LUBBOCK CHRISTIAN (0-0) at
COLORADO-COLORADO SPRINGS (0-0)
Thursday, Sept. 6 – 6 p.m. MT (7 p.m. CT)
Mountain Lion Stadium (Colorado Springs, Colorado)
 
 
CHAPARRAL HEADERS
• Lubbock Christian will be competing in the Lone Star Conference for the first time this season after previously competing in the Heartland Conference from 2014 to 2018
• Lady Chaps finished the 2018 season with a 9-10 overall record, finishing fourth in the Heartland Conference. This season LCU was picked to finish seventh in the LSC
• Head Coach Alex Denning is leading the Lady Chaps for the eighth straight season, posting a 67-47-12 overall record since he took over in 2012
• LCU has added two new assistant coaches this season to help fill the gap Lauren Denning left. Allison Robinson is a former LCU player and Kaitlyn Judge just recently finished playing for St. Mary's
• Makenna Pate, LCU's leading point scorer from 2018 and a United Soccer Coaches Third Team All-Region selection, is returning along with three other players who tallied at least 15 points last year
 
A SEASON OF CHANGE
Lubbock Christian's women's soccer team enters the 2019 season with a number of differences than when they last took to the field. The head coach, Alex Denning, is the same, but there are two new assistants with the team to fill in for the former assistant Lauren Denning, who accepted the head girls soccer coach job at Frenship High School. The Lady Chaps will also see a number of new opponents this season as they begin play in the Lone Star Conference. LCU's previous conference, the Heartland, merged with the LSC over the summer, and the Lady Chaps open play in the new conference on September 26 against Texas A&M-Commerce.
 
THE CRYSTAL BALL
When the sports information directors, coaches and media within the Lone Star Conference gazed into the future over the summer, they saw Lubbock Christian finishing seventh in their inagural season in the league. West Texas A&M was picked to win the conference, with Dallas Baptist, St. Edward's, Angelo State, Texas A&M-Commerce and Texas Woman's all picked ahead of the Lady Chaps in the 2019 Preseason Poll. LCU will have a chance to prove that poll wrong by playing every team in the league once, with the top seven teams at the end of the regular season reaching the league's postseason tournament.
 
RETURNING FIREPOWER
Last season, LCU had four different players tally at least 15 points, and all four are returning for the 2019 campaign. Makenna Pate led the way last season, scoring eight goal with five assists for 21 total points. She will be a sophomore this season. Allison Scott recorded 16 points (6G, 4A), with Haley Knesek and Hollie Windham each adding 15 points apiece.
 
RANKED FOES
For the second straight season, LCU will open against a top 25 ranked opponent. Last year, when the Lady Chaps faced the Mountain Lions in the opening game of the season, they were ranked No. 3 nationally and they come in this year with a No. 25 ranking. LCU has not faced a ranked opponent since last year's battle with UCCS.
 
ALL-TIME
This season will be the 10th in the history of the Lubbock Christian women's soccer program, which began competing for the first time in 2010. The 2018 season was just the second one below .500 in program history, as the Lady Chaps have gone 81-65-16 in nine seasons. Since moving to the NCAA Division II level (2014), LCU has posted a record of 55-37-10 (.588).
 
 
SCOUTING UCCS

• The Mountain Lions were a force to be reckoned with in the RMAC and the South Central Region last season, posting a 16-3-3 record and reaching the South Central Regional Final before falling to West Texas A&M
• In the United Soccer Coaches preseason poll, UCCS was ranked No. 24 in the country
• UCCS posted a 7-1-1 home record last season
• Head coach Sian Hudson is in her third season with the program and turned it around, leading the Mountain Lions to a 17-5-1 record in her first season after a 3-12-1 record the year before
• Mountain Lions were picked second in the RMAC preseason poll, behind only Colorado School of Mines

 
ALL-TIME AGAINST UCCS
The Lady Chaps and Mountain Lions have faced off just once before in the history of the two programs, meeting on Sept. 1 last season in Lubbock. LCU took an early 1-0 lead in that contest on a goal from Haley Knesek, but the Mountain Lions evened things five minutes later and took the lead late in the second half, winning 2-1. Savannah Mills scored the game-winning goal for UCCS.
 
SCOUTING CSUP

• The Thunderwolves were picked to finish seventh in the RMAC preseason poll
• Sierra Cardenas leads the women's soccer program, entering her third season at the helm with a 19-14-4 overall record in that time
• CSUP's top two goal-scorers in 2018 (Laikyn Koss and Mackenzie Bean) both graduated after the season
• Thunderwolves have not ended the season with a losing record since 2015, when they went 8-10

 
ALL-TIME AGAINST CSUP
LCU and CSUP have met each of the last two seasons, with the Thunderwolves coming away victorious in each instance. CSUP were winners by a score of 2-0 the last time the teams met in Pueblo, and LCU was unable to overcome an early 2-0 deficit at home last season, losing 2-1.