CHARLESTON, S.C. - The Citadel soccer team opens a three-game homestand on Friday at 4 p.m. when it hosts Western Carolina at WLI Field.
The Bulldogs are back in action on Sunday at 2 p.m. when Southern Conference-leading East Tennessee State visits. The Buccaneers play at Mercer on Friday before heading to Charleston.
The Citadel will be recognizing the six seniors on the 2014 team prior to the game against ETSU. That group includes
Flo Amess,
Vanessa Aponte,
Nicholle Griffith,
Ana Mesa,
Grace Raines and
Karina Schneider.
The Bulldogs enter the weekend with a record of 5-9 overall and 1-3 in the SoCon. Aponte is the team's leading scorer with five goals and 12 points, followed by freshman
Mady Riegel with four goals.
Aponte continued her climb up The Citadel's career record book last weekend, ranking first in assists (17), tied for third in goals (21) and second in points (59).
Naomi Carter ranks second in the nation with 100 saves, 12 behind leader Brittany Roberts of Arkansas-Pine Bluff. The sophomore has played all 1,264 minutes in goal this season for The Citadel.
Western (5-4-4, 2-1-1) has lost only once in its last eight games, a stretch that includes five wins and a tie with SoCon victories over Wofford and Chattanooga. The Catamounts also played NC State to a 1-1 draw on Sept. 11.
The Catamounts, who hold an 11-1-1 series advantage, are led by Caitlyn Bradham and Courtney Ross with three goals each. Carly Tinstman is second in the conference with an 0.83 goals against average and has four shutouts.
The Citadel is facing ETSU (11-3, 3-1) for the first time since 2007, with the Buccaneers having won four of the five previous meetings. The teams played to a 2-2 tie in 2004.
ETSU has scored 51 goals this season and is second in the nation with an average of 3.64 per game. The Buccaneers have run off three straight conference wins over Wofford, Samford and Chattanooga after losing its league opener to Furman.
ETSU has the three top scorers in the SoCon in Hannah Short (17 goals, 6 assists, 40 points), Sarah Zadrazil (6-13-25) and Simona Koren (10-4-24). Short leads the country in goals and points, while Jasmin Dutton is one assist behind Zadrazil for the SoCon and national lead with 12.
