Southeast Missouri at Falcon Invitational
Match Information
Tournament: Falcon Invitational
Host: United States Air Force Academy
Opponents: UC Davis, Northern Colorado
Venue: Cadet Soccer Stadium, Jackson Stadium
Location: Colorado Springs, Colo., Greeley, Colo.
When: Friday, Sept. 5, Sunday, Sept. 7
Twitter Updates: @SEMOSoccer
 
Match Notes | Information Guide
 
Quick Kicks
 
• Southeast opened the regular season with a 2-0 victory over Division II Missouri-St. Louis on Aug. 29. The Redhawks defense allowed only one shot on goal and scored twice within a 27-second span in the 74th minute.
 
• The Redhawks are facing UC Davis and Northern Colorado this weekend for this first time in program history.
 
• This weekend's matches will mark the first time that the Southeast Missouri women's soccer program has faced off against opponents from the Big Sky Conference.
 
• Southeast's 2014 roster includes five seniors, six juniors, six sophomores and eight freshmen. The group includes 20 players from the United States, three from Australia and two from Colombia. Eight players are from Missouri, six hail from Illinois, five are Wisconsin natives and one is from California.
 
About UC Davis: The Aggies are 3-1 in non-conference action, including a 2-0 mark at home and 1-1 record on the road. They won their season opener at Sacramento State, 1-0, on Aug. 22 then lost 2-0 at No. 24 San Diego State two days later. Currently, they are on a two-match winning streak after defeating San Jose State and Quinnipiac by the score of 1-0 on Aug. 29 and 31, respectively. Three different players have scored goals offensively with two others adding assists. GK Taylor Jern has allowed has three shutouts with 12 saves overall. UC Davis and its opponents have both registered 37 shots through four contests.
 
About Northern Colorado: The Bears are 1-3 overall and are riding a three-match losing streak heading into play this weekend. They won 3-2 over Colorado College on Aug. 22 in the season opener and have since fallen 1-0 at Colorado on Aug. 24, 1-0 at Colorado State on Aug. 28 and 2-1 vs. North Dakota State at home on Aug. 31. Kassy Castillo leads the way offensively with two goals and an assist.
 
Redhawks Strike Fast: After seeing the season opener vs. Missouri-St. Louis on Aug. 29 go scoreless for 70-plus minutes, Southeast then scored twice within a 27-second span in the 74th minute. Senior MF Torey Byrd scored the first goal on a penalty kick after senior F Breana Beine was taken down in the box. After play resumed, Byrd then used a header to push the ball ahead to assist sophomore MF/F Natasha Minor, who got the ball around a challenging UMSL goalkeeper who contested the shot near the front edge of the goalie box.
 
Exhibition Recap: Southeast went 0-2 in exhibition play, falling 1-0 at Lipscomb on Aug. 11 and 3-1 at Saint Louis on Aug. 13. Sophomore F/MF Natasha Minor scored the lone goal during the 69th minute of the contest at SLU. Junior D Paige Luehmann assisted on Minor's goal.
 
Non-Conference Opener Cancelled: Due to extreme heat, the regular season opener at UT Martin was cancelled on Aug. 24. Scheduled as a non-conference matchup against an Ohio Valley Conference opponent, there have since been no plans announced for a makeup date. The teams will compete in OVC action on Oct. 3 at 6:30 p.m. from Missouri National Guard Field at Houck Stadium in Cape Girardeau.
 
Strong Performance on Back Line: In the season opener last Friday vs. Missouri-St. Louis, the Redhawks defense was solid in allowing only one shot, which was saved by true freshman GK Kindra Lierz. Junior D Valeria Jaramillo, a transfer from Texas A&M International where she was a first-team All-Heartland selection in 2012, led the charge. "Val in particular really got nicked in a lot of things," head coach Heather Nelson said following the match. "She's willing to put her body on the line, and we need that type of personality in the back."
 
Looking Ahead: Southeast continues non-conference play on Sept. 12 at home against Illinois State then travels to Evansville on Sept. 17 and Arkansas State on Sept. 19. Ohio Valley Conference action begins on Sept. 26 at Eastern Illinois.