Pensacola, Fla. --- The University of West Florida women's soccer team went 1-1 for the weekend to defeat Eckerd College in a 5-0 blowout (Sep. 2) and receive their first loss of the season to Florida Southern 1-0 (Sep. 4). The Argos will begin regular season conference games Friday, Sep. 9 at 5:00 p.m. against Alabama Huntsville at Charger Park and will take on West Alabama Sunday, Sep. 11 at 1 :00 p.m. at Tiger Stadium.
 
Weekend Recap
The Argos kicked off the home opener against Eckerd in a great way with 23 Argos stepping on the field to contribute to a 5-0 win. The Argos outshot the Tritons 13-2 with 10 shots coming on goal. Aside from the two penalty kicks, the remaining three goals were all assisted – the Argos have four assists on seven goals for the season.
 
Forwards Blair Cowan and Brianna Pope had exceptional games as they combined for five goals against Eckerd with Cowan receiving her first collegiate hat trick and Pope getting her first two-goal game. Cowan and Pope each made Triton defenders commit fouls in the box to get two up on the board in the first 27 minutes by penalty kicks that Cowan took.
 
Entering off the bench in the first half, Pope showed her speed on the ball she got two shots off and her first goal by out dribbling the Tritons from the wide space to the inside. Three minutes into the second half, Pope's speed allowed her to sneak in behind the defense for Alyssa Wilson to pass through the crowd for an easy tap in.
 
Midfielder Mya Swinton is a great addition for the attackers with her movement up top and ability to stay calm on the ball. Swinton got her first assist of the season as she received the ball surrounded by Triton players to take a touch and give it off to Cowan in front of the box for the fifth and final goal.
 
Coming off the bench to give the Argos fresh legs and speed is forward Hailey Bastian. Averaging 55 minutes for the weekend, Bastian provided quick pressure on the opponents and is a great asset in the top line.
 
Sunday's match up against Florida Southern was a switch of environment. It was a competitive battle with only a total of six shots on goal between the two teams with one goal falling in the net in the 68^th minute for Florida Southern.
 
The Argos outshot Florida Southern and had an advantage in corner kicks in each half but nothing could fall through as two shots for the Argos came on goal that were saved. Both teams played great defense as it was difficult for the Argos and Mocs to get shots on target as majority of the shots throughout the game were just shy wide.
 
Coming off their first loss on the season, the Argos look to bounce back against Gulf South Conference teams.
 
Scouting the Opponents
Alabama Huntsville Chargers
The Chargers (1-1-1) lost 3-0 to Tampa Friday, Sep. 2 to then turn around the next day and defeat Georgia Southwestern Saturday, Sep. 3 in a 3-0 win.
 
Tampa took control as they outshot, outscored and had an advantage in corner kicks over Alabama Huntsville. Goalkeepers Adriana Wright earned six saves in 75 minutes of play and Hailey Hicks made two saves in the remaining 15 minutes.
 
Things began to look up for the Chargers the following day with a successful 3-0 win over Georgia Southwestern as midfielder Maialen Mera Torres had her first career two-goal game. Mera Torres scored back-to-back to get two goals on the board in the first 13 minutes with the first goal coming on the two-minute mark.
 
Freshman Jayla Gillespie assisted goal one on the match and recorded five shots with four coming on target. Gillespie has started in three consecutive games in the forward position. Midfielder Hadas Morin took her first shot of the season that hit the back of the net to give the Chargers their third goal.
 
The Chargers are an aggressive team that takes opportunities when they can as the team took 22 shots and committed 11 fouls in Saturday's game.
 
Argos vs. Chargers History
The Argos have not given up a win to the Chargers as they are on a 22-game winning streak starting back in 2000. Last matchup was in 2019 in Huntsville, Ala. leaving with a 2-0 win.
 
Bailey Erwig and Destiny Hird are the only returning Argos who played in the latest matchup. Erwig and Hird have started in all four games this season with Hird coming off the weekend with as assist against Eckerd (Sep. 2).
 
The Argos outshot the Chargers 28-3 and only allowed one shot to come on goal compared to the Argos 15 on the Chargers home field.
 
In the total of 13 fouls, three cards were pulled out in the game with two Huntsville players receiving a yellow and a red card each.
 
West Alabama Tigers
The Tigers (1-2) will open conference play on their home field as they have traveled to play all three games.
 
In a close 3-2 loss against Tusculum (Sep. 2) a lot of action was happening early on. The Tigers ended the first half up 2-1 but was not able to hold on. A Tusculum player scored in the first two minutes but the Tigers did not put their heads down as Mikayla Anderson answered in the sixth minute with a steal from the keeper to pass it into the net.
 
Just 13 minutes before the first half ended, Sierra O'Grady put the Tigers up with an assist from Dana Cruz. O'Grady led the team with three shots and is tied for first with Anderson and three other Tigers with four shots on the season for the team.
 
Graduate student Maria Mon played 90 minutes in the net as recorded six saves.
 
Argos vs. Tigers History
Last time the Argos and Tigers met up was in 2019, playing each other twice in the season and each team coming out with a win. The Argos lost the first game 4-3 (Oct. 20) but came back for revenge to win 3-1 (Nov. 11) in the following matchup.
 
Beginning in 2011, the Argos away record in Livingston, Ala. is 4-2 with a 3-3 conference record. The largest margin of victory came back in 2016 as the Argos took the win 5-0 but since then each game has concluded with no more than a two-goal difference.
 
In the last 2019 matchup (Nov. 11) the Tigers got on the board first but the Argos ended strong as they scored three goals in the last 23 minutes of the second half.
 
There is only one returner on the 2022 rosters that played in the latest Argos vs. Tigers game. Senior Paige Laidler of the Tigers played all 90 minutes on the pitch as a defender back her freshman year. Laidler has recorded 231 minutes in three consecutive starts this season.
 
For the latest information on UWF athletics, visit goargos.com or women's soccer social media platforms on Instagram and Twitter @UWFWSOC.