HAMMOND – McNeese soccer hits the road for the first time in three weeks against Southeastern Sunday evening at 6 p.m. at Strawberry Stadium.
 
Time: 6 p.m.
Location: Hammond, La. • Strawberry Stadium
Records: McNeese 3-6-0, Southeastern 1-4-1
Stream: ESPN+ 
Series: 43^rd Meeting (Southeastern leads 24-10-8)
 
McNeese Notes
• Morgan Schooley was named SLC Defensive Player of the Week for the first time this season after earning a game-winning goal against Louisiana Christian.
• Jackie Kelly sits sixth in the nation with 63 saves on the season. She is currently ninth in the nation as well in saves per game at 7.00.
• McNeese ranks 25th in shot accuracy at .544.
• The Pokes sit atop the conference with 7.33 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 11 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.
 
Southeastern Notes
• The Lady Lions have gone on a three-match losing streak, falling to Power Four opponent Miami, FIU, and Tarleton State, all on the road.
• Southeastern holds a 3-1 victory over Jackson State with a tie against Grambling in the season opener.
• Kelsey Fuller leads the squad with two goals with five others earning at least one.
• Anna Blankenship and Kendall Curran have split time equally in the goal at 270 minutes, earning 12 and 15 saves respectively.
 
Match Notables
• McNeese won its first penalty kick shootout against Southeastern 4-3 in the SLC Tournament last season against the Lady Lions.
• Both squads tied 1-1 in both matches in 2023.
• Coach Gillespie is 1-0-2 against Coach Fitzgerald in three seasons.
• The teams first met in 1996 and have met every season since except 2009.
 
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 47 career goalie starts and overtook Cassandra Read for the program record who held the record for 13 seasons at 26.
- 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 252. The record is 508 saves by Tony Deason.
- Kelly is second in career goalie games played with 55, seven short of the program record at 62.
- Kelly has played 4,340 minutes in the net, the third most in program history.