COMMERCE, Texas - McNeese soccer is slated to take its final road trip of the regular season Friday against Texas A&M-Commerce at 6:30 p.m., meeting for the first time since the regular-season finale in 2023.
 
Time: Friday, Oct. 18; 6:30 p.m.
Location: Commerce, Texas • Lion Soccer Field
Records: McNeese 3-11-1 (0-5-1), A&M-Commerce 5-7-3 (4-1-1)
Stream: ESPN+
Series: Sixth Meeting (A&M-Commerce leads 4-1-0)
 
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 26th in the nation in shot accuracy at .525, second in the SLC.
• Jackie Kelly sits ninth in the nation with 88 saves on the season. She is currently 18th in the nation as well in saves per game at 5.87.
• The Pokes sit atop the conference and 27th in the nation with 6.07 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 16 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.
 
A&M-Commerce Overview
• The Lions defeated Oral Roberts 4-1 while falling to Tulsa 2-1 who the Cowgirls fell to.
• A&M-Commerce was selected to finish second in the SLC Preseason Poll where they finished last season.
• Kaydence Ramirez leads the team with seven goals on the campaign with one assist through nine matches.
• Hannah Bell has five goals on the season through 15 matches played.
• Eight players have scored at least one goal with four earning multiple goals.
• Gillian McKenzie has played in the net primarily for the Lions with 1,075 minutes, allowing 22 goals.
 
A&M-Commerce Match Notes
• McNeese won the first meeting between the programs in 2007 3-2 in Lake Charles with the Lions winning all four matches since.
• The Lions and Cowgirls were the second and third seeds in the Southland Conference Tournament in 2023.
• A&M-Commerce is 3-3-1 against common opponents this season.
 
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 53 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 277. The record is 508 saves by Tony Deason.
- Kelly is second in career goalie games played with 61, one short of the program record at 62.
- Kelly has played 4,881 minutes in the net, the third most in program history.