Pensacola, Fla. --- The University of West Florida women's soccer team are climbing up in the Gulf South standings after two successful wins over the past weekend at home. Before the weekend, the Argos were ranked seventh after opening conference play with a win against Alabama Huntsville (Sep. 9) but followed with a loss from West Alabama (Sep. 11). After the most recent week of one goal differential games to defeat Valdosta State (Sep. 16) and West Georgia (Sep. 18), the Argos head into week three of conference play in the fourth standing.

The Argos head to Tennessee to continue regular season conference and take on Union Friday, Sep. 23 at 5:00 p.m. and Christian Brothers Sunday, Sep. 25 at 1:00 p.m.
 
Weekend Recap
The Argos (5-2-1 overall, 3-1 GSC) defeated Valdosta State in a wild match with a lone goal coming from Blair Cowan in the 19^th minute to make it a 1-0 final score. Six players played all 90 minutes in the match to help contribute to the win. Cowan and Manami Okada led the team with four shots with one shot apiece on target as Destiny Hird found openings from the back line to get two shots off which both came on goal to be saved.
 
The Argos did not let up the gas in the following game as they came back from being down after committing a foul in the box to allow a penalty kick. Despite being down 1-0, Ahnalie Layman received the ball in the attacking third to pass off to Cowan who used her touch to get around the defender and strike the back of the net. This allowed the Argos to gain momentum as eight minutes later, a lead would be taken to be the last goal of the match. In the 36^th minute, Julia Comin took a quick throw in to Kileigh Whited who was on the run down the flank that hit a cross in the middle of the box to Manami Okada who got a head on it to make it 2-1 and take home the win.
 
Celebrating Cowan
Cowan scored in back-to-back games over the weekend that included a game winner in a 1-0 win against Valdosta State. Cowan currently sits at 11 points and ranked fifth in the conference with five goals and one assist.
 
Cowan's assist came in the season opener against Barry (Aug. 26) for the first goal of the season to assist Julia Comin. In the following weekend to conclude non-conference games, Cowan earned her first collegiate hat trick and her three goals led the Argos in a 5-0 win over Eckerd College (Sep. 2).
 
Cowan's recent two-goal weekend against the Blazers and the Wolves has put her on five of the six leader boards in the Gulf South Conference. Cowan sits at fourth in goals in the conference with five goals in eight games to have a .625 goal average. Tied with teammate Manami Okada, Cowan is sixth/seventh in game-winning goals at two. Cowan is 11^th in the conference in shots coming at 18 and tied for ninth with one opponent in shots on goal with nine hitting on target to have a 1.13 shot on goal average.
 
Difficult to Get Past the Defense
The Argos has made their way to the top and leads the conference in least goals allowed. In eight games for 712 minutes of play, the defense has only allowed three goals to have .38 goals allowed average.
 
Layman, Hird, Kaytlyn Larsen, Bailey Erwig and Maciah Lipsey have done their parts in protecting the net as they have kept their opponents to 39 shots and only 18 shots on goal. The eight Argo opponents they have currently played against have a small shot percentage of 0.077.
 
Of the three goals scored against, two were penalty kicks coming from West Alabama (Sep. 11) and West Georgia (Sep. 18).
 
Lipsey has a total of 15 saves and a 0.833 save percentage. In eight consecutive starts, Lipsey recorded 678 minutes to have 0.40 goals allowed average as the opponents' goalkeepers have a combined 1.52 average.

Scouting the Opponents
Union Bulldogs
Union is coming off the weekend with two 1-2 losses to Auburn Montgomery (Sep. 16) and Montevallo (Sep. 18) to enter the upcoming week with a record of 2-5 overall, 1-3 GSC. The Bulldogs currently sit at 11^th in the standings with three points in the only conference win versus Shorter (Sep. 11).
 
The Bulldogs got an early goal in the first half against Auburn Montgomery from defender Lilly Ludwig and held the Warhawks scoreless until the 86^th minute when the game became tied up and the Warhawks were quickly able to take the lead one minute after for a devastating Bulldog loss. Heading into the following match against Montevallo Falcons, the Bulldogs found themselves down 2-0 in the first 25 minutes but continued to show grit as Madison Woolridge added a goal to her name in the 79^th minute to be the last action of the day.
 
Woolridge leads the team with two goals and one assist in her freshman year in only 200 minutes of play. Just behind is midfielder Holly Trisdale who tallies two goal and is second on the team in shots on goal with four.
 
Forward Maxon Clair leads the team with shots at 11 but none have found the back of the net. Claire is also only one of four Bulldogs who have consecutively started all seven games of the season.
 
Freshman Kaitlyn Osorio-Mendez is on the GSC leaderboard in assist (top 15 in the conference) and is tied with four other players earning two in seven games for a .286 average.
 
Goalkeepers Rylee Iorio and Kristen LaValle combine for 39 saves – ranked fourth in the conference. Iorio has played in six games with LaValle getting one start against Shorter. Iorio has recorded 36 saves and allowed 11 goals in 540 minutes of play.
 
Argos vs Bulldogs History
The history of the two teams began in 2012 and only have nine games against each other. The only Argo loss against the Bulldogs came in the 2015 season as the Bulldogs scored in the fifth minute off a rebound to get the 1-0 win.
 
Most recently, the Argos defeated the Bulldogs last season 3-1 after coming back from an early goal that occurred in the third minute. Just before the first half ended, Cowan was able to get a goal unassisted to tie it up to regain momentum. It wouldn't be until the last ten minutes of the game where two Argo players, that included Brianna Pope, were able to score back-to-back within four minutes of each other to take the 3-1 win.
 
The Argos outshot the Bulldogs 34-4 and had a great 27-2 shot on goal advantage.
 
Erwig, Hird, Comin and Kileigh Whited who are all returning players recorded over 80 minutes against the Bulldogs. Cowan led the team with eight shots followed by Hird and Comin with four each.
 
The last time the Argos played in Bulldog territory was in 2019 with the Argos winning 2-0. The Argos are currently on a five-game winning streak and have a total of 25 goals on the Bulldogs while only allowing four goals allowed in the previous nine matches.
 
Christian Brothers Buccaneers
The Buccaneers split the weekend with a 2-0 loss from Montevallo (Sep. 16) and ended with a 2-1 win to Auburn Montgomery (Sep. 18) to extend their record to 5-2-1 overall, 2-1-1 GSC and sit right below the Argos in the fifth seed in the conference.
 
To open conference play, the Buccaneers took on Shorter in a successful 5-0 win (Sep. 9) and tied 1-1 to the previously ranked No. 9 seed, Lee University.
 
Julia Valentin and Mya Gargone helped advance the Buccaneers in their latest 2-1 win. Valentin's four goals puts her at second on the team and has recorded one assist. Leading the way for the Buccaneers with 19 points is midfielder Cheyenne Smith. Her nine goals and one assist puts her in the top-two ranking for points, shots, shots on goal, goals and game-winning goals. Smith recorded four goals against Shorter and earned the goal in the 1-1 tie to Lee.
 
Maria Cancio leads the team and is tied for first in the conference in assists with five. In seven played games, Cancio has a .714 assist per game average.
 
Argos vs Buccaneers History
After losing to the Buccaneers in 2019, the Argos look to regain their winning streak after a close 1-0-win last season. The teams have met up 30 times with the Argos taking the win in 20 games.
 
In the 2021 matchup, Whited and Cowan combined for seven shots with five coming on target to help lead the team to a win. The lone goal in the 17 minute was assisted by Whited – she currently has two assists on the season.
 
Charline Favier, who has seen action in the attacking position this year, played all 90 minutes in the net and recorded four saves as they outshot the Buccaneers 23-5.
 
For the latest information on UWF athletics, visit goargos.com or women's soccer social media platforms on Instagram and Twitter @UWFWSOC.