Nicholls soccer team takes longest trek of the season still seeking first Southland win

The Nicholls soccer team faces a long weekend trip when the Lady Colonels travel to take on the University of Incarnate Word and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi still seeking their first Southland Conference win.

Nicholls, which is 0-4 in the Southland and 1-12 overall, will take on UIW at 7 p.m. Friday in San Antonio before playing at Corpus Christi at 1 p.m. Sunday.

UIW and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi entered the week with similar records. The Cardinals are 1-3 in the Southland and 4-5-1 overall. The Islanders are 1-2-1 in the SLC and 4-5-3 overall.

The teams faced each other in their most recent outing with UIW taking a 3-1 win in San Antonio.

“The two games coming up, we are playing two opponents that aren’t the top two teams in the conference. Arguably, they are in the middle half to the bottom. So, I’m really looking forward to seeing if we continue to play and improve off of what we did this past weekend against two teams that we should possess better against, create more chances against, than we did this past weekend,” Nicholls coach Robert Podeyn said.

Podeyn was referring to the Lady Colonels’ two most recent losses of 5-1 to Lamar and 2-1 to Texas A&M-Commerce.

In UIW’s most recent win, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi led 1-0 at halftime on a goal by Olivia Hughes, but the Islanders would not score again the remainder of the match.

Payton Adams tied the game in the 54th minute for the Cardinals on a kick from 114 feet out.

UIW took the lead on a header by Alex Knutson and added to its advantage on a goal by Melissa Bailey.

Knutson is one of three UIW players to score two goals this season for a Cardinals team that has a total of 12 goals on the season while allowing only seven. Along with Knutson, Addison Rodriquez, and Sierra Wannamaker each have a pair of goals for the Cardinals.

Erica Defferding, UIW’s top goalkeeper, has allowed seven games with 32 saves.

“Incarnate Word has a new coach this year. I think they had a new coach the year before, as well,” Podeyn said. “They’ve had a little bit of a turnover. Usually, they have a lot of international players. In watching them play, I think our game matches up well against them. They were picked to finish eighth, we were picked ninth. That’s a game that I’m looking at to see can we play our game. Can we settle down and look to get a result in that game.

“They are a counter-attack team. They are sitting in, absorbing pressure, and trying to break out. That’s kind of how they’ve conducted their team.”

While the UIW coach may be new to Podeyn, such is not the case with Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. Podeyn and Islanders coach Craig Shaw have a personal rivalry that dates back 20 years. Their teams squared off against each other when Podeyn was at Northwood in Texas and Shaw at Ottawa University in Kansas City. They continued to square off when Shaw moved on to Fort Hays State in Kansas and Podeyn at Southwest Baptist University in Missouri.

“He’s gotten the better of me since I’ve been here. Prior to that, he had only ever beaten me one time,” Podeyn said. “(Prior to their current jobs) I think I beat him seven times. I was 7-1 against him during that run. I’ve come here, and he’s made it closer. He hasn’t beaten me more than I’ve beaten him, but he’s made it closer.

“His teams are usually well organized and well coached. I know how he runs his teams, so I think we will be able to create some opportunities, and we’ll see.”

Three players have combined to score 10 of Texas A&M-Corpus Christi’s 20 goals.

Mai-Lisa Atis has four goals for the Islanders while Megan Guy and Maggie Murray have three each.

Kennedy Stelling and Zoe Theriot have split time in front of the net for A&M-Corpus Christi. Stelling has allowed 12 goals and amassed 30 saves. Theriot has allowed eight goals and has 19 saves.

“They will play some possession but they like to attack one side,” Podeyn explained. “They will overload and we will kind of look to transition away. We’ll see if we can attack them.

“The players that are scoring for them, everything is from the one side. It’s can they get speed and get it behind you. They’re trying to do that, but it’s pretty much can we just control that one side.”

The Lady Colonels go on the road seeking their first SLC win since 2018.

“Every game, we are getting better. That’s a great sign,” Podeyn said. “They’ve obviously not kind of looked at it and said, ‘we’re going to shut down and coast to the end of the season.’ They still believe they can win and that’s what we’re working on.

“Friday, I feel like they can win if we put it together. Sunday, I feel like we can win if we put it together. The focus isn’t winning for them. The focus on them is to play better and be a team.”