The Eastern New Mexico women’s soccer team will look to finish its regular season with the best winning percentage in program history when they travel to UT Permian Basin and Lubbock Christian this weekend in its season finale.
LAST WEEK
The Hounds won both of their matches last week with victories over Oklahoma Christian and Midwestern State, outscoring their opposition 7-3 in those contests.
Eastern notched five second-half goals to take down Oklahoma Christian by a final score of 5-2 on Thursday night inside Greyhound Stadium. A 0-0 game at the halftime break turned into a second-half shootout as the Hounds rattled off four unanswered goals after falling behind 1-0 just four minutes into the second half. Five different Greyhounds scored in the half to make a dominant offensive 45 minutes for the Greyhounds count as Eastern recorded 16 shots as a team for the half. Freshman Lauren Descamp answered the quick Lady Eagle goal coming out of the halftime break with a goal from the left side of the box off of a through-ball from Brianna Remedios. Descamp took the well-timed pass and beat the lone defender before finishing in the bottom corner of the goal. That goal from Descamp sparked the Greyhound offense, who dominated possession in the first half of action despite being held off of the scoreboard. Senior Desiree Morgas scored on a penalty kick that was set up by a hand ball by the Lady Eagles inside their own goal box to give the Hounds the 2-1 lead. Juniors Jaci Sievers and Caitlyn Schmidt as well as sophomore Angie Gonzales would also net a score in the match to put the game away.
The Hounds completed the second straight come from behind victory of the weekend as the Hounds took down Midwestern State by a final score of 2-1. The Greyhounds sent six seniors out in style as sophomore Desiree Morgas scored the game-winning goal on a penalty kick in the 71st minute. Eastern New Mexico paired the Morgas goal with an own goal on the Mustangs just over a minute earlier to negate a 1-0 halftime advantage for Midwestern State. In a very tightly contested defensive battle that featured just 15 shots between the two teams, costly mistakes by the Mustangs and well-timed offensive pressure from the Hounds proved to be the difference. Senior Julia Tucker forced the defensive miscue on the own goal by the Mustangs after breaking free down the sideline and sending a low cross into the box that was deflected by a Midwestern State defender into the box to even the match up at 1-1 in the 70th minute.
SCOUTING THE FALCONS
The Falcons were unable to find the back of the net last week after being shutout in back-to-back games with a pair of 3-0 losses to Midwestern State and Lubbock Christian.
The Falcons continue to struggle in all phases of the game as they own the worst scoring margin in the Lone Star at -3.43. UTPB has managed a league-low six goals while allowing its opponents to score 54.
The Falcons offense is led by senior forward Kessie Stocker who has netted to scores and tallied a team-high 19 shots. Four other Falcons have scored this season including sophomore midfielder Kalia Beckwith, junior midfielder Kiara Pennycooke, sophomore defender Kaylee Overmyer and senior forward Deonna Calhoun.
Despite playing defender, junior defender Ellie Putnam has been instrumental to the Falcons offense as she has tallied a team-high two assists. Putnam also leads all field players with 1,280 minutes played.
Freshman goalkeeper Marlise Bond has had a rough start to her collegiate career as she as allowed 43 goals in 13 starts for the Falcons. Bond has recorded a 96 saves on 288 shots faced while posting a 3.25 goals against average and a .691 save percentage.
The UT Permian Basin women’s soccer program is under the leadership of fifth-year Head Coach Lindsey Garcia. In her third season Lindsey led the 2015 team to finish with the best Heartland Conference record since joining the NCAA in 2008. Lindsey has coached eight collegiate standouts earning All-Conference team recognition.
SCOUTING THE CHAPARRALS
The Lady Chaps have extended their winning streak to five-straight after posting back-to-back 3-0 shutouts over Oklahoma Christian and UTPB last week.
Lubbock Christian owns the second-best scoring margin in the LSC while scoring a league-high 40 goals and allowing just 14.
The Chaparrals field a pair of potent goal scorers in senior Halyey Knesek and junior Allison Scott. Knesk leads the conference with 27 points on 11 goals and five assists while Scott ranks right below her teammate with 23 points on nine goals and five assists.
Freshman forward Celia Duarte continues to impress in her first collegiate season and has created scoring opportunities all season long with her play. Duarte has netted six goals while her eight assists are the third-most amongst Lone Star Competitors.
Defensively, the Lady Chaps will look to sophomore defender Shadiana Haney who leads all LCU field players with 1,343 minutes while also recording a pair of assists from the back line.
The Chaparrals field junior goalkeeper Hannah Wise between the pipes who has totaled 40 saves on 119 shots faced while posting seven shutouts and a 9-4-1 record. Wise has recorded a .80 goals against average and a .769 save percentage which ranks third and ninth respectively in the LSC.
Denning is in seventh season at the helm of the Lady Chaparrals soccer program after an 8-5-5 record in 2016 season. He joined the Lady Chaps soccer program for the 2012 season and led the Lady Chaps to a 12-5-2 finish. They opened the season with a 12-0-0 record and they were the final NAIA program to suffer either a tie or loss on their record.
2019 STORY LINES
The Hounds began the 2019 campaign with four consecutive victories, the best start to the season in the 17-year history of the women’s soccer program. With four complete game shutouts on the year, this year’s squad has already moved into the program’s single-season record book as they are tied for eighth all-time
The five goals for the Greyhounds against Oklahoma Christian matches the team’s highest scoring total in a match against a Division II team since 2007. The five assists recorded throughout the match is the fourth highest total recorded in a single game in program history.
FRESH FACES
The Hounds have seen many new faces contribute so far this season highlighted by team points leader Desiree Morgas and starting goalkeeper Whitney Dockweiler.
Morgas has recorded 20 points on eight goals and four assists. The redshirt-sophomore ranks third in the conference with 3.80 shots per game and has totaled 57 on the year, the fifth-highest mark in the league. Her three game-winning goals are tied for the third-most in the LSC.
Dockweiler has recorded 74 saves on 173 shots faced and owns a 1.31 goals against average. The Bellevue, Neb. native is tied for the fifth-most shutouts in the ENMU all-time single-season record book while her .804 save percentage is the sixth-best amongst eligible participants (minimum five saves).
In total, 13 ENMU newcomers have logged minutes in 2019 including eight true freshman and five transfers.
GOOD COMPANY
Junior defender Hayden Zuniga has been a crucial piece to the 2017 and 2018 squads and has logged 3,441 minutes in her first two seasons. Leading the team this season with 1,387 minutes the Sahuarita, Ariz. native moves into the all-time record books in just her third year with 4,828 career minutes. Zuniga passes Victoria Perez for the No. 10 spot on the list who played 4,824 minutes from 2011-14. Averaging nearly 1,600 minutes a season, Zuniga is on pace to break the career minutes played record. Zuniga will need to log 1,556 minutes during her senior campaign to pass record holder Renee Romero who played 6,383 minutes from 2011-14.
HOUNDS ON THE ROAD
ENMU have posted a 2-4-1 record this season when packing their bags and playing outside of Greyhound Stadium.
The Hounds were able to shutout the East Central Tigers 1-0 in their season opener and were able to net a late penalty kick goal against Texas A&M International to carry Eastern to a 3-2 victory over the Dustdevils
SCORE FIRST, ASK QUESTIONS LAST
In his first two years at the helm of the Eastern New Mexico women’s soccer team, Josh Smith has posted an impressive 11-1-0 record when scoring the match’s first goal. The Hounds are also 12-0-0 when scoring more than two goals in a game the past two seasons.
SO LONG FOLKS
Six Greyhounds will be finishing their Greyhound careers following the match against Lubbock Christian including Naomi Abeyta, Kirsten Lane, Madison Luttrell, Jaci Sievers, Julia Tucker and Morgan Zuniga.
