SEATTLE - (Oct. 13) Seattle University women’s soccer sits alone atop the Western Athletic Conference standings after one week of play with a perfect 2-0 mark. The Redhawks look to build on that this week with a road trip to New Mexico State and UT Rio Grande Valley. Kick off from Las Cruces, N.M. is set for 2 p.m. Pacific on Thursday while SU and the Vaqueros are set to battle on Sunday at 11 a.m. Pacific.
FOLLOW THE REDHAWKS
Friday, Oct. 14 at New Mexico State (NM State Soccer Athletic Complex), 2:00 p.m. PT
Live Stats
Sunday, Oct. 16 at UTRGV (UTRGV Soccer Complex), 11:00 a.m. PT
Live Stats | Watch on the WAC Digital Network
ABOUT THE REDHAWKS (7-5-1, 2-0-0 WAC)
• Seattle U opened WAC play with a 1-0 shutout of Grand Canyon (Oct. 7) followed by a thrilling 3-2 overtime victory at CSU Bakersfield (Oct. 9).
• Natasha Howe scored the game-winner against the Lopes while Sunshine Soriano, Ayana Robles and Brie Hooks scored against the ‘Runners.
• Senior transfer Brie Hooks has scored six goals for the Redhawks, most recently the game-winner in overtime at CSUB (Oct. 9).
• Hooks has four game-winning goals this year, which leads all WAC players.
• Defense has been the key to the game for SU this season as the squad ranks second in the WAC in total goals allowed (11), goals against average (0.83) and shutouts (6).
• Redshirt freshman Ashley Routh has played the majority of minutes in goal for SU. She holds a .706 save percentage to go along with a 0.86 GAA. She also has four shutouts on the year, which ranks first in the WAC.
• Mackenzie Curry has split time with Routh in the last four games. The freshman has made five saves, allowed one goal and picked up three wins.
• Seattle U closed out non-conference play with a 1-0 win over Utah Valley on Oct. 1 at Championship Field. Isabelle Butterfield scored the game-winner for the Redhawks, her first goal of the season.
• Butterfield was named WAC Offensive Player of the Week on Oct. 3 while Stephanie Spiekerman gave SU a sweep of the weekly honors as she was named Defensive Player of the Week - her second such honor of the season.
• SU went 1-1 on a swing through Southern California to close out the month of September. The Redhawks won 1-0 in overtime at UC Riverside (Sept. 22), then dropped a 2-1 decision at Cal Poly (Sept. 25).
• Karli White netted her first goal of the season in the setback at Cal Poly (Sept. 25). The Redhawks earned a 25-10 shot advantage in the match, but CP goalkeeper Sophia Brown had a huge performance with 11 saves.
• Jennifer Plummer scored the game-winner in the win over the Gonzaga (Sept. 18), her first goal of the season. Ayana Robles and Natasha Howe were credited with assists on the goal.
• Stephanie Spiekerman was named WAC Defensive of the Week on Aug. 22 after playing the entire 90 minutes in the 1-0 shutout win against Texas (Aug. 19) as a center back. She held down the SU back line, limiting Texas to just one shot on goal despite 17 total attempts.
• The Redhawks begin this season as the co-favorite to finish atop the Western Athletic Conference standings in a preseason vote of the league’s eight head coaches.
• Three players were also named to the 11-member Preseason All-WAC Team, including sophomore forward Kari White, redshirt sophomore midfielder Isabelle Butterfield and junior defender Stephanie Spiekerman.
• Seattle U went 14-3-3 overall and 8-0-2 in WAC play in 2015, claiming the 2015 regular-season title before falling to UVU in the championship match of the WAC Tournament.
• The Redhawks return six starters from last year’s squad, along with a pair of key players from the 2014 lineup who redshirted last fall and senior transfer Brie Hooks who was the University of Colorado Female Athlete of the Year and an All-Pac-12 Second Team selection in 2014.
ABOUT THE AGGIES (4-9-1, 1-0-1 WAC)
New Mexico State is 4-9-1 overall and 1-0-1 in WAC play with a win over Chicago State and a 1-1 draw against UMKC last week. The Aggies won just two of their first 11 games, but have since one two of their last three. Aileen Galicia leads the team with six goals and one assist for 13 points. The Aggies have conceded 27 goals in 14 games.
SERIES HISTORY VS NEW MEXICO STATE
Seattle U is a perfect 6-0-0 all-time against the Aggies. The teams last met on Oct. 11, 2015. In that meeting, Karli White scored two goals and assisted a third as Seattle U earned a 3-0 shutout.
ABOUT THE VAQUEROS (9-3-1, 1-1-0 WAC)
UT Rio Grande Valley is 9-3-1 overall and 1-1-0 in WAC play after dropping the league opener to UMKC, 2-1 in OT, before rebounding with a big 5-1 victory at Chicago State. Sarah Bonney leads the WAC with 10 goals. She also has four assists for 24 total points. UTRGV leads the WAC in fewest goals allowed (9) and GAA (0.67).
SERIES HISTORY VS UTRGV
The Redhawks have been victorious in the two previous meetings against the Vaqueros. In 2015, five different Redhawks scored in a 5-0 victory.