Stephen F. Austin vs Sam Houston State
Date: Thursday, August 15th
Time: 7:30 p.m. CT
Live Stream:
Field: Pritchett Field
Series: SFA Leads 21-4
HUNTSVILLE, Texas- Stephen F. Austin Women’s Soccer gets set to battle the rival Sam Houston Bearkats on the road to kick off their 2024 season.
Lumberjacks at a Glance:
The Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks begin a new era of SFA soccer this season but also a familiar one at the same time. Newly hired Head Coach Ben Williams enters his first season at the helm of the Lumberjack soccer program and will guide the ‘Jacks back into a familiar chapter in their storied history as the Lumberjacks make their return to the Southland Conference (SLC) following a three-year absence from the SLC that saw SFA competing in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC). During their time in the Southland Conference, the Lumberjacks won 11 regular season championships, while also adding three tournament championships to their impressive resume, as Coach Williams looks to return SFA to their dominating winning ways.
Bearkats at a Glance:
The Sam Houston Bearkats enter their 2024 season coming off a 6-7-4 record last season in their first season in Conference USA as well as finishing with a 1-1 record in the postseason tournament after defeating FIU in the first round of the tournament 3-2. The Bearkats enter the 2024 season picked as favorites to finish fifth in the conference and will carry over a roster filled with both new and familiar faces as they added six players in their 2024 signing class as well as four transfers including one from SFA in Gabrielle Gipson. The ‘Kats are led by Head Coach Sonia Curvelo who is in her third season leading the Sam Houston soccer program.
Players to Watch:
For SFA, standout freshman Ava Shannon made a name for herself last season as she was named to the WAC All-Freshman Team as well as being named WAC Top Freshman to Watch in a season that saw her score one goal and tally a team-high three assists. Jayme Bailey will look to reignite the dynamic scoring duo she and Shannon formed last season as Bailey led the team in goals (four), points (nine), shots (29), and shots on goal (10) last season. Lydia Sattler will reassume starting goaltending duties for the Lumberjacks after she posted an impressive 77 saves in net last season.
The Bearkats will be led offensively by Pam Murray who led the team in both goals (five) and points (11) last season as well as Landri Townsend who tallied three goals of her own while also tying for the team lead in assists with three. Sam Houston’s net is defended by Savannah Hall who played over 1,000 minutes last season and recorded 56 saves.
Series:
This will be the 26th all-time meeting between these two storied programs as SFA holds a 21-4 all-time record over Sam Houston including winning eight of the previous nine matchups between the two schools. In their most recent meeting in 2022, the Lumberjacks claimed a 1-0 home win over Sam Houston.
By: Peter Trainor, Student Assistant for Strategic Communications