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LOS ANGELES - The LMU women's soccer team will be in the hunt for its first West Coast Conference win of the season when it travels to Pacific on Friday, Oct. 10 and Saint Mary's on Sunday, Oct. 12.
The Lions wrapped up the non-conference portion of the 2014 slate with a 7-2-1 mark, but suffered an 0-2 start to WCC play last week. They were without the services of forwards Morgan Hilby and Sarah Sanger, both key to the LMU attack, for both matches due to injury.
Shannon Kent continues to lead the Lions with four goals for eight points, while Hilby has also totaled eight points on two goals and four assists. Nine total Lions have found the back of the net this season. Sophia Leksan is one of four WCC goalkeepers to hold a goals against average below 1.00, as the sophomore enters this week with a 0.96 average.
Pacific enters the week with a 2-9-1 overall record and 0-2-0 WCC mark. The Tigers have struggled to score goals this season as five different players have one goal apiece through 12 matches. Goalkeepers Jacqueline Kane and Melissa Ma have each tallied one shutout apiece, but have also given up a combined 27 goals for a 2.17 GAA.
Saint Mary's opened WCC play with back-to-back 2-1 losses at Gonzaga and Portland and now sits at 6-7-0 on the season. The Gaels have posted three shutouts this season while also being held scoreless on four occasions. But they have also netted four goals twice and have 20 on the season. Samantha Dion leads the way with seven goals and two assists for 16 points while Vicki Shumkus (3g, 5a) and Jessica Castillo (2g, 7a) have 11 points each.
FOLLOW THE LIONS
LMU at Pacific - Friday, Oct. 10 @ 7 pm - Knoles Soccer Field
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LMU at Saint Mary's - Sunday, Oct. 12 @ 1 pm - Saint Mary's Stadium
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LION NOTES
Junior midfielder Jocelyn Blankenship was named to the 2014 All-WCC Preseason Team
Callie Taylor earned the first WCC Player of the Week honor for 2014 after scoring back-to-back game winning goals against New Mexico State and Cleveland State
Sophomore Sophia Leksan posted back-to-back shutouts against Cleveland State and Oregon State and now has four clean sheets on the year.
The win at UCSB on Sept. 7 snapped a 14-match road losing streak for LMU. The last road victory prior to that was a big one, however, a 3-0 upset of then No. 15 Pepperdine on Oct. 19, 2012.
Freshman Sarah Sanger has a pair of overtime golden goal winners this year, netting them in back-to-back games at UC Santa Barbara (Sept. 7) and versus Cal State Fullerton (Sept. 14). Junior Shannon Kent scored in three consecutive games (at UCLA, vs UC Irvine and vs CSUN) and leads the squad with four goals on the season.
The Lions are unbeaten in overtime games this season, going 2-0-1. That mark includes a scoreless draw at Oregon State (Aug. 29), followed by back-to-back, double-overtime golden-goal winners at UC Santa Barbara (Sept. 7) and versus Cal State Fullerton (Sept. 14). LMU's last WCC win was over San Francisco - a 1-0 overtime victory over the Dons on Oct. 21, 2012.
SERIES HISTORY VS PACIFIC
The Lions and Tigers have met just twice in program history, with both matches going in favor of Pacific. The two teams first met in 2001, resulting in a 2-1 win for the Tigers. Last fall, the sides met for the first time as WCC opponents and Pacific one again clinched a one-goal victory, this time a 1-0 final at Sullivan Field.
SERIES HISTORY VS SAINT MARY'S
LMU holds a 12-7-2 all-time record over Saint Mary's. That mark includes a 4-4-1 mark in Moraga. The Lions had a six-match win streak over the Gaels snapped last fall when SMC claimed a 3-1 win in Los Angeles.
