ULM Warhawks

MONROE, La. - ULM plays its third straight road game on Saturday when they visit Alcorn State. Kickoff is set for 3 p.m. at Spinks-Casem Stadium in Lorman, Mississippi.
 
The Warhawks are 4-2 in the spring portion of the 2020-21 season after a 2-0 loss to Louisiana Tech on Sunday. The Warhawks had 14 shots in the match and put six on goal but couldn't find the back of the net. Janet Stopka, Victoria Altieri and Thenia Zervas had three shots each in the match with Zervas putting two on frame. Hailey Hillock had a busy day in net, coming up with nine saves.
 
Alcorn State is 0-8 after opening its season on Feb. 26. The Lady Braves have only played SWAC matches so far in 2021. ULM and Alcorn State share two common opponents. ULM defeated Grambling State, 2-0, on Feb. 23 while Alcorn lost to GSU, 5-2, on March 12 in Grambling. The Warhawks also topped Southern, 3-0, on Feb. 13 in Monroe while the Lady Braves lost to Southern, 2-1, on Feb. 26 in Baton Rouge. The Lady Braves have scored six goals in eight matches while conceding 26 goals, including 14 in the last four matches.
 
A LOOK AHEAD
The Warhawks close out the 2020-21 season on Thursday with a 2 p.m. match at Delta State in Cleveland, Mississippi.
 
SERIES HISTORY

• Friday's match is the second meeting between ULM and Alcorn State with the Warhawks leading the series, 1-0.
• ULM won the only previous meeting, 9-0, in Monroe on Sept. 9, 2005.

WARHAWKS ON THE ROAD
The Warhawks snapped a 10-match road winless skid with a 4-0 win at Nicholls State on March 15. It was the first road win for ULM since a 5-1 triumph at Southern on Sept. 18, 2019. The Warhawks went 0-4-1 over their final five road contests in the 2019 season before dropping their first five road matches of the 2020-21 season, all in the fall portion of the schedule. ULM is now aiming for its first season with multiple road wins since 2016, when the Warhawks went 3-4-3 on the road.
 
YOU CAN'T STOPKA, YOU CAN ONLY HOPE TO CONTAIN HER
Freshman Janet Stopka is tied for the third most goals in a single season in ULM history entering Friday's match. Stopka has eight goals in the 2020-21 campaign, with six goals coming in the six matches in the spring season. She needs two goals over the final two matches to tie the single-season program record for goals in a season with 10.
 
Stopka ranks second in the Sun Belt Conference in total goals for the 2020-21 season and ranks 12th among all goal scorers in NCAA Division I. She leads the conference in goals per game (0.57). Stopka's 16 points rank fifth in the SBC and 32nd in NCAA Division I. She has totaled 2.86 shots per game, which is good for third in the SBC.
 
She tallied her most recent goal in ULM's 4-0 win over Nicholls on March 15. The Waldbrol, Germany, native scored a pair of goals in the final 15 minutes of the match on Feb. 13 vs. Southern. She scored her first-career hat trick in the spring opener on Feb. 3 vs. UT Tyler, scoring all three goals in the second half.
 
Stopka led the Warhawks with two goals in the fall portion of the season, scoring twice in the final three matches of the fall half. She scored her first collegiate goal at Texas State on Oct. 25 and added another in the opening round of the Sun Belt Championship against Appalachian State on Nov. 2.
 
Overall, Stopka has eight goals on 40 shots with 19 on goal. She has played 1210 minutes over 16 matches.
 
MARTEN NETS PAIR OF GOALS AT NICHOLLS
Junior Courtney Marten tallied her first goals since the 2020-21 season-opener with a pair of goals at Nicholls on March 15. Marten scored the game-winning goal in the 48th minute off an assist from Efi Brame. She added another goal, ULM's fourth of the match, off an assist from McKenzie Rizqi in the 80th minute.
 
In the season opener at Arkansas State, Marten scored in the 43rd minute to cut the ULM deficit to 2-1. The Collinsville, Illinois, native used a rebound off a shot by Madi Garza that hit the woodwork to score her goal. It was Marten's fifth collegiate goal after scoring one as a sophomore and three as a freshman while playing for Missouri Southern State.
 
Marten has 17 shot attempts on the season, which ranks fourth on the team, tied with Thenia Zervas. She has put 11 shots on goal, which is third on the team. Her 64.7% shot on goal percentage leads the team among all players who have attempted at least 10 shots.
 
She also earned her only assist of the season in the win at Nicholls. Her three goals and seven total points each rank second on the team.
 
RIZQI STRIKES TWICE IN THE SPRING
ULM sophomore McKenzie Rizqi has scored two goals in the spring portion of the 2020-21 season and ranks third on the team with her two goals and five points and fourth on the team with her seven shots on goal.
 
Rizqi scored in the first half of the Feb. 13 match against Southern, marking her first goal of the season and the second of her career. It was her first-career game-winning goal as the Warhawks went on to the 3-0 victory. Rizqi scored in the 17th minute off a pass from Victoria Altieri. It was her first goal since scoring against Georgia Southern on Oct. 20, 2019.
 
Rizqi tallied her second goal of the season, another game-winning goal, in the 59th minute against Grambling State off an assist by Victoria Altieri. Her two game-winning goals ranks sixth in the SBC and 48th in NCAA Division I.
 
Rizqi has started five of six matches in the spring portion of the season.
 
ZERVAS TAKES THE PITCH FOR ULM
ULM senior Thenia Zervas was cleared to join the Warhawks for the spring season just hours before the opener against UT Tyler. Zervas made an immediate impact, picking up a pair of assists, each coming off a free kick, against the Patriots. She scored her first goal as a Warhawk on Feb. 23 vs. Grambling State. She has played 535 of 540 minutes in the six matches for which she has been eligible.
 
Zervas was selected to the Hellenic (Greece) National Team for the UEFA WEURO 2021. Greece defeated Montenegro 1-0 on Oct. 22 but lost to Ukraine 4-0 on Oct. 27 with Zervas starting as a midfielder. She was also called up to the team for a match against Germany on Nov. 27. Zervas, a native of Kalamata, Messinia, Greece, is sitting out this season due to NCAA transfer rules after playing last season at Lincoln Memorial University. She scored five goals and handed out 17 assists for the Railsplitters in 2019.
A HELPING HAND
ULM has 13 assists on its 17 goals in the 2020-21 season. Junior Efi Brame leads the way with three assists, which ranks 10th in the Sun Belt Conference and 91st in NCAA Division I.
 
Junior Thenia Zervas and sophomore Victoria Altieri rank second on the team with two assists each. Courtney Marten, McKenzie Rizqi, Madi Garza, Ashley Johnson, Taylor Altieri and Juliette Reitsma each have one assist for ULM.

GÖPPEL EARNS NATIONAL TEAM CALL-UP
Freshman Lena Göppel has received a call-up to the Liechtenstein National Team for a match against Luxembourg on April 11. She is the second Warhawk to receive a National Team call-up this season, joining Thenia Zervas with the Hellenic (Greece) National Team.
 
Göppel collected her first career goal, an equalizer, on Oct. 2 against Texas State. The Schaan, Liechtenstein, native was playing at the top of the box when a cross was sent into the box from the left side but was deflected back out top off a Bobcat defender. Göppel gained control of the ball and lofted a shot up and over Texas State goalkeeper Beth Agee and into the back of the goal to tie the match at 1.
 
Göppel played in the first 11 matches of the season before missing a pair of matches. She has returned for each of the last three matches. She is second on the team with 22 shots. She had four shots with two on frame against Texas State on Oct. 2.
 
HILLOCK, LEAL POST CLEAN SHEETS
ULM junior goalkeeper Hailey Hillock has posted one shutout and combined with freshman goalkeeper Mickaela Leal for three more clean sheets in the spring half of the 2020-21 season. Hillock started both shutout matches against UT Tyler and Southern. Against UT Tyler, Hillock played the first 77 minutes and came up with six saves while Leal played the final 13 minutes and did not face a shot on goal. Against Southern, the pair each played a half in the frigid conditions, each making two saves. Hillock played all 90 minutes in the 2-0 win over Grambling on Feb. 23. Hillock played 75 minutes against Nicholls on March 15 before Leal finished out the match with the final 15 minutes in the 4-0 shutout victory.
 
Hillock is sixth in the SBC and 17th in NCAA Division I with 63 saves on the season. She is sixth in the SBC with her 3.94 saves per game.
 
YARBROUGH BREAKS THROUGH AT LITTLE ROCK
ULM junior Kathryn Yarbrough gave ULM its first lead of the 2020 season with her first goal as a Warhawk in the Oct. 29 loss at Little Rock. In the 16th minute, sophomore Juliette Reitsma sent a corner kick toward the net. Yarbrough met it with a header to get the ball past Trojan goalkeeper Saskia Wagner and into the net for the 1-0 lead. Yarbrough, from Warner Robins, Georgia, tallied her first collegiate goal since picking up a goal while playing for Nevada against Hawaii on Sept. 13, 2018. She has played in 15 matches with one goal on three shots and two shots on goal.
 
GOING BEYOND 90
ULM's overtime losses at Little Rock and vs. Appalachian State to close the fall portion of the schedule marked the first overtime matches for ULM in 2020. It was the first overtime match for the Warhawks since a 0-0 draw against Alabama A&M on Sept. 22, 2019. The Nov. 2 loss to Appalachian State marked the first time the Warhawks have played back-to-back overtime matches since Sept. 4 and 6, 2015, against Northwestern State and Southeastern Louisiana. ULM last won an overtime game on Oct. 28, 2015, against the Ragin' Cajuns, earning a 3-2 victory. The Warhawks are now 0-3-7 in overtime matches since their last overtime victory.
 
THE 1,461 CLUB
Two Warhawks have started all 16 matches and played all 1,461 minutes in the 2020-21 season. Sophomores Victoria Altieri and Madi Garza have each played 1,461 minutes this season. Garza has one goal and assist this season with 21 shots, 12 on goal, and one assist. Altieri has six shots with two on goal and two assists.
 
Three other Warhawks have topped 1,300 minutes on the season. Juniors Daisy Drake, Hailey Hillock and Kathryn Yarbrough have each passed the 1,300-minute threshold. Drake has played 1,365 minutes while starting all 16 matches. Drake has five shots with two on goal this season. Hillock has totaled 1,388 minutes in goal. Yarbrough has played 1,357 minutes with 15 starts in 15 matches, earning a goal with three shots and two shots on goal.