ULM Warhawks

MATCH 3: ULM WARHAWKS (1-0-1) at LOUISIANA TECH BULLDOGS (1-1-0)
7 p.m., Thursday, August 24, 2023 | Robert Mack Caruthers Field | Ruston, Louisiana
TV/STREAM: ESPN+ | LIVE STATS

MATCH NOTES

MONROE, La. - After a couple of road trips into Texas on opening weekend, the ULM soccer team makes the short drive down I-20 to face Louisiana Tech at 7 p.m. Thursday at Robert Mack Caruthers Field in Ruston.The Warhawks rallied late for a 1-1 draw at Tarleton State in the season opener last Thursday before using two penalty kick goals and another late goal to get past Sam Houston, 3-1, on Sunday. Louisiana Tech opened the season with a pair of matches in Colorado, defeating Colorado College last Thursday, 3-1, before a 3-0 loss on Sunday at Colorado State.

FOLLOW THE WARHAWKS -
Links to live stats and video streams for all matches, when available, can be found at ULMWarhawks.com. Navigate to the soccer schedule page and select that day's opponent.

LAST TIME OUT -
STEPHENVILLE, Texas – Lucia Lobato's goal in the 88th minute, off a deflected free kick from Mara Grutkamp, helped ULM pick up a 1-1 draw against Tarleton State in the season opener Thursday night at the Tarleton Soccer Complex.
 
The free kick was set up by a Tarleton foul just outside and to the right of the 18-yard penalty area. After Lena Göppel initially approached the ball, but did not touch it, Grutkamp fired off a hard shot into the box, which deflected off Lobato and into the back of the net to level the match with just 2:44 remaining.

The Warhawks out-shot Tarleton, 23-12, and had 11 shots on goal. Mickaela Leal had two saves in the first half for ULM while Alexa Castro made three stops in the second half.

HUNTSVILLE, Texas – Inge Konst converted two penalty kick opportunities and Sara Navarro added an insurance goal in the final 10 minutes as ULM picked up the first win of the Will Roberts era with a 3-1 win over Sam Houston Sunday afternoon at Pritchett Field.

ULM tallied 23 shots and put 14 on goal. Konst and Skylar Blaise led ULM with five shots each, with Konst putting four shots on goal and Blaise having three. Sam Houston totaled 10 shots with seven on goal. Alexa Castro played the second half in goal for ULM and made five saves, while Mickaela Leal made one save in the first half.

PK QUEEN - 
With her two penalty kick goals on Sunday against Sam Houston, junior Inge Konst moved into a tie for the ULM career lead in converted penalty kicks with five. The Balk, Netherlands, native buried a penalty opportunity in the fifth minute to give ULM the inital lead against the Bearkats, and then added another in the 76th minute to regain the lead at 2-1.

Konst, who tied the ULM single-season penalty kick record with three in 2022, now has five converted penalties in her career, tying her with Cindy Barker (2000-03) on top of the career list.

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.

GRUTKAMP AND LOBATO LINK UP FOR LATE MATCH HEROICS - 
Despite piling up a 12 shot advantage, including a five shots on goal advantage, ULM trailed 1-0 at Tarleton State in the waning moments. A foul just outside and to the right of the penalty area granted ULM a free kick in the 88th minute. Junior Mara Grutkamp drilled the ball into the box, where senior Lucia Lobato deflected it into the net to level the match and ultimately earn the Warhawks the season-opening tie.

Grutkamp earned her 12th career assist on the goal, moving her into a tie for fifth place on the ULM career assists list. She needs one more assist to move into a tie for third and two more assists to tie for second. However, Grutkamp is only halfway to the all-time record of 24 set by Karlea Fehr from 2012-15. 

It was Lobato's fifth career goal, with three of them coming over the past three seasons at ULM. Lobato, a defender, took a career high 18 shots last season, putting eight on goal.

NAVARRO NETS FIRST CAREER GOAL - 
Sophomore Sara Navarro gave ULM a key insurance goal in the 82nd minute of Sunday's 3-1 win at Sam Houston. The Belton, Texas, native scored her first career goal on the play in her 13th career match as a Warhawk. In just two matches in 2023, Navarro's two shots on goal have equaled her the total of her true freshman 2022 campaign.

Navarro was assisted on the goal by fellow sophomore Eve Blakey, who earned her second career assist on the play.

CLEAT-MELTING HEAT - 
Despite moving up Sunday's match at Sam Houston two hours to try and avoid the peak of the hot temperatures, ULM still experienced literal cleat-melting heat in the 3-1 victory. Head Coach Will Roberts said some players needed to change cleats during the match due to them starting to melt on the hot artificial playing surface. According to the National Weather Service, the air temperature at first touch at 11 a.m. was 98 degrees. By the end of the match near 1 p.m., the air temperature had jumped to 106 degrees with a heat index of 112 degrees.

REWRITING THE RECORD BOOKS –
Four players on the 2023 roster have had Top-10 single-season performances and rank in the Top-10 career marks in ULM soccer history.

Junior Mara Grutkamp is tied for fifth with 12 career assists after picking up her first assist of 2023 last Thursday at Tarleton State. She is tied for fifth in single-season assists (6, 2022) and 10th in single-season points (17, 2021).

Junior Inge Konst knocked in two penalty kicks in Sunday's win at Sam Houston, which moves her into a tie for the most career penalty kicks converted at five, matching Cindy Barker's mark from 2000-03. She had three penalty kicks last season to tie her for most in a single season in program history. She is now tied for eighth in career goals with 13 and 10th in career points with 34. Konst is sixth on the single-season goals list (8, 2022), tied for seventh on the single-season assists list (5, 2021) and tied for eighth on the single-season points list (19, 2022).

Junior Mickaela Leal has made a mark in net, ranking first in career goals against average at 1.22 and tied for fifth with five career shutouts entering the 2023 season. Leal's 2022 season ranks tied for seventh in goals against average at 1.50.

Junior Janet Stopka ranks fifth with 16 career goals and is ninth with 35 career points entering the season. Her last two seasons have been cut short due to injury after posting a record-setting true freshman campaign in the split 2020-21 season. Stopka's 10 goals in 2020-21 set a program record at the time, but now ranks third behind Courtney Marten's 14 goals and Theoni Zerva's 11 goals, both in 2021. Stopka's 21 points in 2020-21 rank sixth-best in a single season in program history.

Since Will Roberts arrived as an assistant coach ahead of the 2020-21 season, ULM's has put 29 entries in the team single-game Top 10 marks and 12 entries in the single-season Top 5 records lists, including the most points in a single season (146, 53 goals, 40 assists, 2021), goals (53, 2021), shots (383, 2021) and goals against average (1.04, 2021).

2023 HONORS -
ULM sophomore forward Inge Konst was named First-Team All-Louisiana, while sophomore midfielder Lena Göppel and sophomore forward Mara Grutkamp were named Honorable Mention All-Louisiana by the Louisiana Sports Writers Association. The 2022 All-Louisiana soccer team was selected by the state's media relations directors.
 
Konst started all 17 matches in which she appeared, leading ULM in points (19), goals (8), shots (48) and shots on goal (23). She ranked fourth in the Sun Belt Conference in points and shots per game (2.82), fifth in points per game (1.12), sixth in goals per game (0.47) and seventh in goals and points. She played in all 90 minutes 11 times, including the final seven matches of the season. She scored a hat trick at Texas A&M-Commerce and had three goals inside SBC play, coming against Southern Miss, Arkansas State and at Troy.
 
Göppel started all 18 matches in which she appeared, playing 90 minutes in 17 of the 18 matches. She helped ULM post four clean sheets and allow just one goal in eight other matches. She scored three goals with one assist for seven points, firing 19 shots, putting seven on goal, with one game-winning goal and converting 1-of-3 penalty kick opportunities. She had multiple shots against Jackson State (4), Texas Southern (3), at Alcorn (2), at Prairie View A&M (2), at App State (2) and vs. Arkansas State (2).
 
Grutkamp started all 18 matches in which she appeared, leading ULM in assists (6), was second on the team in points (14) and shots (44) and was third on the club in goals (4) and shots on goal (17). Her six assists were tied for fifth-most in a single-season in ULM history. She tied for second in the Sun Belt Conference in assists, finished fourth in assists per game (0.33), tied for eighth in shots and ninth in shots per game (2.44). She played all 90 minutes seven times, including each of the final four matches. It is Grutkamp's second-straight honorable mention All-Louisiana selection.

A LOOK AHEAD –
ULM opens the home schedule against Texas A&M-Commerce at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, August 31, at Brown Stadium. The Warhawks conclude week three with a visit to Jackson State at 1 p.m. Sunday, September 3.