FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (October 23, 2024) – With a trip to the Big Sky Tournament on the line, the Northern Arizona (2-7-5) soccer team is heading back on the road following a four-game home streak, to take on the Weber State Wildcats (2-11-5) on Friday night and the Idaho State Bengals (2-8-5) on Sunday afternoon.
The Big Sky soccer standings' fate all comes down to the final weekend of regular season play, with zero teams locked into seeding. Currently sitting in the six seed of conference standings, NAU will need to hold that seeding or improve as only six league teams will compete in the tournament.
In goal,
Trinity Corcoran has led the Lumberjacks through 13 starts, grabbing 75 saves, three shutouts, and a save percentage of .824. Corcoran is coming off a four-save first half on Sunday against the Hornets, before
Natalie Manzo made an appearance as both were being honored in NAU's senior day recognition. Manzo made five stops, adding to her season total of 10.
Holding a shots-on-goal percentage of .625,
Haylee Phoenix leads the Jacks with eight points coming off four goals, including one game winner in 510 minutes recorded on the pitch.
Joey Lujan and
Deniah Wells trail Phoenix with five points each, Lujan's coming from two goals and one assist, while Wells' stem from one goal and three assists.
Friday night's matchup with the Wildcats will be the first since NAU hosted Weber State during the 2023 campaign, picking up a 4-1 home victory in Flagstaff. A win on the road would mark the fourth-ever for the Jacks in Ogden.
Weber State's lone conference victory came to the Wildcat rivals, Idaho State, as WSU pulled off the 2-1 victory on Oct. 13. The Wildcats are coming off back-to-back losses to Idaho and Eastern Washington following the victory over ISU. WSU is led by Ali Swensen who currently holds five goals and four assists for a total of 14 points on the season. Sayler Schlosser follows with two goals and three assists while Sammie Sofonia has tabbed three goals. Hadley Harris has earned the role of starting goalkeeper with over 1,000 minutes in goal, 49 saves, and a .659 save percentage.
Idaho State will head into the final week of the regular season on a three-game losing streak, suffering losses to Weber State, Eastern Washington, and Idaho. The Bengals allowed eight goals between the three matches, scoring once against the Wildcats.
NAU pulled off a 4-1 victory over the Bengals in Flagstaff last October and leads the overall series at 19-8-2. The Lumberjacks have won the last 13 matchups with the Bengals, the last in Pocatello coming in 2022 as NAU took a 1-0 victory back home. The Bengals are led by Paige Harris who has recorded six goals this season, currently sitting with a shots-on-goal percentage of 0.636. In goal, Trinity Hale has started all 15 matches for the Bengals, making 77 stops for a save percentage of 0.778.
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