SEARCY – The Harding women's soccer team will play a pair of Great American Conference home games this weekend. The Lady Bisons will host Southwestern Oklahoma at 7 p.m., on Friday and then host Northwestern Oklahoma at 1 p.m. on Sunday. Harding heads into the weekend with a 1-8-0 overall record and a 1-0-0 GAC record.
Harding
Harding will play its next five games at home.
Harding is coming off a 2-0 non-conference loss at Northeastern State on Tuesday. It was the final non-conference game of the season.
The Lady Bisons won their last GAC game 6-1 at Ouachita Baptist last Thursday. It is the most goals Harding has ever scored against the Tigers. It was also the most goals the Lady Bisons have scored in a Great American Conference game and the most in a conference game since the Harding beat Christian Brothers 6-1 in 2007. Junior midfielder Audrey Adkison had three goals and two assists to lead the Lady Bisons.
The Lady Bisons are 0-5 at the home this season.
Harding is led Adkison who has five goals and three assists on the season. Junior midfielder Adair Schmidt has two goals for Harding and junior Ashley Sampson and sophomore Averie Albright each have one goal.
The Lady Bisons are averaging 12.1 shots per game and 1.00 goals per game.
Harding is coached by Dr. Greg Harris who is in his 14th season at the helm.
Southwestern Oklahoma
Southwestern Oklahoma, located in Weatherford, Okla., has an enrollment of 4,845. The Bulldogs head into the game with a 1-6-1 overall record and a 1-1-0 GAC record.
Southwestern Oklahoma is coming off a 1-0 GAC win against East Central last Saturday. It was their first win of the season.
The Bulldogs are 0-2-0 on the road this season.
They are coming off a 3-game homestand.
Southwestern Oklahoma, who won the GAC regular season and tournament championship last season, is led by freshman midfielder Olivia Butler who has two goals and one assist. Freshman midfielder Shelley Mueller also has two goals for the Bulldogs.
The Bulldogs are coached by Mark Persson who is in his fifth season at the helm. Persson is 54-42-9 in his career at Southwestern Oklahoma.
Southwestern Oklahoma leads the series between the two teams 8-5-0. The Bulldogs are 7-1 in the last eight meetings. Harding's last win came last season in Searcy as the Lady Bisons won 1-0 off a Larkin Hatcher goal.
Northwestern Oklahoma
Northwestern Oklahoma is located in Alva, Okla., and has an enrollment of 2,233. The Rangers are 4-2-2 on the season and 0-0-1 in the GAC. Northwestern Oklahoma will face Ouachita Baptist on Friday in Arkadelphia before Sunday's matchup.
The Rangers tied East Central 1-1 and then fell to Southern Nazarene 2-0 in their only GAC contests this season. Both games were at home.
Northwestern Oklahoma is 3-0-0 on the road this season.
The Rangers are led by junior forward Leidiane Capobianco who has five goals which is tied for the most in the GAC. She also has one assist. Junior midfielder Jessica Lynch leads the GAC in assists with six.
Northwestern Oklahoma is coached by Kasey Mahaffey who is in her third season at the helm.
Harding leads the series between the two teams 4-0-0. The Lady Bisons are 3-0 in Searcy. Harding won 2-1 last season in Searcy. Senior midfielder Anne Fitzgerald had a goal and an assist in the game.
