LUBBOCK CHRISTIAN (8-4-1, 5-2-1) at
MIDWESTERN STATE (3-8-1, 1-5-0)
Thursday, October 24 – 5 p.m.
Stang Park – Wichita Falls, Texas
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LADY CHAP HEADERS
- Lubbock Christian heads into the weekend in fifth place in the Lone Star Conference standings with a league record of of 5-2-1 and 16 total points
- The Lady Chaps are playing their final two road games of the 2019 season this week, going 3-3-1 through the first seven contests away from home this year
- LCU's Haley Knesek leads the Lone Star Conference in total points with 19, but fellow Lady Chap Celia Duarte leads the league in points per game at 1.50 in 12 contests
- Lubbock Christian has scored an average of 2.46 goals per game, which is the second best in the LSC and ranks No. 34 among all Division II teams
- All five of the Lady Chaps' remaining opponents on the schedule currently have losing records this season. West Texas A&M has been the best of the bunch, sitting at 5-6
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DEFENSIVE DOMINANCE
Lubbock Christian is currently riding a two-game win streak after wins over St. Mary's and Texas A&M International last week. The wins came by scores of 1-0 and 2-0, which were the fourth and fifth shutouts of the year for the Lady Chaps, ranking third in the Lone Star Conference in that category. In total, LCU has allowed just 13 goals this season (an average of one per game) on 121 total shots, for an opponent shots on goal percentage of .107. The back line has been bolstered by goalkeeper
Hannah Wise, who has been between the posts for all five shutouts and tallied 35 saves this year.
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AWARD CENTRAL
LCU junior defender
Gabby Gomez was named the Lone Star Conference Defensive Player of the Week conference announced on October 22. She led the team with three points last weekend during wins over TAMIU and StMU, while the Lady Chap defense allowed just three shots on goal in the two games combined. Her three points all came in the game against TAMIU, marking the first three-point game of her career. She is the fourth LCU player to be honored with an LSC weekly award so far this season.
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EARLY AND OFTEN
The Lady Chaps have done well at getting on the board first this season, scoring first in nine of their 13 games and going 8-1 in those contests. They have done particularly well, however, scoring early in games, tallying 11 goals scored in the first 15 minutes of contests. The earliest goal scored by LCU this season was from
Hollie Windham, as she put her team up 1-0 in just the third minute against SWOSU, but the early goal trend has continued.
Allison Scott opened the scoring for Lubbock Christian last Saturday, heading in a goal in the ninth minute. LCU's only loss when scoring in the first 15 minutes was on October 10 at Angelo State (1-2).
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HELPERS
Lubbock Christian currently ranks No. 5 nationally in total assists this season with 38 and is just six shy of breaking their program single-season record of 44, which was set in 2012. Duarte is first on the team with six assists this year, but 10 other LCU players have at least two helpers this season and another three have one assist each. The Lady Chaps have twice recorded eight assists in a single game (9/20 vs. WBU and 9/22 vs. UTPB). The national leader in assists is Grand Valley State (47), and the next closest Division II team behind LCU is Central Oklahoma (35). Angelo State has the next most assists in the Lone Star Conference with 30.
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SCOUTING MIDWESTERN STATE
- The Mustangs sit in a tie for eighth in the Lone Star Conference standings, three points back of Texas A&M-Commerce
- MSU has a negative scoring margin so far this season, allowing 1.50 goals per game while scoring just 1.167
- Kelly Cannistra and Sara Machado are tied for the team lead in points with nine each
- Aubrey Pettett has done the majority of the goalkeeping for the Mustangs, allowing 18 goals with 35 saves
- Head coach Ryan Spence played on the men's team at Midwestern from 2008-2011, but is in just his second year as the coach of the women's team
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THE SERIES WITH THE MUSTANGS
Lubbock Christian and Midwestern State have met just once in the history of the two programs, facing off on September 19, 2014 in a game that the Mustangs won 2-1. LCU opened the scoring in the game with a goal from Jamie Boone, but was outshot 27-9 by MSU, which allowed the Mustangs to prevail in Wichita Falls.
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