A Christian University & Bible College in Texas (Assemblies of God)

Lady Lions Soccer Team Home Opener on Saturday

SAGU in Search of First Win

WAXAHACHIE, Texas  --  The home debut of the Southwestern Assemblies of God University women's soccer team is Saturday at 3:00pm. They will face the University of Dallas on Southwestern Field. Game time temperature at 3pm should be 87 degrees according to the National Weather Service.

The Lady Lions began their season last week with a pair of road games. They lost a heartbreaker in Conway, Arkansas to Central Baptist College, 1-0, in overtime. Two days later came a rough, 6-0 setback at the hands of Mid-America Christian University. At 0-2, the team remains upbeat and hungry to gain their first victory of the season as well as their first goal.

A year ago they posted a 4-11-1 record in their fourth season in existence. Their defensive performance was noteworthy. They yielded just 2.25 goals per game, surrendering 26 goals than the year before. Much of that credit goes to the play of defenders Leah Richardson (now graduated), Sarah Powell (Terrell, Tx / Terrell HS) and goalkeeper Tracy Griffin (Wylie, Tx / Wylie HS). Along with their teammates, Powell and Griffin's performances kept the team in the game, though the offense struggled to produce a consistent scoring threat.

Griffin, now a senior, led the entire Red River Athletic Conference in saves by a goalie. In the loss at MACU last Wednesday, she made 21.

The Lady Lions roster was shortened due to eligibility issues, resulting in a short bench and the absence of key players.

The U-of-D Lady Crusaders played their first match of the season on Thursday in Marshall, Texas against East Texas Baptist University. The game was suspended before halftime due to threatening skies and thunder strikes. The score was knotted at 1-1 at the time. Rules require for a game to count in the records, a minimum of 70 minutes must be played. Officially, nothing counted and was listed as postponed. Saturday's meeting will be their season kickoff. Emily Rogers scored their goal against the ETBU Tigers.

SAGU students can gain free entry to the game by showing their Student ID. Concessions will be available, as well as a game program.

Southwestern will play a Labor Day home game on Monday, September 6, at 11am versus Southwestern College, from Winfield, Kansas.