Pensacola, Fla. --- The University of West Florida women's soccer team enter their final regular season conference games against Delta State Friday, Oct. 21 at 7:30 p.m. followed by a top 20 competition on Sunday, Oct. 23 at 3:00 p.m. versus No. 20 Mississippi College to celebrate senior day.
 
After defeating Spring Hill 5-0 over the weekend (Oct. 14) and increasing the record to 12-2-1 overall, 10-1 GSC, the Argos have clinched a spot in the GSC Tournament and an opening round home game.
 
A Look Back
The team put up five goals against the Badgers in a one-game weekend and two goals were scored by defenders who found opportunities in the attacking third.
 
Blair Cowan opened the game with a goal in the 12^th minute to give the Argos the lead and followed with a go-ahead goal 11 minutes later. Cowan has recorded back-to-back two-goal games. Cowan's second goal was her 16^th on the season which is the most an Argo player has scored since 2012. The two goals lifted Cowan to be GSC leading scorer (tied with one other player in the conference).
 
Manami Okada scored her fifth goal of the season off a header from Julia Comin to conclude the first half with a 3-0 lead.
 
Heading into the second half, two more goals were scored, each by defenders. Ahnalie Layman was awarded an assist from a corner kick that was directed to Kaytlyn Larsen who got a head on it to score her second goal of the season and to end the scoring for the team was Destiny Hird – who also assisted the opening goal for the Argos. Okada found Hird in the attacking third and hit the bottom corner to score her first goal on the season.  
 
Creeping Up in the Polls
Announced Tuesday, the Argos sit at No. 12 in the United Soccer Coaches NCAA DII poll. After a 5-0 performance over Spring Hill, the team moved up one spot and is the highest ranking GSC team in the current polls.
 
In the South Region, UWF is ranked No. 2 just behind Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (Fla.) who is undefeated with a 9-0-4 overall record.
 
Scouting the Delta State Statesmen
The Statesmen (9-5-2 overall, 6-3-2 GSC) are sixth in the GSC standings and have clinched a GSC Tournament berth after earning a win over Union (Oct. 14) and tying Christian Brothers 2-2 (Oct. 16).
 
The Statesmen earned their eighth shutout of the season after keeping the Union Bulldogs scoreless in a 2-0-win Friday night. Jae'lasha Julien and Robyn Moody each scored to uplift the team in their sixth conference win.
 
In the following match, all goals by the Statesmen and Christian Brothers were scored in the final 45 minutes to make it an exciting second half. The Statesmen took the lead in the beginning and went on a 2-0 run after scoring back-to-back with goals from Poppy Derhun – her first on the season – and Moody with another goal to score in back-to-back games herself. Shortly after, the Statesmen would lose their lead after letting two goals in in the final 15 minutes to end in a draw.
 
Argo vs. Statesmen History
Competition beginning in 2003, the Argos went on a 15-game winning streak that through 2018 and the teams met back up three years later in 2021 and resulted in a 1-1 tie to end the streak.
 
Moody opened the game with a goal in the 35^th minute and Julia Comin scored the equalizer with five minutes remaining in the game to end in a conference draw.
 
The Argos have scored a total of 82 goals and have held the Statesmen to five goals scored overall. The Argos have held the Statesmen to one goal allowed since 2012 and the Argos average 5.12 goals per game.
 
The Argos hold a 10-0 home record and have not played at home territory against Delta State since 2017.
 
Scouting the Mississippi College Choctaws
The Choctaws have risen to the No. 2 seed in the GSC standings and are No. 20 in the national polls with a similar 12-2-1 overall record and 9-1-1 in the conference. The Choctaws have clinched a spot in the GSC tournament after defeating conference opponents Christian Brothers and Union.
 
The Choctaws scored a total of nine goals and allowed one goal against over the two games. The team tallied six on the board over CBU with five different players scoring. The graduate student Beatrice Currie – who was named GSC Offensive Player of the Week - recorded a two-goal game with the first goal being scored in the fourth minute. Currie leads the team with 13 goals and is a top five scorer in the conference. Currie also recorded two assists to tally a total of six points in a single game.
 
Midfielder Avery Hederman also earned two assists in the match and found the back of the net to be a game leader and involved in multiple goals.
 
Following the match against CBU, the Choctaws took on Union is a successful 3-0 shutout. Coming off the bench, freshman Eduarda Silva starting the scoring for the Choctaws in the 29^th minute with a double assist from the Hederman sisters, Avery and Erin.
 
Entering the second half against the Bulldogs with just a 1-0 lead, the sisters continued to be a dynamic duo in the attacking half. In the 53^rd minute, A. Hederman extended the lead with an assist from Erin Hederman – A. Hederman has scored in back-to-back games.
 
E. Hederman, who has the second most goals on her team and is tied for the most point with Currie, scored the final goal against Union and has the fifth most goals in the conference with 11.
 
The Hederman sisters combined for a total of eight points versus the Bulldogs.
 
The Choctaws will take on Spring Hill in Alabama on Friday, Oct. 21 before heading to Florida to take on the Argos.
 
Argo vs. Choctaws History
The teams began battle in 2014 and it has consistently been a tough 90 minutes in ten total matches played. Before the latest matchup in 2021, there has never been a lead more than two goals or more than two consecutive wins versus each other.
 
In 2021, the Argos completed a new margin of victory after a 3-0 game over the Choctaws. Brianna Pope scored a pair of goals and Kileigh Whited found the net with an assist from Bailey Erwig.
 
The Argos allowed one shot on goal that was taken by Currie.
 
UWF have scored a total of 11 goals and average 1.1 goals per game and the Choctaws have scored six in overall history.
 
On Friday versus Delta State, free pizza for first 100 students with valid UWF ID will be given and Sunday before taking on Mississippi College, UWF seniors will be recognized. For all information on the team, follow @UWFWSOC on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.