LUBBOCK, Texas - The Lubbock Christian Lady Chaps return to the LCU Soccer & Track Facility, facing the no. 1 team in the country, Dallas Baptist, in a Lone Star Conference match.

No. 1 Dallas Baptist (5-0, 1-0 LSC) at Lubbock Christian (4-0-3, 1-0 LSC)
Saturday, Sept. 17 - 1 PM
Lubbock, Texas - LCU Soccer & Track Facility

LADY CHAP HEADERS

• Lubbock Christian earned their first conference win of the season on Thursday, Sept. 15, winning 2-1 over UTPB. 

• LCU is tied for fifth place in D-II as a team with Christian Brothers in assists with 16. Avery Jennings is tied for 20th in the nation individually with three.

• Arely Jimenez keeps moving up the leader board in minutes and games played. She just needs to play in one more match to become just the sixth Lady Chap ever to play in 70 games. If Jimenez plays 65 more minutes of game action, she will pass assistant coach Brooke Wendl for eighth most minutes played. Jimenez enters the match having played for 4824 total minutes

Graycen Rasmussen has tallied five points in the last three matches. She scored goals against CSU Pueblo and Texas Permian Basin while picking up an assist against Colorado Mesa.

Makenna Pate needs two shot attempts to pass Haley Knesek for fifth most all-time. Pate has attempted 154 shots in her career. 

DISHING IT OUT
The Lady Chaps have been sharing the ball at will this season, with nine players recording at least one assist. Arely Jimenez and Stephanie McClung have tallied two assists this season, while Avery Jennings leads the team with three. McClung has found the offensive firepower as of late, recording a goal or an assist in four straight matches.

KONE YOU DIG IT?
After recording two shutouts in her first two matches, Abby Kone was named Goalkeeper of the Week by the Lone Star Conference on Monday, Aug. 29. The freshman out of Uvalde, Texas faced 12 total shots in two matches against Western Colorado and Fort Lewis this past weekend, tallying four saves while going 1-0-1 in the Centennial State.
It is the first time a Lady Chap has been named Lone Star Conference Goalkeeper of the Week since Oct. 4, 2021, when Hannah Wise earned the honor. It is also the first time an LCU has earned a weekly conference honor after their first week of the season since Sarah Palmer won the Heartland Conference Defensive Player of the Week award as a freshman goalkeeper for week one of the 2015 season.
Kone became the first LCU keeper to record 10 saves in a match since 2018, with 13 saves against Colorado Mesa, the second most in a match in program history.


WELCOME BACK LEXI
Lexi De La Cruz is a sophomore transfer from Howard Payne University. De La Cruz was the American Southwest Conference Freshman of the Year in 2021, leading the conference in points (34), assists (8) and goals (8). The Lubbock native was also named Third-Team All-Region by the United Soccer Coaches Association. De La Cruz did not waste long in her return to Lubbock, scoring a pair of goals and recording an assist in LCU's 3-0 shutout of Western Colorado in their first match of the season. She currently ranks second in the Lone Star Conference in points (15) and third in goals (7), and second in the conference in shots on goal (20) and third in shots (28).

SHUT IT DOWN
Since the program's inception in 2010, the Lady Chaps have recorded at least four shutouts in every single season. LCU tallied six shutouts in the 2021 fall season, going 5-0-1 in those contests. The Lady Chaps have already compiled three shutouts this season, and now hold a 73-0-5 record in shutouts all-time

PRESEASON PICKINGS
The Lubbock Christian University women's soccer team was picked to finish eighth in the 2022 Lone Star Conference preseason poll. Celia Duarte, Madison Mayben and Megan Mirabal were named players to watch by the conference for the 2022 season.  
- Duarte played in 11 matches last season for the Lady Chaps, scoring a pair of goals and tallying one assist. Her goal against Texas A&M International on Sept. 25 was the game winner over the Dust Devils and gave LCU their first conference win of the season. 
 - Mayben played in and started 15 matches for the Lady Chaps last season. Mayben was a key part of the Lubbock Christian defense that recorded six shutouts, including four in their first eight matches on the way to a 6-0-2 start. 
 - Mirabal started five games in net for LCU last season, finishing the year with a 3-1-1 record. Mirabal earned the win for the Lady Chaps in her first three matches, allowing two goals and recording 11 total saves. She earned her lone shutout of the season against Adams State on Sept. 9, tallying six saves on the way to the 3-0 victory.

THIS IS HOME
In their second year at the new LCU soccer and track & field complex, the Lady Chaps went 4-4-1 at home, opening the season with a 4-1 thrashing of New Mexico Highlands. LCU is now 58-27-14 in home games all-time, and 8-5-3 all-time at the LCU soccer and track & field complex. Lubbock Christian has never had a losing record at home under head coach Alex Denning. The home schedule for 2022 features nine home games in total, including three-straight contests at home from Sept. 4-10.

SCOUTING THE PATRIOTS
- Dallas Baptist is ranked no. 1 in the country in the United Soccer Coaches National Poll. The Patriots made it all the way to the 2021 Division II Women's Soccer Semifinals before falling to no. 8 Saint Rose.
- The Patriots are off to a 5-0 start and are 1-0 in the Lone Star Conference after knocking off UT Tyler 1-0 on Wednesday, Sept. 14. Annie Severide scored the game winning goal in the 17th minute of the shutout victory. 
- The reigning LSC Newcomer of the Year Michelle Gonzalez returns to Dallas Baptist for her senior season. Gonzalez has scored one goal and has picked up an assist in 380 minutes played this season.
- Parker Coe earned LSC Defensive Player of the Week honors earlier this season for the Pats. A freshman defender from Carrollton, Texas, Coe scored her first career goal against Rogers State and has helped lead a back line that has tallied back-to-back shutouts.
- Severide leads DBU with three goals and seven points this season. Angelina Olmos' three assists are tied for third in the conference so far this season. 
 - Marcus Wood enters his first season as the Head Women's Soccer Coach at DBU  Wood comes to DBU from Hardin-Simmons University where he was the head coach for 22 seasons and guided HSU to 19 consecutive American Southwest Conference titles, 19 trips to the NCAA Division III Tournament, and a national title in 2010.  Over the course of 22 seasons, Wood has compiled a career record of 387-44-32 and his .875 win percentage ranks as the third-highest all-time in the history of NCAA Women's Soccer at all levels.

THE SERIES WITH THE PATRIOTS
Dallas Baptist leads the all-time series with the Lady Chaps 9-2-1, but LCU has won two of the last three matchups. LCU won last year's match in Dallas 1-0 after a goal by Julie Shahi in the 49th minute. The only other win for the Lady Chaps came in Wolfforth, Texas on Oct. 18, 2018, a 3-1 victory for LCU. The Lady Chaps are 1-7-1 all-time vs ranked teams, earning their first victory last season over no. 12 DBU.

A WIN WOULD
- Be the second straight win over Dallas Baptist
- Be the program's first ever win over the no. 1 team in Division-II
- Be the first 2-0 start to conference play since 2019 (started 3-0)

UP NEXT
The Lady Chaps will be back on the road, heading to Oklahoma City to face Oklahoma Christian on Wednesday, Sept. 21. Kickoff is set for 5 PM