HAMMOND, La. – Southeastern Louisiana faces a pair of Southland Conference tests as the Lady Lions welcome Abilene Christian and Incarnate Word to Strawberry Stadium this weekend.

    The Lady Lions (2-5-1, 0-1 SLC) take on the Wildcats (3-5, 1-0 SLC) in their conference home opener Friday at 7 p.m. before closing the weekend against the Cardinals (1-5, 0-0 SLC) at 1 p.m. on Sunday.

    Links to live stats and streaming for both matches will be accessible on the Southeastern women's soccer schedule page at www.LionSports.net.

    The first 100 fans at Friday's match will be able to receive a free ice cream cone for National Ice Cream Cone Day.

    Southeastern is coming off a 2-0 loss at McNeese in its Southland opener. Freshman goalkeeper Michaela Hawthorn recorded eight saves and kept the Cowgirls off the scoreboard in the second half. Junior defender Sofia Olsson and junior midfielder Vanessa Arzaluz had shots on goal.

    Abilene Christian opened conference play with a 2-1 win over Houston Baptist in double overtime. Senior midfielder Chloe Fifer converted a penalty kick for the match winner in the 106^th minute. Sophomore midfielder Shay Johnson scored the Wildcats' first goal off an assist from sophomore forward Samantha Vestal. Freshman Erin Smith had a save.

    Incarnate Word will play its conference opener Friday at Nicholls. The Cardinals lost at UT-Rio Grande Valley 2-0 on Sunday. Junior forward/midfielder Sam Batley took a match-high four shots while sophomore Katrina Buck made five saves.
 
GAME NOTES
Southeastern
   Southeastern leads the Southland and ranks 20^th nationally with 7.12 saves per match.
 
   The Lady Lions rank sixth in the league in goals against average (1.56), tied for sixth in goals allowed (13) and shutouts (2), seventh in corners (34), eighth in shots (100), tied for ninth in assists (6) and 10^th in goals (7) and points (20).
 
   Hawthorn is the conference leader and ranks 12^th in the country with 57 saves. She is also third in the league and 15^th in the nation with 7.13 saves per match. She ranks fourth in the Southland in save percentage (.814), tied for fourth in shutouts (2) and seventh in goals against average (1.56).
 
   Junior midfielder Maggie Ramsey is tied for fourth in the conference with 25 shots and tied for fifth with three goals.
 
   Ramsey has 20 goals in her career and needs two more to move into a tie with Karly Dagys (2009-12) for 10^th on the Lady Lions' career list. She has also taken 152 shots and needs one more to tie Wanda Regan (1999-2002) for eighth and three more to tie Natalie Santana (2007-10) for seventh in Southeastern's career standings.
 
   Junior defenders Christian Cutura and Sofia Olsson, freshman midfielders Larissa Galvez Estrada and Megan Gordon and freshman forward Jessi Cooper and freshman defender Tilly Hallas-Potts have assists for the Lady Lions.
 
   Southeastern is 14-4-2 in Southland home openers, having won four straight after a 3-1 win over McNeese in 2016. The Lady Lions' last loss in a league home opener was to Lamar in 2011.
 
   Southeastern is 1-3 all-time versus Abilene Christian. The Lady Lions picked up their lone win, 1-0, at home in 2015. The Wildcats took a 2-0 win in Abilene in 2016.
 
   Southeastern leads its series with Incarnate Word 3-1. The Lady Lions won the first three in the rivalry, including a 7-1 win at home in 2015. The Wildcats broke through with a 2-1 win in San Antonio last season.
 
   Former Lady Lion Kari Yost (2003-06) will be inducted into the Southeastern Athletics Hall of Fame on Saturday.
 
Abilene Christian
   Fifer (offense) and Johnson (defense) received honorable mention Southland Player of the Week recognition on Tuesday.
 
   ACU is fourth in the Southland in shots (134), fifth in goals (14) and corners (37), sixth in points (37), tied for sixth in saves (39), seventh in assists (9) and 12^th in goals allowed (20) and goals against average (2.44).
 
   Junior forward Dylan Owens is tied for the conference lead with two game winning goals. Freshman midfielder Christina Arteaga in second with 32 shots. Johnson and Owens are tied for fifth with three goals apiece and tied for 10^th with seven points. Vestal is tied for third with three assists while senior forward Megan Baer is tied for ninth with two.
 
   Smith's 31 saves are tied for fifth in the league. She is also fifth with 5.17 saves per match.
 
Incarnate Word
   UIW has allowed 13 goals, tied for sixth in the conference. The Cardinals are also 10^th in goals against average (2.17), 11^th in corners (22) and 12^th in shots (57), goals (3), assists (1), points (7) and saves (46).
 
   Batley, sophomore forward Brooke Hanson and sophomore midfielder/defender Isabel Gracia have UIW's goals this season. Freshman midfielder/forward Isabella Beletic has the assist.
 
   Buck is averaging 3.67 saves per match, 10^th best. She has 15 saves in four matches, having allowed seven goals for a 2.30 GAA.
 
   Junior Sydney Huntsinger has played four matches in net for UIW. She has made 10 saves and allowed six goals for a 2.03 GAA.
 
QUOTES
Southeastern head coach Chris McBride:
On Abilene Christian and Incarnate Word:
   "We saw a good team (in McNeese) and the level of competition this conference has last weekend. McNeese was a really good test and a quality team. This week doesn't get any easier with Abilene Christian being extremely tough as well. They've been a very strong team in past years and are this year as well. Friday is going to be a good test and then Incarnate Word comes in here on Sunday. They play on turf just like us so the tempo is going to be quick."
 
On the keys for this weekend:
   "We cannot allow Abilene Christian any space. It's going to be massive for us if they find any space going forward. They know they are going to score some goals. Offensively, we have to take our opportunities. We've had opportunities every game and now we have to find the back of the net. Working on the processes has been helping us. Working on the small things is what we need to do and that's what we need to go back concentrating on."
 
UP NEXT
    Southeastern visits Texas A&M-Corpus Christi next Friday for a 7 p.m. Southland match. The Lady Lions then travel to Houston Baptist for a 1 p.m. match on Sunday.