MATCH 10: GEORGIA STATE PANTHERS (4-1-3, 0-0-0) at ULM WARHAWKS (6-1-2, 1-0-0)
7 p.m., Thursday, September 21, 2023 | Brown Stadium | Monroe, Louisiana
TV/STREAM: ESPN+ | LIVE STATS: ULMWarhawks.com
MATCH 11: ULM WARHAWKS (6-1-2, 1-0-0) at RAGIN' CAJUNS (3-3-2, 0-1-0)
1 p.m., Sunday, September 24, 2023 | Home Bank Track & Soccer Complex | Lafayette, Louisiana
TV/STREAM: ESPN+ | LIVE STATS: RaginCajuns.com
MATCH NOTES
MONROE, La. - ULM plays its first full week of Sun Belt Conference competition this week as the Warhawks entertain Georgia State at 7 p.m. Thursday at Brown Stadium before visiting the Ragin' Cajuns at 1 p.m. Sunday. ULM has won its last two games after knocking off Grambling, 1-0, on Sept. 14 and Marshall, 3-1, on Sept. 17, to open SBC action 1-0.
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 -
GRAMBLING, La. – Inge Konst scored on a penalty kick 49 seconds into the match for the only goal, as ULM closed non-conference play with a 1-0 win over Grambling at the GSU Soccer Complex Thursday evening.
A foul against Grambling's Khori Banks 49 seconds into the match set up Konst's penalty kick. It was Konst's fourth converted penalty kick of the season, giving her the ULM single season record and extending her career record with her seventh career penalty kick goal.
Mickaela Leal made two saves while playing the first half, and
Alexa Castro did not face a shot while playing the second half in goal for ULM.
Grutkamp led ULM with four shots, putting two on goal. Both of Konst's shots were on target. ULM outshot Grambling, 9-5, with five shots on goal to two for the Tigers.
HUNTINGTON, W.V. – A first half equalizer from
Janne Van Brummelen and two second half goals from
Janet Stopka propelled the ULM soccer team to a 3-1 win at Marshall in the Sun Belt Conference opener for both teams Sunday afternoon at Hoops Family Field.
It marks the sixth multi-goal game of Stopka's career, as her 19th and 20th career goals move her into second place on ULM's career goals list, two behind all-time leader Cindy Barker, who netted 22 goals from 2000-03. Stopka's go-ahead goal gave her the sixth game-winning goal of her career, tying her for the most in program history with former teammate
Courtney Marten (2020/21-22) and Tara Balogh (2001-05).
The Warhawks outshot Marshall 20-5, including an 8-2 advantage in shots on goal. ULM had five shots on goal following the red card while limiting the Thundering Herd without a shot on goal. Stopka and Grutkamp had five shots each, with both players putting two shots on goal. Hugh had both of Marshall's shots on goal.
Mickaela Leal saw her shutout streak come to an end in goal in the first half but made one save.
Alexa Castro did not face a shot in the second half in goal for the Warhawks. Alexis Wolgemuth made five saves in goal for Marshall.
RALLYHAWKS -
ULM has displayed a flair for the dramatic by trailing in six of its first nine matches, but rallying for either a win or a draw in five of those matches.
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.
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.
ON THE MARK -
ULM ranks second in the Sun Belt Conference and 18th in NCAA Division I in shots on goal per game (9.22). The Warhawks also rank second in the SBC and 35th nationally in shot accuracy (.542) and third in the SBC and 42nd nationally in shots per game (17.0).
STOPKA APPROACHES TOP OF THE MOUNTAIN -
Junior
Janet Stopka has tallied four goals in eight 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 Sunday 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 Sunday at Marshall. She trails only Cindy Barker (22, 2000-03) for the most goals in program history.
She has 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 has 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).
She has started three of the last four matches as she continues to work her way back from a knee injury.
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.
KONST CONTINUES TO MAKE MARK, MOVE UP RECORD LISTS -
Junior
Inge Konst has piled up 13 points over the first nine contests of the 2023 season, moving her up on the career points, career goals, career assists, career penalty kicks made and career shots lists.
The native of Balk, Netherlands, extended her lead as ULM's all-time leader in penalty kicks made with a goal in the first minute of the match at Grambling on Sept. 14. It was her fourth converted penalty of the season, setting the program's new single season record. It was the seventh converted penalty of her career. In addition, it was her 16th career goal, which moved her into a tie for sixth on ULM's career goals list. After notching an assist on
Janet Stopka's first goal on Sept. 17 at Marshall, Konst moved into fifth on the career points list with 43 points and is tied for seventh on the career assists list with 11.
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 now moved into 10th on the career shots list with 108 shots, two behind teammate
Mara Grutkamp for ninth place and five ahead of
Janet Stopka.
She leads the Sun Belt Conference and ranks 12th in NCAA Division I with three game-winning goals. Konst is second in the SBC and 27th nationally with 1.89 shots on goal per game and second in the SBC and 45th nationally with 3.44 shots per game.
GRUTKAMP ASSISTING WARHAWKS TO SUCCESS -
Junior
Mara Grutkamp continues to move up the career record book, sitting in a tie for third-most career assists in ULM history at 13 (
Theoni Zerva, 2020/21-21, and Chelsea Shriner, 2000-02). 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.
Grutkamp will tie for second on the career assists list with her next assist (Kelley O'Dwyer, 2012-15) However, Grutkamp is just over halfway to tying the ULM career assists record, held by Karlea Fehr (2012-15) with 24.
Grutkamp ranks ninth in career shots with 110. Her goal on Aug. 31 against Texas A&M-Commerce gave Grutkamp her first goal of the season and 11th of her career, putting her two goals away from cracking the career Top-10 list. She also sits just outside the Top 10 in career points (35) and game-winning goals (3).
LOBATO MAKING MOST OF FINAL SEASON -
One of just three seniors on ULM's 2023 roster,
Lucia Lobato has had a quick start to the season. 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. Out of her four shots, three have been on goal.
In her three seasons at ULM, Lobato has four goals with five assists for 13 points, while firing 31 shots and putting 17 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 fifth career point with 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 seven times in her first collegiate season, and has started all nine matches.
LEAL, CASTRO BATTLING FOR GOALKEEPER POSITION -
Junior
Mickaela Leal and senior
Alexa Castro have split time in net evenly through the first five matches of the season. Leal played the first half at Tarleton State, at Sam Houston, at Jackson State, vs. Southeastern, at Mississippi State, at Grambling and at Marshall while Castro played the first half at Louisiana Tech and vs. Texas A&M-Commerce. The two keepers switched spots at halftime.
Leal is ULM's all-time career leader in goals against average at 1.17. She is fifth with five career shutouts and third with 15 career wins. She entered the program's Top 10 list for career saves this season with 85. Castro has not allowed a goal in seven of her nine appearances in 2023, posting 22 saves.
CLEAT-MELTING HEAT -
Despite moving up the Aug. 20 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.
RECORD BREAKERS -
Since
Will Roberts arrived as an assistant coach ahead of the 2020-21 season, ULM 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).
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 –
ULM continues Sun Belt Conference play at 1 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 1, when South Alabama visits Brown Stadium.
