LAKE CHARLES – McNeese's soccer program (3-4-1) opens up conference play this weekend, hosting Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (3-4-2) at Cowgirl Field Friday before traveling to take on Nicholls (1-9-0) at the Thibodaux Regional Sports Complex on Sunday.
 
 "We are excited about starting conference play," head coach Drew Fitzgerald. "Corpus is always a tough match and play an attractive style and they play hard on the road and at home."

During the prior three meeting with the Islanders, the Cowgirls have gone 1-1-1, playing two matches on the road and winning the lone home meeting.

Fitzgerald continued on to say, "Nicholls will be well rested and hungry to earn some points. It'll be the first match of the year on turf for us so we'll need to adjust quickly. We expect a physically tough game and we need to be gritty to push through after a short turnaround from Friday's match."

McNeese has claimed the last five matches against Nicholls while in Thibodaux and are on an 11 game win streak against the Colonels.

Friday's match begins at 7 p.m. and is planned to be streamed on ESPN+ with live stats available. Live stats are accessible for Sunday's match.
 
McNeese Notes
- Freshman Morgan Fiedler ranks 12^th in the nation in game-winning goals with three on the season.
- Fiedler further leads the conference in goals per game (0.71), points per game (1.57), total goals (5), and total points (11).
- Junior Kaile Kukaua has the second-most points on the team with three goals and two assists on the season.
- McNeese ranks within the top five in the Southland in every statistical category except corner kicks per game.
- The Cowgirls average 2.57 goals per game against the Colonels with 95 total goals.
- 26 players have seen action on the pitch through non-conference play.
 
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Notes/Series Record
 - When facing similar teams in the regular season, A&M-Corpus Christi is 1-0, defeating Texas Southern 2-0.
- A&M-Corpus Christi holds the all-time advantage narrowly, sitting 5-4-2 against the Cowgirls.
- Both teams last met in 2022 in Corpus Christi and fought to a 1-1 draw.
- The last time the teams met in Lake Charles, McNeese claimed a 3-2 victory in 2021.
 
Nicholls Notes/Series Record
- Nicholls is 1-4 against similar opponents thus far.
- McNeese holds a 31-4-2 all-time advantage over the Colonels.
- The Cowgirls have an 11-game win streak over Nicholls dating back to 2015.
- Nicholls owns two wins and two draws when hosting the Cowgirls.