MATCH 6: SOUTHEASTERN LIONS (1-4-0) at ULM WARHAWKS (3-0-2)
6 p.m., Thursday, September 7, 2023 | Brown Stadium | Monroe, Louisiana
TV/STREAM: ESPN+ | LIVE STATS: ULMWarhawks.com
MATCH 7: ULM WARHAWKS (3-0-2) at MISSISSIPPI STATE BULLDOGS (4-1-1)
1 p.m., Sunday, September 10, 2023 | Mississippi State Soccer Field | Starkville, Mississippi
TV/STREAM: SEC Network + | LIVE STATS: HailState.com
MATCH NOTES
MONROE, La. - ULM looks to remain unbeaten with two more matches this week, entertaining Southeastern at 6 p.m. Thursday at Brown Stadium before visiting Mississippi State at 1 p.m. Sunday in Starkville. The Warhawks rallied from one goal deficits to defeat Texas A&M-Commerce, 3-1, last Thursday before rallying in the second half to win at Jackson State, 2-1, last Sunday.
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.
SERIES HISTORY -
ULM tries to end an 11-match winless streak against Southeastern at 6 p.m. Thursday at Brown Stadium. The Warhawks last defeated Southeastern, 1-0, on Oct. 21, 2005 in Hammond in the final meeting between the two sides as Southland Conference opponents. ULM has scored just six goals in its last 11 matches against SLU while allowing 23 goals. The two teams squared off as Southland Conference opponents from the inception of ULM's program in 1999 until the Warhawks departed the SLC after the 2005 season. Sixteen of the previous 27 meetings came with SLC implications.
ULM takes on its first Autonomy 5 conference opponent since 2017 with a 1 p.m. Sunday visit to Mississippi State. The Warhawks last played a team from an Autonomy 5 league on Aug. 18, 2017 when ULM lost at TCU, 5-0. It is the second all-time meeting with Mississippi State, with the Bulldogs picking up a 3-0 win over ULM on Aug. 31, 2012.
LAST TIME OUT -
MONROE, La. – ULM scored three unanswered goals to erase an early 1-0 deficit and cruised to a 3-1 win over Texas A&M-Commerce in the 2023 home opener Thursday night at Brown Stadium.
Texas A&M-Commerce scored on its first chance of the night, as Hannah Bell found the back of the net to give the Lions the 1-0 advantage in the fifth minute.
Vanessa Praher scored the equalizer in the 27th minute off an assist from
Janet Stopka to level the match at 1. It was Praher's first career goal and points.
The Warhawks took the lead in the 34th minute. After having a shot denied in the 30th minute,
Mara Grutkamp came back four minutes later and scored off assists by Praher and
Sophia Youngman for the 2-1 advantage, which held to halftime. It was Grutkamp's first goal of the season and 11th of her career.
ULM opened the second half aggressively. The Warhawks opened with possession and immediately went into attack mode, as
Eve Blakey scored 18 seconds into the half off assists by
Skylar Blaise and
Ally Richardson for the 3-1 lead. For Blakey, it was her first goal of the season, while Blaise and Richardson each earned their first career points on the play.
For the fourth consecutive match, ULM switched goalkeepers in the second half, as
Alexa Castro held off both Texas A&M-Commerce scoring attempts in the second half.
Mickaela Leal had two saves in the first half for the Warhawks.
JACKSON, Miss. – Two second half goals, one from
Skylar Blaise and the other from
Janet Stopka, helped ULM rally from a 1-0 halftime deficit for a 2-1 at Jackson State Sunday afternoon at the JSU Soccer Complex.
Jackson State opened the scoring in the 35th minute on a goal by Amalia Fonua for the 1-0 lead.
ULM responded in the second half. First, Blaise scored off an assist from
Emelie Kobler in the 51st minute to equalize the match at 1. It marked the first points for both players as Warhawks. Later, in the 82nd minute, Stopka found the back of the net off a feed from
Santana Pressley for the 2-1 lead. It was Stopka's second goal of the season and 18th of her career, while it was Pressley's first point of the season and fourth assist of her career.
Alexa Castro and
Mickaela Leal made one save each for ULM. Jordan Hamilton made 10 saves for JSU.
RALLYHAWKS -
ULM has displayed a flair for the dramatic by trailing in four of its first five matches, but rallying for either a win or a draw.
The Warhawks trailed Jackson State 1-0 at the half last Sunday 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.
STOPKA APPROACHES TOP OF THE MOUNTAIN -
ULM junior
Janet Stopka scored her first goal of the 2023 season on Aug. 24 against Louisiana Tech and scored the game-winning goal last Sunday against Jackson State to continue to move up ULM's career points and goals lists. The goal against JSU gave Stopka her 18th career goal, which ranks third in program history behind Cindy Barker (22, 2000-03) and former teammate
Courtney Marten (19, 2020/21-22). The game-winner against JSU was her fifth game-winning goal, good for a tie for third-most in program history and one off the record, held by Marten and Tara Balogh (2001-05).
Stopka scored her first assist of 2023 last Thursday against Texas A&M-Commerce. She has 40 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.
KONST CONTINUES TO MAKE MARK, MOVE UP RECORD LISTS -
Junior
Inge Konst has piled up seven points over the first five contests of the 2023 season, moving her up on the career points, career goals, career assists and career penalty kicks made list.
The native of Balk, Netherlands, scored in the second minute and added an assist in the second half in the August 24 3-3 tie at Louisiana Tech. It was her third goal of the season and 14th of her career, moving her to eighth place on the career goals list. Her assist gave her 37 career points, to rank 10th on the career points list and moved her into a tie for eighth on the career assists list with nine assists.
With her two penalty kick goals against Sam Houston on August 20, junior 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. She ranks 10th on the career shots list with 97 shot attempts.
GRUTKAMP ASSISTING WARHAWKS TO SUCCESS -
Junior
Mara Grutkamp continues to move up the career record book, sitting in a tie for fifth most career assists in ULM history at 12 (Rachel Hobson, 2005-08). 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.
Grutkamp will tie for third on the career assists list with her next assist (
Theoni Zerva, 2020/21-21, and Chelsea Shriner (2000-02). She needs two assists to tie Kelley O'Dwyer for second on the all-time list at 14. However, Grutkamp is only halfway to tying the ULM career assists record, held by Karlea Fehr (2012-15) with 24.
Grutkamp ranks ninth in career shots with 98. Her goal last Thursday 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 (34) 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.
HOLMES NOTCHES FIRST CAREER POINTS -
Freshman
Libby Holmes scored 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 three times in her first collegiate season, and has started all five matches.
NAVARRO NETS FIRST CAREER GOAL -
Sophomore
Sara Navarro gave ULM a key insurance goal in the 82nd minute of the Aug. 20 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 five matches in 2023, Navarro's three shots on goal have surpassed the total of two in her true freshman campaign in 2022.
Navarro was assisted on the goal by fellow sophomore
Eve Blakey, who earned her second career assist on the play.
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, Sam Houston and Jackson State, while Castro played the first half against Louisiana Tech and Texas A&M-Commerce. The two keepers switched spots at halftime.
Leal is ULM's all-time career leader in goals against average at 1.19. She is fifth with five career shutouts and fifth with 12 career wins. She entered the program's Top 10 list for career saves this season with 75. Castro has not allowed a goal in four of her five appearances in 2023, posting 16 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 closes out non-conference play at 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 14 at Grambling before starting Sun Belt Conference play at 1 p.m. EDT/12 p.m. CDT vs. Marshall on Sunday, Sept. 17. The Warhawks return to Brown Stadium at 7 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 21, vs. Georgia State.
