Islanders Open Conference Play at Incarnate Word

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas - Performing in their most successful season to date, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi enters the Southland Conference season with a Friday contest at Incarnate Word at 7 p.m.

The Blue and Green earned its second win of the season in a 2-1 decision over UTSA this last Friday, followed up by a scoreless draw against UTRGV, to go an undefeated 1-0-1 on the week. With another victory against UIW the Islanders can tie their win total from the previous season, and would sit just two away from tying a program record for wins in a single year. 

Some staunch defense and superb goaltending has kept Islander opponents to a measly three goals in their last four contests. The team's overall GAA of 1.40 this season is third-best in the Southland, while goaltender Jordan Wainwright sits second in the conference with a .929 save percentage. Wainwright was a fill-in between the pipes after starting keeper Abbie Flax went down with injury, but picked up her team with an impressive four-save performance against UTSA and a nine-save clean sheet against UTRGV. 

Forwards Kaitlyn Joy and Brooke Erdmann will look forward to facing a team that has had trouble keeping opponents out of their net to start the season. The two Islander veterans were large contributors to their team's undefeated weekend, as they each tallied their first marks of the season against the Roadrunners. 

With the top-10 teams in the conference all sitting within three games of each other in non-conference play, the Southland appears to be available for the taking heading into opening weekend. As 12 of the Blue and Green's 14 victories from 2013- 16 have come against Southland opponents, the squad will be on the hunt for its first-ever conference title.

SERIES HISTORY

• The Islanders are 2-1-1 against Incarnate Word all-time and have not lost to the Cardinals since their 2013 inaugural season. The Blue and Green is currently on a two match win streak against UIW
• Corpus Christi has had more success against Incarnate Word than any other team in the Southland Conference, excluding the 3-1-0 record the Islanders hold against Lamar
• The Blue and Green is 12-9-3 against Southland opponents overall, while the Cardinals are 10-16-7
• Corpus Christi is 1-0-1 against Incarnate Word when playing visitor, and hold a 2-1-1 record overall when playing in the city of San Antonio
• Starting goalkeeper Jordan Wainwright stopped four of five shots on frame in the Islanders' previous match with the Cardinals, earning her first win as a member of the Blue and Green
• Just three players on the current roster that have earned starts against UIW have made a starting lineup in the current season
• Eight Cardinals starting in last year's matchup remain on the team's current roster with seven of those players receiving at least a single start in this year's campaign

THE ISLANDERS

• After participating in 11 overtime matches in the past four seasons, the Islanders participated in their second this year already, against UTRGV last Friday
• The Islanders scoreless tie with the Vaqueros marks the third match in Corpus Christi history that has ended 0-0
• With its 2-1 victory against UTSA, Corpus Christi is now 4-1-1 when scoring two goals over the past two seasons
• Although she's had just the one goal, Kaitlyn Joy has steered four of her five shots in 2017 on frame (.800), better than any other Islander with multiple attempts on net
• Outside of goalkeeper Jordan Wainwright, defender Siri O'Donnell was the only player on the Corpus Christi roster to play all 200 minutes of last weekend's contests
• After coming off the bench in the season opener, freshman defender Hannah Cupps has made four consecutive starts. The Islanders are averaging a 0.75 GAA when Cupps is in the starting 11
• The Islanders are off to their best start in program history (2-2-1) after going 1-0-1 this past weekend, their two non-conference wins are already the most they've achieved in a single season
• Brooke Erdmann and Kaitlyn Joy earned tallies for Corpus Christi against the Roadrunners. The first Islander goals of the 2017 season not to come from a freshman
• Corpus Christi's seven shots in the first half against the Roadrunners are the most they have had in a single half this season, finishing just one short of tying a season-high, with eight
• The UIW Cardinals have averaged 8.5 fouls per match in their opening four matches, but just 3.5 corners. The dead ball has been working well for the Islanders, with both of their goals against UTSA coming off of Mariah Ramon corners
• Eight of the Blue and Green's 33 shots have come off of free kicks and corners this season (24%), along with three of their four goals this season (75%)

SCOUTING UIW

• All three of UIW's goals have come from different players this season, with Brooke Hanson, Isabel Gracia and Sam Batley scoring the first tallies of their careers against New Mexico State
• Hanson and Batley have combined for 10 shots on goal this season, tying for a team lead. The pair accounts for 62.5% of the team's shots steered on net in 2017
• The Cardinals were shutout in their opening three matches against North Texas, Louisiana Tech and UTEP, getting outscored 7-0 in those contests. 2017 is the second consecutive year UIW was held without a goal in their opening three matches
• Opponents are averaging 12.3 shots per game against Incarnate Word, with an average of six SOG per match. The Islanders have taken just over six shots per contest and 3.20 SOG/match
• The Cardinals win against New Mexico State last season is the 300th in the history of the program
• Incarnate Word has averaged just .80 goals scored per match, right on point with the Islanders .75 goals allowed over the previous four contests
• Junior Sydney Huntsinger has started in three of UIW's four matches this season, she's surrendered six goals against in her three losses
• Incarnate Word has outshot just a single opponent this season, going 13-12 at UTEP
• HC Anne Felts is in her fourth season at the helm of UIW, holding a 10-41-7 record and a 6-20-6 Southland Conference record

UP NEXT
After finishing their tour of San Antonio, the Islanders will look onward to a matchup with PVAMU in Prairie View, Texas on Sunday afternoon. The Blue and Green will be on the road for the coming four matches, with its next home contest taking place on Sept. 29th against Southeastern Louisiana. 

STAY SOCIAL
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