GAME NOTES (PDF)

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. – The Northern Arizona University women's soccer team will host the annual Mountain Classic in Flagstaff, Ariz. Sept. 1 and Sept. 3. This weekend Head Coach Andre Luciano and the Lumberjacks will welcome Detroit Mercy, Nevada and Grand Canyon in this two-day tournament, competing first against Detroit Mercy on Friday and then Nevada on Sunday.

"The primary focus right now is to get ready for Detroit Mercy, a team that is going to be hard to break down defensively," said Luciano. "The goal is to be a little bit more diverse in our attack and for us to focus on our defending and not allow them to be productive on the offensive end."

The Detroit Mercy Titans and the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks will compete for the first time in program history. Friday's matchup will be a white-out where fans are encouraged to wear white attire.

Sunday, the Lumberjacks will face the Nevada Wolf Pack for the first time in nearly 10 years. The match will also be Sustainability Sunday. Northern Arizona is currently 2-1 overall with four goals on the season against Texas State, Houston and Grand Canyon.  

"We are creating 13 chances a game average," Luciano said. "We just have to be a little bit more critical in our finishing and hopefully during practice we get a chance to do that and get into a rhythm in front of goal ahead of this weekend."

For more information regarding tickets, game times, game coverage and opponents, you can visit the Mountain Classic page here.

The Scout
Detroit Mercy
Day: Friday, Sept. 1
Time: 7 p.m.
Location: Flagstaff, Ariz.
Coverage

The Titans, picked third in the Horizon league polls, will travel to Flagstaff for the first time in NAU's history to compete in the Mountain Classic. Detroit Mercy is currently undefeated at 2-0-1 and will take on Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania Wednesday before heading to Arizona. The 29-women Titans roster is led by Head Coach Mike Lupenec who returns conference Defensive Player of the Year Rachel DeLuca, Goalkeeper of the Year Marina Manzo and welcomes 11 newcomers. The Titans will conclude the weekend against Grand Canyon Sunday at 10 a.m.

Nevada
Day: Sunday, Sept. 3
Time: 1 p.m.
Location: Flagstaff, Ariz.
Coverage

The Nevada Wolf Pack is currently 1-2 overall picking up their first win of the season over Sacramento State. Before taking on the Lumberjacks, Nevada will face Grand Canyon Friday afternoon at 4 p.m. The Mountain West squad is led by newly named Head Coach Erin Otagaki. Nevada returns 11 letterwinners, seven starters and welcomes 10 newcomers to the roster. The last time these two teams faced in Flagstaff was in 2004. Kick-off against the Lumberjacks is set for Sunday, Sept. 3 at 1 p.m. in Lumberjack Stadium.

Looking Ahead

After the Mountain Classic, the Lumberjacks will remain at home for the third week in a row to host the UNLV Rebels and the University of Pacific Tigers Sept. 8 and Sept. 10 respectively. Northern Arizona will first compete against the Rebels Friday at 7:30 p.m. before taking on the Tigers Sunday at 5 p.m.

Veteran Affairs

The 'Jacks graduated a wealth of knowledge from the roster, including two All-Big Sky selections from 2016 in Lindsay Doyle and Missy Kettelkamp. But with seniors like top-scorer Adrian Nixt and forward Anna Goebel for the front line and Riley Porter a force to be reckoned with in the back line, the Lumberjacks bring back a number of veterans.

Nixt competed and started in all but one game last season picking up a season-high nine goals, five of which were game-winning goals. An All-Conference first team selection Nixt finished tied for third in game-winning goals in a season, tied for sixth in shots in a season and tied for eighth in points in a season. Goebel left her mark coming off the bench competing in all but one game. With only one goal in the regular season, Goebel came alive in the conference tournament scoring three goals, two of which were game-winners.

Newcomer News

NAU's 36-women roster is comprised of 21 underclassmen including nine incoming freshmen. The Lumberjack squad is young, but they are a formidable bunch returning 15 letterwinners, three of which earned All-Conference nods. With 11 different goal-scorers last season, there is not any one star the blue and gold will rely on this year.