Islanders Face HBU In Final Regular Season Test

Soccer | October 25, 2017

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas - Texas A&M-Corpus Christi faces a situation this Friday that requires a positive decision against hosting Houston Baptist in order to earn a spot in this year's Southland Conference Championship.

Nicholls and Corpus Christi are currently tied for the final spot in the postseason, with the Colonels holding the tie-breaker after a 2-1 win over the Islanders inside of Dugan earlier this year. The Blue and Green can secure a spot in this year's postseason with one of two scenarios

1) Win at HBU AND a draw or a loss from Nicholls against Southeastern Louisiana
2) Draw at HBU AND a loss from Nicholls against SLU

The Islanders have made the conference tournament just once in their five year history, going in as a sixth seed in 2015. The Blue and Green were just a single win away from taking the final spot in last year's competition Corpus Christi has already had its most successful regular season in history with six victories in 2017. They are a single goal away from becoming the most productive Islanders team offensively all-time

Redshirt-senior Brooke Erdmann will be making Islander history this Friday at 7 p.m., as the forward takes the pitch for a 71st time in her career. Her appearance will beat the previous record of 70 set by former teammate Emma Biba, making her the all-time caps leader for the program

SERIES HISTORY

• The Islanders have yet to beat Houston Baptist, with the Huskies holding a 4-0 record advantage all time
• This will be the third year in a row the Blue and Green has ended its regular season against HBU, and the second time they've ended it in Houston
• The last time the two sides met at Sorrels Field the Huskies came out on top in a 1-0 decision
• Madeleine Lozano scored on the Huskies the previous season, with a shot from over 30 yards out. She is the only current Islander to have registered a tally against HBU, and one of just two Islanders to score against the side over four matches
• Active Islanders Shayla Spearman, Brooke Erdmann and Jordan Wainwright all earned starts in that match last year, with Kaitlyn Joy, Christina Remmes, Andi Bethard, Ashley Hamilton and Kendall Moody getting time off the bench

THE ISLANDERS

• Freshman goalkeeper Kyleigh Hall recorded a career-high 12 stops against Lamar, the most an Islander netminder has accrued in a single match this season
• Hall now leads the Islanders with 39 saves over just five matches, after being taken off redshirt earlier this season
• Midfielder Ashley Hamilton has played an increased role for the Islanders as of late, earning starts and playing 85-plus minutes over the previous five matches
• Defender Hannah Cupps tallied her second shot on goal of the year against Lamar last week. Both of her shot attempts have reached frame this year
• Abby Deakin scored her first goal of the year against UCA, in her first start as a forward for the Islanders. She's played up top ever since
• The Islanders are 3-3 coming off a loss this year, after dropping decisions to McNeese and Lamar this past weekend
• Seniors Jordan Wainwright, Brooke Erdmann, Andi Bethard and Christina Remmes were honored on Sunday, playing in their final match at Dugan Stadium
• A pair of goals from forward Brooke Erdmann lifted the Islanders past Northwestern State, as the senior recorded the second multi-goal effort of her career. She is now two multi-goal performances from tying a program record
• Corpus Christi's win against NSU gives the club a program best six victories in the regular season. The team sits a single goal shy of its most productive season offensively 
• After taking an early 2-0 lead in the opening 20 minutes the Islanders were able to hold on for a 2-1 win against the Demons, putting their record at a perfect 5-0 when scoring first and 5-0 when leading at the half
• With 10 goals and 22 points, Erdmann is second all-time for the Islanders in both categories. She's a single cap away from claiming the program career-high in appearances as well
• Corpus Christi's victory at NSU is their first win inside the state of Louisiana, combined with a win over Central Arkansas, it was the first time the program has ever gone 2-0 on a road trip against SLC opponents
• The Blue and Green's five road wins on the year tie their combined total from the last four seasons
• Seven teams have already clinched a spot in this year's tournament, with Nicholls and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi playing for the final spot available - 

SCOUTING THE HUSKIES

• Houston Baptist currently ranks fifth in the Southland, coming off a big 3-2 win versus McNeese
• The Huskies sit atop the SLC with an average of 7.33 saves per contest, the eighth highest tally in all of Division I women's soccer
• HBU's starting goalkeeper Alanis Guevara has the top mark for saves per match at 6.64, her .838 save percentage currently ranks second
• Only McNeese's Savannah LaRicci (7) has more match-winners in the SLC than HBU forward Eilee Hall (5). Hall's GW mark is 10th best in the country, while her eight goals are second most in the Southland
• Hall is the leading point-scorer for the Huskies this year with a total of 17. She is one of three players on her squad with over 30 shots this season, with teammates Autumn Wildung and Sabriah Spencer scoring five and two goals respectively
• 17 of the Huskies' 24 goals have ben scored in the second half this year, with just a single goal in overtime in 2017. HBU is 1-2-2 in overtime this season, twice losing in double-OT
• HBU is an impressive 4-1-2 when playing at Sorrells this season, while the Islanders are 5-4 when playing on the road in 2017
• Houston Baptist started the SLC season at 5-1-1 but has lost two of its last three to drop out of the top four spots in the conference

Islander fans can watch all of Friday's action through the HBU Digital Network, or via live stats presented by Sidearm Sports

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