PRAIRIE VIEW, Texas – After a two week hiatus, Mississippi Valley State soccer heads west to the Houston area for the opening of Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) play. The Devilettes will play a 7 p.m. Friday (Sept. 27) evening contest with Prairie View A&M, followed by a 1 p.m. matinee Sunday (Sept. 29) against Texas Southern.
Live stats are available for the contest with Prairie View.
LAST TIME OUT FOR THE DEVILETTES: Valley is currently on a three game losing streak where they have been outscored 15-0. After an 8-0 rout to Southern Miss September 8th, the Devilettes lost 3-0 to Little Rock September 12th and 4-0 to Green Bay in Itta Bena on September 14th. The lopsided defeats would be worse, however, if not for Valley keeper McKenzie McCarthy, whose 73 saves lead the SWAC - and all of Division I. McCarthy is also efficient, standing fourth in the conference in save percentage.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS: The Prairie View A&M Panthers stand at 1-6 on the season, with the win coming against Nicholls State on September 8th. That contest was the only game where the Panthers scored goals as Jojo Bernal and Kalia Brown found the back of the net. PVAMU coach Sonia Curvelo previously played and coached at Valley, where she ranked nationally in goals scored (16) in her sophomore season and finished with a record of 30-54-11 over five seasons before accepting a position at Cleveland State.
It's a similar story for Texas Southern, who also stands 1-6 with their only goals coming in a 2-1 win against University of the Incarnate Word on September 1st. Kayla Smith and Mia Marshall registered the only goals for the Tigers so far this season. Playing a challenging out of conference slate, Texas Southern has conceded 45 goals this year, second only to Alabama State in the SWAC.
LAST TIME OUT AGAINST THESE TEAMS: Valley played host to the Texas squads a year ago, tying 1-1 against the Tigers and dropping a 3-0 decision to the Panthers. Ronique Alexander scored for the Devilettes in the Texas Southern game. The Devilettes possess a 9-7-2 mark over Prairie View and a 9-4-2 mark over Texas Southern.
