Shreveport - The Centenary women's soccer team has released its 2021 schedule as the Ladies will play six matches at home and kick off their regular season on Friday, Sept. 3 at Southern University in non-conference action.
The Ladies, led by second-year head coach Morgan Crespo, are coming off another successful season in which they went 8-4 overall and 4-3 in SCAC play. Centenary also fielded one of the top defensive units in program history in the division III era (2011-present) as the Maroon and White recorded seven shutouts to set a single-season record. The Ladies finished the regular season allowing just five goals and outscoring their opponents, 20-5.
Centenary will face the Southern Lady Jaguars in Baton Rouge on Friday in a match set for 6 p.m. and then return home to the friendly confines of Mayo Field to face the East Texas Baptist University Tigers on Monday, Sept. 6 at 5 p.m. The Maroon and White are 13-4 at Mayo Field over the last two seasons and went 5-3 at home last season.
The Ladies then hit the road for three-consecutive matches, Wednesday, Sept. 8 at Alcorn State (6 p.m.), Friday, Sept. 10 at St. Thomas (7 p.m.), and then Sunday, Sept. 12 versus Sul Ross State University in a neutral site contest at Noon in Richardson, Texas.
Centenary returns home in mid-September for a pair of non-conference matches versus Belhaven (Sept. 17 at 5:30 p.m.) and UT Dallas (Sept. 19 at 3 p.m.) as part of a mini weekend tournament featuring American Southwest Conference teams against SCAC teams at Mayo Field. Schreiner University will join the Ladies, Belhaven, and UT Dallas for a three-day tournament featuring both men's and women's matches.
The Ladies then close the month with a pair of road matches at Texas Lutheran on Friday, Sept. 24 at 5 p.m. and then Sunday, Sept. 26 at Southwestern in a match set for Noon. Centenary begins conference play at Trinity on Friday, Oct. 1 at 6 p.m. and then travels to Kerrville, Texas to face Schreiner on Sunday, Oct. 3 at Noon.
Centenary welcomes St. Thomas to Mayo Field for a conference contest on Friday, Oct. 8 at 5 p.m. and then breaks from SCAC play to face LeTourneau on the road, Sunday, Oct. 10 at 5 p.m. The Ladies play their final two home matches of the regular season versus Southwestern (Friday, Oct. 15 at 7:30 p.m.) and then Texas Lutheran (Sunday, Oct. 17 at 2:30 p.m.) for Senior Day. The Ladies close the regular season with a pair of road matches, Friday, Oct. 29 at Austin College (6 p.m.) and at Dallas on Oct. 31 at Noon. The 2021 SCAC Women's Soccer Championship will be held Nov. 5-7 in Irving, Texas and hosted by the University of Dallas.
Crespo led the Ladies to one of their most successful seasons in program history this past spring, as the Maroon and White enter the 2021 season having won 24 of its last 31 matches over the last two seasons, are 10-6 in its last 16 conference matches, and finished the regular season ranked second in the league in assists, goals, points, and shots and placed a program-record eleven players on the All-SCAC team. Crespo was named the sixth head coach of the Ladies' program in April, 2020 and after just one season at the helm, finds herself at the top of the list in all-time winning percentage (.667) in program history. Eleven different players scored goals for the Ladies last season, five players scored at least two or more goals, and five freshmen found the net. The Ladies were picked to finish fourth in the SCAC this season in last month's preseason poll, earning 40 points.
Senior MF Gabby McDonald (Pasadena, Texas) earned First Team All-SCAC recognition last season and was the Ladies' top offensive player and one of the top performers in the conference. She finished the season ranked tied for fifth in the league in goals (four), fifth in points (10), tied for fourth in assists (two), and fifth in shots (33). She played in 11 games with 11 starts and scored goals in four of the Ladies' first seven games to start the season and tallied one game-winning goal. McDonald is joined by a pair of steady juniors in Sydney Bascomb (Mesquite, Texas) and Yosi Bouslog (Friendswood, Texas), who were named to the All-SCAC second team last season.
Bascomb was of the top players in the conference as she started all 12 games and scored three goals which was tied for sixth in the SCAC. She had two game-winning goals, which ranked second in the conference and was tied for fourth in assists with two. She finished season with eight points, 34 shots, and 12 shots on goal. Bouslog followed up a fantastic freshman campaign with a solid second season with the Ladies as she played in 11 games with 11 starts and scored first-career goal in a 3-0 Ladies' win on Feb. 26 at St. Thomas. She finished season with two points, five shot, two shots on goal, and was a super defender.
Centenary returns a trio of sensational sophomores in forward Daisy Acosta (Deer Park, Texas), D Alexa Hinojosa (Pasadena, Texas), and MF Cynthia Williams (Bossier City, La.). All three were named to the All-SCAC Freshman Team and Hinojosa also picked up Honorable Mention honors. A pair of steady Junior midfielders, Avery Gilbert (League City, Texas), and Celeste Muniz (Denton, Texas) are also back after combining for five goals, two assists, 12 points, and a pair of game-winning goals last season.
The Ladies will face the challenge of replacing departed senior goalkeeper Maggie Pitcher, one of the top goalies in the conference and one of the most decorated in the D3 era of the program as she finished last season first in the conference in shutouts (6), second in both goals against average (0.35) and save percentage (.922). She also ranked fourth in saves (47) and seventh in saves per game (4.27).
Centenary's roster features a trio of rookie goalkeepers vying to replace Pitcher, along with senior Avery Sanderson (McKinney, Texas). The three freshmen are Madison Ersoff (Shreveport), Emma Oertling (Lake Charles, La.), and Marina Rodriguez (Helotes, Texas). Sanderson played in two games last season and made one start in goal in the Ladies' SCAC Tournament contest versus Texas Lutheran at home on April 17 in which she collected six saves. She logged 91:11 of playing time for the season and recorded one shared shutout.
See the complete Ladies' schedule here: https://www.gocentenary.com/sports/wsoc/2021-22/schedule
Admission is FREE to all Centenary home athletic contests but be advised of current COVID-19 protocols for fans. Live stats and live video stream are available for all Centenary home contests.
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