The East Central University soccer team will have a slow week, with just one match and get to be at home for the 2014 Homecoming celebration when Southern Nazarene comes to town Friday, Oct. 24 for a 4 p.m. match at Tiger Field.

Match Notes

The Coverage
Fans who can't be at the match can find links to live stats and live video (if available) on ECUTigers.com.  Go to the soccer schedule page.  

Pink Out
Friday's match is the annual Pink Out game with the Zeta Tau Alpha sorority.  The Tigers will wear their pink uniforms and ZTA will be on hand with information on breast cancer awareness.

Scouting Southern Nazarene
The Crimson Storm are 7-7 overall and are at the top of the Great American Conference standings, with a 5-2 record after winning their last three matches.  The streak includes a 3-2 win over Northwestern Oklahoma State, Saturday, Oct. 18 in Bethany, Oka.

SNU tallied the same number of goals as its opponents this season (27), but has attempted over 100 more shots (258-142).  However, the difference is lower in shots that have been on goal at 106 to 82.

The Crimson Storm have three key players to watch on the offensive side.  Mallary Pineda leads the team with nine goals, five assists, 62 shots and 27 shots on goal.  Hannah Robinson adds five goals and an assist, while Alyssa Glitzke has garnered four goals and an assist.

Natasha Fuentes has seen all the time in net for the Crimson Storm, allowing 27 goals and stopping 54 shots.  She has a 1.91 goals against average and .667 saves percentage for the season.

Against the Crimson Storm
Earlier this season the Tigers earned a 2-1 win in overtime in Bethany, Okla., against SNU (Oct. 13).  

The Crimson Storm scored in the first half, with ECU seeing two goals from senior Kourtney Holleman.  Holleman scored at the end of regulation and then again in the extra stanza for the match-winner.  Junior Taylor Lowe stopped three of the four shots she faced in net.

Hannah Robinson scored for SNU, with Natasha Fuentes stopping two of the four shots she faced.

The Series
Friday's match will be the ninth in the all-time series and currently stands a 3-5 in favor of SNU after the Tigers' win earlier this season.  ECU is also 2-3 when playing as GAC opponents and 2-1 when playing at home.  The last match at Tiger Field was a 0-1 loss (Oct. 3, 2013), with the last home win coming Oct. 25, 2012 with a 3-2 overtime victory.

Pickrell and Lowe Honored
Two ECU soccer players were honored by the GAC as players of the week for Oct. 21.  Junior Kelsey Pickrell was named the GAC Defender of the Week, while junior Taylor Lowe earned her second Goalkeeper of the Week honor for the season.

Pickrell led a pair of strong defensive efforts that helped the Tigers move from outside the top four in the GAC into third place with wins versus Northwestern and Southwestern. She helped limit the Rangers to only five shots on goal. Against SWOSU, she matched up with Cori Kelly and did not allow her to get off a shot over the final 61 minutes.

Lowe earned a pair of victories as she posted a 0.96 goals-against average against NWOSU and SWOSU. She recorded four saves in the victory against the Rangers and three in the overtime win against the Bulldogs.

Tiger Battle Postponed
ECU road match against Ouachita Baptist had to be postponed due to weather in Arkadelphia over the weekend.  The match will be played if necessary to determine conference standings for the GAC Championship and is tentatively planned for Nov. 3.

Holleman Double Trouble
Senior Kourtney Holleman added her name to the list of Tiger players that are a double threat in matches this season.  Holleman tallied both goals in the 2-1 overtime win at Southern Nazarene, including her first match-winning goal of the season.  It marked the third time this year that a Tiger player had scored twice in one match.

Double Standard
Senior Milan Galloway has set a high standard for herself, with a team leading six goals.  What makes the numbers more interesting is that she has scored in just three games, with two goals scored in each outing.

Lowe Goalkeeper of the Week
ECU junior Taylor Lowe picked up her first and the team's second GAC honor of the season, as she was named the GAC Goalkeeper of the Week for Sept. 23.

Lowe recorded 11 saves in posting a 1-1 record, with a 2.00 goals-against average, for the Tigers.  She tallied five saves against Northeastern State and came back with six in a 4-2 win against Lubbock Christian.  At 3-3-1, ECU posted its third-best start in school history.

Glutz Defender of the Week
Senior Margaret Glutz was named the GAC Defender of the Week for Sept. 16 after helping the Tigers to a 2-0-1 mark.

The Santee, Calif., native anchored a Tiger defense that allowed only four goals in three matches last week. Against Newman, she helped a defense that blocked a pair of shots and added an assist on the first goal. Against Oklahoma Baptist, she paced ECU to their first shutout win of the season, while the defense blocked a total of four shots.

Heavy Home Schedule Late
This season those wishing to see the Tigers in action at home against other members of the GAC will have to wait until late in the season.  This year all the home conference matches are in a block at the end of the season, starting Oct. 16 against Northwestern Oklahoma State.

Up Next
The Tigers will finish their five-match home stand next week, with matches against Harding (Oct. 30 at 4 p.m.) and Ouachita Baptist (Nov. 1 at 11 a.m.).  The Nov. 1 match is the annual Senior Day for ECU, where the Tigers will honor their nine seniors.