Women's Soccer Takes Streak to Kent State, Hosts Niagara
9/5/2012 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
The Youngstown State women's soccer team looks to continue its four-match winning streak when it visits Kent State, Friday, Sept. 7, at 4 p.m. The Guins also host Niagara, Sunday, Sept. 9, at 4 p.m.. at Stambaugh Stadium.
Guins Sweep POW
For the first time in school history, a pair of Youngstown State women's soccer players have swept the Horizon League weekly awards, the league announced on Tuesday. Junior forward Rachel Morrison was named the league's offensive player of the week while Ali Viola earned defensive player of the week.
It marks the first weekly award for both Morrison and Viola and the first award for YSU since Allison Ludwig won it in 2010. It also marks just the third and fourth time since joining the league 2001 that a YSU player earned the weekly award.
About Kent State
Kent State is 4-0-1 entering the match against the Guins on Friday. The Golden Flashes own a 9-1 advantage in the all-time series against the Penguins that dates back to 1997 and have won nine straight matches. The only win for the Guins was a 3-1 victory at Kent State in 1997. Jaclyn Dutton leads the Golden Flashes with six goals and 14 points while Stephanie Haugh has two goals and three assists for seven points. Goalkeeper Stephanie Senn has one shutout and a record of 4-0-1. Last season, Kent State defeated YSU, 6-1.
About Niagara
Niagara is 1-2 entering this week and has two common opponents with the Guins. The Purple Eagles lost to Duquesne, 2-1, and defeated Buffalo, 1-0, in overtime. The Guins knocked off both Duquesne and Buffalo, 1-0. The Guins and Purple Eagles have met seven times previously and Niagara have come out victorious every time and owns a 7-0 record in the all-time series. The last times these two teams met was in 2005 and Niagara won, 4-0.
Morrison Lighting Guins' Fire
Junior Rachel Morrison has sparked the Guins offense recently. Morrison has scored three goals in the last three matches, including two against Canisius, to spur the Guins to a 4-0 start. She also leads the Horizon League with three goals and 0.75 goals per game. Morrison also ranks second in the league with 1.50 points per game.
Chelsey Lately
Sophomore Chelsey Haney has been one of the top offensive threat in the league so far this season as well. Haney ranks second on the team with two goals and five points. Haney also leads the Horizon League with 17 shots and 4.25 shots per game. She also ranks third with 1.25 points per game.
Assist Me, Please
In just four matches the Guins have tallied nine assists on nine goals this season. Last year, the Guins total just 11 assists in 17 matches. Leading the way has been freshman defender Shannon Leghart with three. Junior Allison Ludwig and sophomoreJade Flory, the team's leading scorers from 2010 and 2011, respectively, each have two assists. Chelsey Haney and and Katie Hohmann each have one.
Leghart Leads League
Freshman Shannon Leghart leads the Horizon League with three assists and 0.75 assists per game. She is closely followed by teammates Jade Flory and Allison Ludwig, who are tied for third with two assists and 0.5 assists per match.
Viola Now Third
With back-to-back shutouts last week, junior goalkeeper Ali Viola has moved into third on the YSU career shutouts list with five. She also is tied for second on the single-season chart with three.
Ludwig Ranks Fifth
In just more than two seasons, junior forward Allison Ludwig already ranks fifth all-time with 11 career goals. Ludwig tied a freshman record with eight goals in 2010 and added three more in 2011.
Peterlin Streakin'
Senior Katie Peterlin has been a steady starter for the Guins for more than three years. As a matter of fact, Peterlin has not missed a game and has started all 55 matches during her career.
