The East Central University soccer team will prepare for the final push of the regular season when they host Harding and Ouachita Baptist and then travel to OBU.  The Tigers will be fighting to earn the final spot in the Great American Conference Tournament, Nov. 7-9.  ECU hosts Harding, Thursday, Oct. 30 at 4 p.m. and Ouachita Baptist, Saturday, Nov. 1 at 11 a.m.  The Tigers then travel to OBU for a make-up match Monday, Nov. 3 at 3 p.m., if necessary.

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.  

Senior Day
The Tigers will honor their nine seniors before the start of the match at home against OBU.  ECU will honor Adrian Fairchild, Milan Galloway, Margaret Glutz, Katie Glutz, Kristina Gonzalez-Claborn, Taylor Graves, Kourtney Holleman, Laiken Knight and Jessica Stibbens before the start of the match.

Scouting Harding
The Bison are 5-10-1, 5-2-1 in the GAC standings and have already earned one of the four spots in the GAC Tournament for this season.

Harding trails in most statistical categories, but is closer than their record would make you think.  The Bison only trail 23-29 in goals scored and have taken just 21 fewer shots on goal (98-119).  However, Harding does have a 75-67 lead in corners taken and has tallied six of their goals off corners.

Audrey Adkison and Adair Schmidt lead the Bison on offense.  Adkison has tallied seven goals and adds eight assists to have had a hand in 65% of the team's goals this season.  Adkison is an accurate shooter, having taken just 11 shots on goal and scoring seven goals (64%).  Schmidt adds five goals and an assist.

Kaitlyn Miller has seen most of the time in net for Harding, playing in 13 matches.  She has allowed 22 goals and stopped 63 shots, with two shutouts to her credit.  Miller has a 1.68 goals against average and .741 saves percentage.

Against the Bison
Earlier this season, the Tigers suffered a 0-3 loss to Harding on the road, with ECU recording just three shots on goal to eight by the Bison.

Seniors Milan Galloway and Kristina Gonzalez-Claborn and redshirt sophomore Taylor Kennedy all tallied a shot on goal in the match.  Junior Taylor Lowe allowed three goals and stopped four shots.

Adair Schmidt tallied the match-winning goal for the Bison, with Katelyn Tschiggfrie and Averie Albright each adding a goal.

The Series
Despite losing the last two matches, the Tigers hold an 8-3 advantage in the all-time series.  That record included a 4-1 record at home and a 4-3 mark when playing in the GAC.  The last match in Ada resulted in a 3-2 win for ECU (Oct. 11, 2013).

Scouting Ouachita Baptist
The other Tigers in the GAC are 5-9-1 overall and 4-3 in the conference, but will get a chance to improve their record when they face Southern Nazarene Thursday, Oct. 30.

OBU trails its opponents in all the statistical categories, including a 27-49 difference in goals scores and a 100-177 lag in shots on goal.

OBU has spread out its goals and assists between six players, but Haley Hatcher is the clear offensive threat. Hatcher has 15 goals and three assists for 33 points and 48 shots on goal.

OBU has used five different goalkeepers this season. Lauren Llanas has been in the net for the last six outings, allowing 16 goals and stopping 49 shots for a 2.67 goals against average and .745 saves percentage.

Against the Tigers
The teams each earned a win at home last season, in a high scoring series (ECU-3; OBU-6).

Senior Taylor Graves is the only returner to garner a point after she earned an assists and had two shots on goal. Junior Taylor Lowe allowed six goals and stopped 12 shots in two matches in net for ECU.

Haley Hatcher is the lone returner to score for OBU, tallying two goals on nine shots on goal.

The Series
Saturday's match will be the 12th in school history. The series is tied at three-all when playing as GAC members, but ECU trails 2-4 when playing on the road. The last meeting in Arkadelphia resulted in an 0-4 loss (11/3/13) for ECU, with the last road win coming Aug. 24, 2001 (5-0). ECU did earn a win in the last meeting overall, with a 3-2 overtime win at home Oct. 13, 2013.

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 at 3 p.m. in Arkadelphia, Ark.

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.

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.

Senior Kourtney Holleman also added her name to the list when she tallied both goals in the 2-1 overtime win at Southern Nazarene.

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.

Up Next
The Tigers are playing this weekend to be one of the four teams to advance to the 2014 GAC Tournament, Nov. 7-9.  The tournament will be hosted by the top seed in the conference standings, which has yet to be determined.