FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (September 27, 2023) – Northern Arizona Soccer (5-3-3, 0-1-1) is returning to Lumberjack Stadium this weekend to host the Weber State Wildcats (0-7-2, 0-1-1) on Friday and the Idaho State Bengals (3-9-0, 1-1-0) on Sunday.
Friday night's matchup against the Wildcats will kick off at 7 p.m. MST, live stats can be found here, and the game will be streamed on ESPN+. Sunday afternoon's match is set to start at 1 p.m. MST and live stats can be found here while the game will be streamed through ESPN+.
The Jacks are looking to secure the team's first Big Sky Conference victory of the season after a 0-1-1 start last weekend at Sacramento State and Portland State. Prior to conference play, NAU tabbed the program's best non-conference win percentage in history of .667.
Leading the Lumberjacks on the offensive front,
Maddie Shafer and
Allison Veloz each hold six points. Shafer has recorded two goals and two assists through the season while Veloz has three goals through the team's eleven matches. With two game-winning goals, Shafer leads the Big Sky averaging .222 per game.
On the defensive side of the ball, the Jacks goalkeepers and back line have only allowed three goals in the month of September while recording three shutouts.
Trinity Corcoran leads the team in goalkeeper minutes with 632, saves with 20, and goals against average with 0.85. Corcoran's goals against average ranks third best in the conference.
Weber State will also enter Friday night's matchup eyeing the program's first conference victory, as well as the team's first victory of the regular season. The Wildcats began their season with a 1-1 draw at Idaho, where Grace Kirby opened up scoring in the 65
th minute before the Vandals tied things up nine minutes later. The Cats dropped their last match to Eastern Washington after Sayler Schlosser opened scoring up just three minutes into play, before the Eagles equalized in the 16
th minute and put the go-ahead in the back of the net nine minutes into the second half.
Kirby and Schlosser lead the Wildcats offensively, each recording three goals and one assist a piece. Alaina Wildenradt follows with one goal and an assist. Former Lumberjack
Mikayla Topaum also has a goal on WSU's stat line, recorded in WSU's regular season opener at Utah State in the Wildcats 5-1 loss.
In goal for WSU, three keepers have split time this season with Tayiah Lambert recording the most minutes in the box with 321. Lambert holds a goals against average of 1.96 alongside 13 saves. The last time NAU and Weber State met on the pitch was in the 2022 Big Sky tournament semifinals, ending in a 1-1 tie while the Jacks picked up the 4-2 edge in PK's.
Idaho State is looking to bounce back off a 4-0 loss to the Idaho Vandals on Sunday. The Bengals opened up Big Sky play with a 3-2 victory at Eastern Washington, led by Kaylyn Buchanan who put up two goals for ISU after Sydree Bell put the equalizer in 26 minutes into play.
Buchanan leads the Bengals offensively with six goals, ranking second in the Big Sky while fourth in the conference in points with 12. Following, Bell has recorded four goals and one assist while Mary Za has scored three goals through the season. The Bengals have also split time between three keepers with Kelsey Jargstorf seeing the most time with 552 minutes, 37 saves, and a save percentage of .673.
The Jacks and the Benagls last met on the pitch in the 2022 regular season where NAU found the first Big Sky victory of the season, kicking off what led to a seven-game win streak for the Lumberjacks.
To stay up to date with NAU Soccer, follow the Jacks on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.
