MONROE, La. –After opening the season at home, the Warhawks (1-0) head for a three-game road trip, first facing Central Arkansas (0-1) on Sunday (Aug. 17) at 1 p.m. CT.
 
SCOUTING THE BEARS –
The Bears have opened to an 0-1 start to the season, falling to Tulsa 1-2 on Thursday. After head coach Jeremy Bishop took a new role at UCA, associate head coach Derek Nichols was named head coach in July. The Bears return All-ASUN Second Team member Nina Mazzola, who was also named to the Preseason All-ASUN team. All three of UCA's freshmen featured on the All-ASUN Freshman Team also return: Jama Akpanudo, Sophia Backstrom and Addylan Wright. In 2025, the Bears are selected to finished fourth in the conference. 
 
SERIES VS. CENTRAL ARKANSAS – 
This is the 17th meeting between the Bears and the Warhawks, the second in a row. Last season, ULM hosted Central Arkansas, the Warhawks falling in a 2-3 score. With last season's win, UCA holds a eight-match win streak against ULM, dating back to 2015. The first meeting between the two teams was 2006, with the Warhawks clinching the 1-0 overtime victory.
 
LAST TIME OUT –
The ULM women's soccer team secured their first shutout of the season with a 4-0 victory over the Southeastern Louisiana Lions on Thursday (Aug. 14). In the season opener, four different Warhawks scored goals in the second-straight season-opening shutout, dating back to last season.
 
The game began with a lot of back-and-forth for both squads, but a corner kick secured the lead for ULM. Beth Strutton nailed a header into the net, assisted by Margret Edda Bjarnadottir. Another goal came in the 36^th minute from senior Skylar Blaise, the assist coming from fellow senior Sophia Youngman. The half closed with ULM ahead 2-0, only allowing the Lions to tack on one shot in the first 45 minutes.
 
Two more goals came through to extend the Warhawk lead in the second half. In the 71^st minute, Giulia Franco tallied a goal, assisted by Jaden Masters. Just six minutes later, Libby Holmes rounded out the captain scores, as she launched a header for the fourth and final goal of the match. 
 
O CAPTAINS OUR CAPTAINS –
ULM Soccer has named three captains this season: forward Skylar Blaise, defender Beth Strutton and defender Libby Holmes. Blaise and Holmes are in their third seasons at ULM, while Strutton is in her second. Blaise, a senior, led the team in points and goals in 2024, making 19 starts. Holmes did not see much action last season due to injury, but her leadership continued off the field. Strutton made an immediate impact as a freshman, scoring two goals last season, both being game winners. All three captains scored a goal against Southeastern in the season opener.
 
INTERNATIONAL FLAIR –
ULM is one of few teams in which a majority of their team is from outside of the United States. The Warhawks have 19 players from 12 different countries, excluding the U.S. The leading country with six players is England. Other noted countries include: Bermuda, Brazil, France, Germany, Hungary, Iceland, Mexico, Norway, The Netherlands, Scotland and Spain. Midfielder Bernadett Stefan takes the cake being the farthest from home, as Monroe is 5,456 miles from Budapest, Hungary. On the other side of things, freshman Kendra Sale is soccer team's hometown hero, being from Monroe and graduating from Ouachita Parish High School.
 
REWRITING THE RECORD BOOKS –
Since Will Roberts arrived as an assistant coach ahead of the 2020-21 season, ULM has put 45 entries in the team single-game Top 10 marks and 19 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), goals against average (0.94, 2023) and shutouts (9, 2024).
 
FOLLOW THE WARHAWKS –
Sunday's match at Central Arkansas will be available for streaming on ESPN+, with live stats also available. Links to live stats and video streams for all matches, when available, can be found at ULMWarhawks.com. 
 
LOOKING AHEAD –
ULM remains on the road as the team travels to take on Nicholls on Thursday (Aug. 21) at 6 p.m. CT. The Warhawks will continue their road stretch against UAB on Sunday (Aug. 24) at 7 p.m. CT.