BEAUMONT, Texas – McNeese soccer takes to the road in the Battle of the Border against Lamar 7 p.m. Sunday night at the LU Soccer Complex.
 
Opponent: Lamar
Time: Sunday, Oct. 13; 7 p.m.
Location: Beaumont, Texas • LU Soccer Complex
Records: McNeese 3-10-1 (0-4-1), Lamar 3-6-3 (1-2-1)
Stream: N/A
Series: 17^th Meeting (Lamar leads 9-6-1)

McNeese Notes
• Morgan Schooley was named SLC Defensive Player of the Week Sept. 17 for the first time this season after earning a game-winning goal against Louisiana Christian.
• McNeese ranks 50th in the nation in shot accuracy at .505, fourth in the SLC.
• Jackie Kelly sits eighth in the nation with 83 saves on the season. She is currently 15th in the nation as well in saves per game at 5.93.
• The Pokes sit atop the conference and 23rd in the nation with 6.14 saves per game.
• McNeese claimed two consecutive shutout victories at home against Texas Southern and Louisiana Christian, outscoring them 3-0 and 4-0 before taking on Texas State.
• The Cowgirls have netted 14 goals this season, seeing three players earn their first collegiate goal in freshmen Bailee Ramirez and Grace Denison, alongside sophomore Ellis Hosch.
• Three Cowgirls were named to the SLC Preseason First Team in Kaile Kukaua (Midfielder), Morgan Schooley (Defender), and Jackie Kelly (Goalkeeper)
• The Pokes were selected to finish third in the SLC preseason poll behind Lamar in the top spot and Texas A&M-Commerce in second.
• McNeese returns three of its five 2023 All-Southland Team selections in Kaile Kukaua, Jackie Kelly, and Morgan Schooley. All three of them earned All-Tournament recognition last season.
• The Cowgirls look to build upon their SLC Runner-Up bid in 2023, the first time the team has made it to the championship match since 2008.
• McNeese did not have any players transfer out from the program following the 2023 SLC Runner-Up finish at the conference tournament.
• 22 players remain Cowgirls after graduating seven players last season.
• The team's newcomers are comprised of 12 freshman and two transfers with three coming before the spring semester.
• McNeese went 1-1-0 during opening weekend, falling to UL-Lafayette 2-1 in the season opener before defeating Jackson State  2-1 at Cowgirl Field.
• Morgan Schooley netted the first goal of the season on a header after being served up by Morgan Fiedler off a corner kick.
• McNeese netted three goals during opening weekend. Schooley earned the first with Kaile Kukaua and Isabelle (Izzy) Smith earning the second and third respectively.
• McNeese hosted its lone exhibition of the season against Tarleton State, falling 1-0.
 
Lamar Notes
• Four Cardinals have earned two goals on the season with five others netting one goal.
• Maddie Rich and Taylor Howard each have split time in the net with Rich earning about twice as many minutes, each permitting 10 goals.
• Lamar has defeated Sam Houston, Texas Southern, and Nicholls on the 2024 campaign.
• Lamar is 2-2-3 against similar opponents on 2024.
• The Cardinals are coming off a tie with Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Friday night.
 
Match Notables
• Lamar and McNeese last met in the 2023 SLC Championship Match where the Cardinals took home the title with a 3-1 victory.
• Coach Fitzgerald and Coach Kogut have met three times in three seasons, once in 2022 and twice in 2023.
• McNeese won the first three series meeting from 2007-2009.
• McNeese is 2-4-1 when playing the Cardinals on the road.
 
The Kelly File
• Jackie Kelly is close to breaking or tying numerous program records, sitting amongst the Top 10 all-time in six categories entering the season.
• Records to keep an eye on include:
 
- She has earned 52 career goalie starts and overtook Cassandra Read for the program record who held the record for 13 seasons at 46.
- Second most career goalie wins with 22, just two shy of tying the program record.
-  Tied third with most career shutouts at 11, seven shy of claiming the record.
- She sits second in career saves with 272. The record is 508 saves by Tony Deason.
- Kelly is second in career goalie games played with 60, two short of the program record at 62.
- Kelly has played 4,791 minutes in the net, the third most in program history.