ULM Warhawks

MATCH 19: (6) ULM WARHAWKS (9-2-7, 4-1-5) vs. (3) GEORGIA SOUTHERN EAGLES (12-5, 7-3)
11 a.m., Wednesday, November 1, 2023 | Foley Sports Complex | Foley, Alabama
TV/STREAM: ESPN+ | LIVE STATS: SunBeltSports.org

MATCH NOTES

MONROE, La. - No. 6 seed ULM (9-2-7 overall, 4-1-5 Sun Belt Conference) opens the Sun Belt Conference Championship with a quarterfinal matchup against No. 3 seed Georgia Southern (12-5, 7-3) at 11 a.m. Wednesday at the Foley Sports Complex in Foley, Alabama. It is the first meeting between ULM and Georgia Southern this season, and the second meeting at the SBC Championship in the last three years, with the Eagles taking a 2-1 semifinal victory in 2021.

The winner of Wednesday's match plays again 4 p.m. Friday in the semifinals against the winner of No. 2 Old Dominion and No. 7 Georgia State.

FOLLOW THE WARHAWKS -
Links to live stats and the ESPN+ stream for Wednesday's match can be found at ULMWarhawks.com. Navigate to the soccer schedule page and scroll down to the Georgia Southern match at the bottom of the schedule.

LAST TIME OUT -
MONROE, La. – A goal in the 89th minute allowed Old Dominion to equalize the match, resulting in a 1-1 draw between ULM and the Monarchs on Senior Night Thursday at Brown Stadium.

The Warhawks (9-2-7 overall, 4-1-5 Sun Belt Conference) broke the scoreless stalemate open in the 50th minute as Inge Konst scored her ninth goal of the season, thanks to an assist by Mara Grutkamp, her seventh assist.

Old Dominion (10-2-5, 5-2-3) continued to press in the final 10 minutes, looking to equalize. After Gry Boe Thrysoe's shot hit the right post, Megan Watts found the back of the net to level the match at 1 in the 89th minute, leading to the 1-1 draw.

ODU outshot ULM 15-5, including a 3-1 advantage in shots in goal. Mickaela Leal and Alexa Castro each made one save in goal for ULM, while Emily Bredek played all 90 minutes in goal for ODU.

WARHAWKS AT THE SBC CHAMPIONSHIP -
ULM is playing in the Sun Belt Conference Women's Soccer Championship for just the fourth time in program history. The Warhawks are 2-3 all-time in the tournament, winning both of their matches in 2021, when they reached the semifinals after wins over No. 9 seed Troy, 1-0, and No. 1 seed Arkansas State, 1-0, before falling to No. 4 seed Georgia Southern in the semifinals, 2-1.

The Warhawks also played in the championship in 2020, dropping a first-round match to App State, 1-0, and made their debut in the field in 2016 with a 2-0 loss to Little Rock.

ULM EARNS BEST PROGRAM FINISH IN SBC POSTSEASON HONORS -
Midfielder Inge Konst and defender Lucia Lobato were each named First-Team All-Sun Belt Conference and midfielder Mara Grutkamp was named Second-Team All-SBC Monday following a vote of the conference's head coaches.

It marks the first time in the ULM soccer program's Sun Belt Conference history (2006-present) that two Warhawks were named to the First Team and three Warhawks were named All-Conference in the same season.

Konst led ULM with 23 points on nine goals with five assists. The midfielder from Balk, Netherlands, ranked second in the Sun Belt Conference in points, second in goals and tied for eighth in assists. Her six penalty kick goals on the season set a ULM single season record and gave her nine converted penalties for her career, which sets a new ULM career record. Her 11 points in conference matches ties for fifth best in the league. She is sixth in ULM single season history in goals (9) and fourth in points (23). For her career, she is tied for second in ULM history in points (53, 20 goals, 13 assists) and goals (20), fifth in shots (129) and sixth in assists (13).

Lobato posted a career-best three goals and seven points in her final season of eligibility. The defender from Galway, Ireland, helped ULM on the offensive end in some set pieces, scoring a goal to equalize the match in the 88th minute in the season opener at Tarleton State, added another in a comeback effort at Louisiana Tech and then picked up her third goal of the season in a road draw at Arkansas State. She earned her first assist of the season against Southern Miss on Oct. 22. In addition to her help on the offensive end, she has been a leader on the defensive side of the field, as ULM is allowing opponents just 0.94 goals per game and 8.7 shot attempts per game. The ULM defense posted five clean sheets and allowed just one goal in 10 other matches.

Grutkamp has started all 18 matches for ULM, scoring twice with seven assists for 11 points, which ranks tied for second on the team. The junior midfielder from Mulheim an der Ruhr, Germany, ranks second in the with 64 shots and tied for the league lead with seven assists. She had eight of her 11 points inside Sun Belt Conference play, picking up an assist in the regular season finale vs. Old Dominion on Oct. 26, scoring a goal and adding an assist against Troy on Oct. 19, picking up two assists at Arkansas State on Oct. 15, and adding assists at James Madison on Oct. 5 and at Marshall on Sept. 17. Her goals against Troy and Texas A&M-Commerce proved to be game-winning goals. Grutkamp is sixth on ULM's career points list with 42 (12 goals, 18 assists) and is second on the career assists list with 18.

WARHAWKS RISING IN RPI -
ULM moved up three spots to No. 57 in the latest RPI, released by the NCAA on Monday. On Oct. 9, ULM moved up to No. 53. It is believed to be the best RPI ranking in program history.

The Warhawks moved into the Top 60 by playing to a draw against South Alabama (RPI No. 25), James Madison (RPI No. 64) and Old Dominion (RPI No. 59). ULM also has a 1-0 loss to RPI No. 22 Mississippi State on the slate. ULM has a chance to improve its RPI mark in the SBC Championship, facing RPI No. 50 Georgia Southern at 11 a.m. Wednesday. Should ULM advance, the Warhawks could face ODU and South Alabama or JMU again in the semifinals and finals.

KONST CONTINUES TO MAKE MARK, MOVE UP RECORD LISTS - 
Junior Inge Konst has piled up 23 points in the 2023 regular season, moving her up on the career points, career goals, career assists, career penalty kicks made, career shots, single season points and single season goals lists.

The native of Balk, Netherlands, scored her ninth goal of the season to open the second half and give ULM a 1-0 lead over Old Dominion en route to a 1-1 draw against the Monarchs last Thursday. She scored her eighth goal of the season in the 19th minute on Oct. 15 at Arkansas State and then added an assist last Sunday at Southern Miss, her fifth of the season. She has 53 career points, which ties her for second on ULM's all-time points list with Cindy Barker (53 points, 2000-03) and three points behind Karlea Fehr (56 points, 2012-15). She has 20 career goals, which ties her with teammate Janet Stopka (20 goals, 2020/21-present) on the list. She trails only Barker (22 goals, 2000-03) on the career goals list. She now has 23 points (9 goals, 5 assists) to sit in a tie for fourth on the single season points list with Kortney Harris' 23 points (10 goals, 3 assists) in the 2004 season. Her nine goals this season are sixth most in a single season in program history. Her five assists are tied for eighth most in a single season in program history and her 13 career assists is tied for sixth most all time.

Konst extended her lead as ULM's all-time leader in penalty kicks made with a goal in the 41st minute against Texas State on Oct. 8. It was her sixth converted penalty of the season, extending the program's new single-season record, which alone would set the career converted penalty kick goal record. It was the ninth converted penalty of her career.

Konst became ULM's all-time leader in made penalty kicks made with her goal in the 14th minute against Southeastern on Sept. 7. She then added an assist on a goal by Libby Holmes later in the match.

Konst scored in the second minute and added an assist in the second half in the August 24 3-3 tie at Louisiana Tech. She tallied two penalty kick goals against Sam Houston on Aug. 20, with her second goal in the 76th minute putting ULM ahead for good.

Konst has moved into tie for fifth on the career shots list with 129 shots, matching Tiffany Bombard (2007-10) and Allison Matson (2003-07).

BLAISE-ING A NEW PATH -
ULM junior Skylar Blaise has moved into second place on the team in points after posting the 10th match with six-or-more points in program history on Oct. 8 against Texas State. Blaise tallied two goals and two assists for six points against the Bobcats, giving her 11 for the season on four goals and three assists.

Blaise's six points against Texas State ties her for the third-most points in a single match in program history.

She netted a goal on her only shot in 44 minutes in a win against the Ragin' Cajuns on Sept. 24. She scored her first goal as a Warhawk in the 2-1 win over Jackson State on Sept. 3. Her first point at ULM was an assist in a 3-1 win vs. Texas A&M-Commerce on Aug. 31.

Blaise was a Second-Team All-American by the United Soccer Coaches in 2022 at Lake Tahoe Community College after leading all junior college players nationally with 27 assists and leading the state of California with 23 goals to accumulate 73 points for the season. She was the sixth All-American in Lake Tahoe program history.

STOPKA LEAVES A LEGACY AT ULM - 
Junior Janet Stopka tallied four goals in 11 games in 2023, moving her into second place on ULM's career goals scored list with 20. She tallied a brace with two goals against Marshall on Sept. 17 for her sixth career multi-goal game. She scored her first goal of the 2023 season on Aug. 24 against Louisiana Tech and scored the game-winning goal on Sept. 3 against Jackson State to continue to move up ULM's career points and goals lists. Stopka passed former teammate Courtney Marten (19, 2020/21-22) for second on the all-time list on Sept. 17 at Marshall. She trails only Cindy Barker (22, 2000-03) for the most goals in program history. 

She had two game-winning goals this season, coming against Marshall and JSU. Her six career game-winning goals are tied for the most in program history with Marten and Tara Balogh (2001-05).

Stopka scored her first assist of 2023 on Aug. 31 against Texas A&M-Commerce. She had 44 career points (18 goals, four assists), which ranks fourth in program history behind Karlea Fehr (56, 2012-15), Barker (53, 2000-03) and Chelsea Shriner (45, 2000-02).

Stopka set a then school record with 10 goals in the 2020-21 season. She added four goals in 2021 and two goals in 2022 before sustaining season-ending injuries in each season, playing in just 10 total matches between the two seasons.

GRUTKAMP ASSISTING WARHAWKS TO SUCCESS - 
Junior Mara Grutkamp continues to move up the career record book and is now in sole possession of second place with 18 career assists, moving ahead of Kelley O'Dwyer (2012-15) with 14 career assists. Grutkamp  has five assists in the last six games, including one last Thursday against Old Dominion. She assisted on both goals in the Oct. 15 2-2 draw at Arkansas State.

She picked up her first assist of 2023 in the season opener at Tarleton State by firing a free kick into the box, where Lucia Lobato deflected it into the net to tie the match at 1 in the 87th minute. She added her second assist on the equalizing goal by Janne Van Brummelen in the 35th minute at Marshall on Sept. 17. Her third assist of the season came on Oct. 5 at James Madison on Lena Goppel's goal in the fourth minute.

Although she now is second in program history in assists, Grutkamp is still six assists shy of the career assists record, held by Karlea Fehr (2012-15) with 24.

Grutkamp ranks fourth in career shots with 145. Her assist vs. Old Dominion last Thursday gave her 42 career points, moving her into sixth on the career points list. Her goal against Troy on Oct. 19 was the 12th of her career, putting her one goal away from cracking the career Top-10 list. She is now tied for seventh with four career game-winning goals.

LOBATO MAKING MOST OF FINAL SEASON -
One of just three seniors on ULM's 2023 roster, Lucia Lobato has set a career high for goals in a season with three in 2023. The native of Galway, Ireland, scored the equalizing goal in the 88th minute at Tarleton State and added a goal in the comeback effort at Louisiana Tech. She found the back of the net at Arkansas State last Sunday for her third goal of the season. Out of her eight shots this season, six have been on goal. She chipped in her first assist of the season against Troy on Oct. 19.

In her three seasons at ULM, Lobato has five goals with six assists for 16 points, while firing 35 shots and putting 20 on goal. She had two goals and two assists over her two seasons at Akron prior to transferring to ULM.

FRESHMAN HOLMES MAKING AN IMPACT - 
Freshman Libby Holmes earned her sixth career point with an assist on Lena Goppel's goal to equalize the Oct. 22 match at Southern Miss, 2-2. It had been just over a month since her fifth career point, an assist on Janet Stopka's second goal at Marshall, on Sept. 17. She scored her first career goal off an assist from Inge Konst to put ULM up 2-0 against Southeastern on Sept. 7. She earned her first career points on a pair of assists in the Aug. 24 3-3 draw at Louisiana Tech. Holmes fired off three shots, putting two on frame, while playing all 90 minutes. The Shefford, Bedfordshire, England native has played all 90 minutes 17 times in her first collegiate season, and has started all 18 matches.

LEAL, CASTRO BATTLING FOR GOALKEEPER POSITION - 
Junior Mickaela Leal and senior Alexa Castro have split time in net almost evenly through the regular season. Leal has typically played the first half and Castro the second half for the Warhawks. However, Leal has played all 90 minutes in two of the last three matches before the duo split time again against Old Dominion last Thursday in the regular season finale.

Leal is ULM's all-time career leader in goals against average at 1.04. She is fourth with six career shutouts and third with 17 career wins. She entered the program's Top 10 list for career saves this season and is now ninth with 99 saves. Castro has not allowed a goal in nine of her 15 appearances in 2023, posting 28 saves.

RALLYHAWKS - 
ULM has displayed a flair for the dramatic by trailing in eight matches in the season, but rallying for either a win or a draw in six of those matches.

ULM trailed 2-0 at halftime at Southern Miss, but a goal by Emelie Kobler off an assist from Inge Konst in the 49th minute cut the gap in half. The Warhawks then equalized in the 74th minute when Lena Goppel scored off Libby Holmes' assist.

The Warhawks trailed Marshall 1-0 in the 21st minute but tied the match by the 35th minute on a goal by Janne Van Brummelen. ULM took the lead behind two goals from Janet Stopka in the second half to earn the 3-1 win on Sept. 17.

The Warhawks trailed Jackson State 1-0 at the half on Sept. 3 before scoring two second half goals, including the go-ahead goal by Janet Stopka in the 82nd minute, for the 2-1 win. ULM trailed Texas A&M-Commerce 1-0 in the first half before scoring three unanswered goals for the 3-1 victory.

The Warhawks rallied from deficits in the final 10 minutes to earn draws in two of the first three matches, picking up a 1-1 tie at Tarleton State on Aug. 17 and a 3-3 tie at Louisiana Tech on Aug. 24.

ULM trailed Tarleton State 1-0 inside the final three minutes when the Warhawks scored on a set piece. Mara Grutkamp fired a ball into the box, where Lucia Lobato headed it past the goalkeeper to level the match in the 87th minute.

The Warhawks fell behind 3-1 at Louisiana Tech on Aug. 24, but rallied in the final 20 minutes of the match. First, Stopka scored off an assist from Inge Konst to get back within a goal in the 72nd minute. Then, Lobato knotted her second game-tying goal of the season, this time on an assist from Libby Holmes, in the 85th minute to earn the 3-3 draw.

ROBERTS TAKES THE REIGNS -
After spending three seasons as an assistant coach at ULM, Will Roberts accepted his first collegiate head coaching job with the Warhawks in January. A native of Denbigh, North Wales, Roberts has helped ULM reach new heights over the last three seasons, including just the second 10-win season in program history in 2022. The Warhawks increased their win total in each of his three seasons as an assistant coach, going from a winless season prior to his arrival to five wins in 2020-21, eight wins in 2021 and 10 wins in 2022. Roberts is assisted by Matthew Caley, who was promoted from his role as a graduate assistant.

A LOOK AHEAD –
The winner of Wednesday's semifinal game plays the winner of No. 2 seed Old Dominion and No. 7 Georgia State at 4 p.m. Friday in Foley, Alabama.