Nicholls Colonels (0-16, 0-11 Southland) at SLU Lady Lions (5-8-3, 3-5-3 SLC)
Friday, Oct. 29, 2021 | 7:05 p.m.| Hammond, La. | Strawberry Stadium 
Series History: SLU Leads 28-1-1
Last Meeting: Lady Lions 1, Nicholls 0 (April 1, 2021 – Natchitoches, La.)
Watch: ESPN+
Live Stats
Commentator: Kemmler Chapple
 
HAMMOND, La. – The Southeastern Louisiana University women's soccer team will honor five for Senior Night Friday against Nicholls at Strawberry Stadium at 7:05 p.m.
 
The Lady Lions (5-8-3, 3-5-3 Southland) and their fans will have a final home curtain call to seniors Nadine Maher, Megan Gordon, Lexie Gundersen, Mia Milton and Jamie Raines as Southeastern will honor the group in a pregame ceremony at 6:40 p.m.
 
Gordon, a Clophill, England native, is the all-time program leader in games played with 85. The Lady Lions' midfielder passed Amber Lasher Oct. 17^th at home against Houston Baptist to put herself atop the record books.
 
"Megan's professionalism has helped set the culture here," fifth-year SLU head coach Chris McBride said. "She is one of the hardest working players I've ever coached. Megan has been here since my first days on campus and has helped guide the team to the place it is at today. Her work ethic and accountability are tremendous."
 
Maher, the Lady Lions goalkeeper, enters the match Friday with 277 career saves which is fifth in program history. The Dublin, Ireland native also has 14 career shutouts to her resume along with being the reigning Southland Conference Tournament MVP after posting three straight shutouts.
 
"Nadine is one of the most unselfish individuals who always puts her teammates before herself," McBride said. "The amount of time she puts into others and the community here in Hammond is incredible. She is always putting in extra work continuously with coach Nathan (SLU assistant soccer coach Nathan Gillespie) and proving her goalkeeping abilities. We saw that last year when she received the all-tournament MVP. She has stepped up in big moments when we need her and she's been a backbone of this team for the last four years."
 
Gundersen has been a vital piece for the Lady Lions during her tenure. The Redding, Pennsylvania product started with the program in 2017, a year prior to McBride's arrival. Despite missing two years to a knee injury, Gundersen has been a leader for the Lady Lions on and off the field.
 
"Lexie has overcome a tremendous amount of adversity due to injuries," said McBride. "She went through a coaching change and bought into what we are doing here and has earned her role as a captain for the last three seasons. We're forever appreciative for her buy-in to the change and culture here and Southeastern."
 
Milton, a Hammond native, has scored five career goals with four of them being game-winners, including back-to-back against UIW and Nicholls earlier this season.
 
"Mia is a hometown hero," said McBride. "She has one of the most uplifting and happiest characters on the team. She always plays with courage and is a tremendous hard worker that has continuously fought year-after-year and gotten better all the way through to her senior year."
 
Raines, also a local product, was second on the team last season in points (11) and goals (4). Out of Covington, Louisiana, Raines also scored two goals in the Southland Conference Tournament Championship game against Sam Houston leading SLU to their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2015.
 
"Jamie is a player that will play any role we ask of her for the team," said McBride. "She is a player that will always do more than she's asked. She's a competitor that fights for 90 minutes long regardless of the outcome. That really showed with her two goals in the conference title game last spring."
 
As for the match, Nicholls (0-16, 0-10 Southland) has shown signs of improvement entering Friday's game with SLU following a 2-1 loss last Friday night at home to Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. The Colonels also battled the Lady Lions early this year before Milton scored the game-winning goal for a 1-0 SLU win back on Oct. 1^st in Thibodaux, Louisiana.
 
Southeastern comes into the regular season finale with Nicholls tied for fifth place in the Southland standings with Houston Baptist (4-12-1, 4-7-0) as both teams have 12 points in conference play.
 
Friday's match will be streamed via ESPN+ with links to the match available at the Southeastern soccer schedule page located at LionSports.Net.
 
SCORE ONE MORE CLUB/S CLUB
Fans interested in becoming active supporters of the women's soccer program are encouraged to join the Score One More Club.  Lion alums are encouraged to join the exclusive S Club, which is restricted to Southeastern athletic letter winners. All membership fees and donations to Score One More Club are available for the exclusive use of the Southeastern soccer program. Membership information is available by contacting the Lion Athletics Association at laa@southeastern.edu or (985) 549-5091 or visiting www.LionUp.com.
 
SOCIAL MEDIA
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