 1:00 p.m. in Murray, Ky.