IUP Crimson Hawks vs. Edinboro Fighting Scots & Salem University Tigers
IUP Crimson Hawks (6-4-0, 5-4-0 PSAC West) vs. Edinboro Fighting Scots (7-2-2, 7-0-2 PSAC West), Salem University Tigers (1-9-0)
 
The Game
Game 11 | Wednesday, Oct. 16, 3 p.m. | IUP vs. Edinboro | South Campus Field | Live Stats | Twitter Updates
Game 12 | Sunday, Oct. 20, 2:00 p.m. | IUP vs. Salem University | South Campus Field | Live Stats | Twitter Updates
   
WEEKLY NOTES
 
CRIMSON HAWKS WELCOME EDINBORO AND SALEM TO TOWN
The IUP women's soccer team (6-4-0, 5-4-0 PSAC West) will take on PSAC opponent Edinboro this week before playing their final non-conference match of the season against Salem University on the weekend. The Crimson Hawks will open the week by welcoming the Edinboro Fighting Scots (7-2-2, 7-0-2 PSAC West) to Indiana on Wednesday afternoon. Kick off on Wednesday is set for 3:00 p.m. at the South Campus Field. The Crimson Hawks will then deviate from their usual Wednesday – Saturday schedule with a home contest against Salem University (1-9-0) on Sunday afternoon. The Crimson Hawks and Tigers will battle each other at 2:00 p.m. at the South Campus Field.
 
On the Pitch
>> The Crimson Hawks picked up their first road wins of the season, going 2-0 in their travels this past week. The Crimson Hawks opened the week with a night match against the Clarion Golden Eagles which saw tIUP earn a 2-0 win over the home side. The Crimson Hawks then played spoiler on Saturday, defeating the Cal U Vuclans 3-1 on the Vulcans homecoming weekend.
>> The Crimson Hawks victory on Saturday helped to push IUP's current win streak to three matches in a row.
>> The IUP women's soccer team picked up six points thanks to their wins over Clarion and Cal. Those points helped the Crimson Hawks to jump from sixth place in the PSAC West at the beginning of the week to fourth overall. The Crimson Hawks now sit just one point back of Mercyhurst in third place.
>> This week's first opponents Edinboro currently sit second overall in the PSAC West with 23 points. Like the Crimson Hawks they are just one point back of the team in front of them (Slippery Rock), meaning that both sides will be looking to continue to climb the division ladder with a win.
 
Last Time Out
>> The Crimson Hawks suffered a frustrating defeat to the Fighting Scots when the two sides met earlier in the season in Edinboro.
>> The Crimson Hawks were on the wrong end of a 2-1 score line in that match.
>> Mahogany Willis scored a late goal for IUP in that game.
>> When the Crimson Hawks and Tigers faced each other last year in West Virginia the Crimson Hawks escaped with a thrilling 3-2 overtime victory.
>> After a scoreless first half in last year's meeting the Crimson Hawks and Tigers each scored two goals in the second half.
>> Last year's match required a monumental comeback from the Crimson Hawks after IUP went down 2-0 to the Tigers in the second half.
>> Mahogany Willis started the comeback for IUP with a goal in the 68^th minute, before then scoring a late winner in the 101^st minute of overtime.
>> Defender Megan Woodworth picked up an assist on Willis's first goal last year.
>> Goalkeeper Maria Tunney posted a career high 13 saves to earn the victory.

Series History
>> The Fighting Scots have proved to be one of IUP's toughest opponents over the last decade.
>> The Crimson Hawks are 3-9 in their last 12 meetings with the Fighting Scots.
>> IUP is 2-3 against Edinboro in the past four seasons.
>> The Crimson Hawks and the Tigers met for the first time last year.
>> IUP is undefeated when playing the Tigers thanks to their win last season.
 
Not in Our Conference, Not a Problem
>> The Crimson Hawks have enjoyed a massive amount of success when facing non-PSAC opponents in the past nine seasons.
>> IUP is 15-3-3 against non-conference opposition in that time frame.
 
Banishing Their Road Woes
>> After starting the year 0-3 on the road, the Crimson Hawks reversed that trend with authority this past weekend.
>> The Crimson Hawks are now 2-3 on the road, to compliment their impressive 4-1 home record.
 
Spreading the Wealth
>> The Crimson Hawks offense featured four different goal scorers in the wins over Clarion and Cal U.
>> Mahogany Willis, Alayna Ryan, Taylor Karan, and Mya Hilliard all found the back of the net for the Crimson Hawks.
 
When She Scores IUP Wins
>> Midfielder Mya Hilliard netted the game-winning goal for IUP on Saturday against the Vulcans.
>> That goal was the third of her IUP career, all of which have been game-winners.
>> Hilliard's two previous goals came during the 2017 season. Hilliard scored the lone goal in IUP's 1-0 win over East Stroudsburg that year, before then scoring the gam-winning goal in overtime against Gannon later in the season. 

New Season New Records
 >> Despite being just a little over halfway through the season, multiple members of the IUP squad are approaching, or have already set, new personal statistical records this year.
>> Thanks to her goal and two assists this past week Mahogany Willis now has 25 points this season, just 4 points away from the 29 that she recorded as a freshman.
>> Defender Makenzie Witzel recorded an assist against California on Saturday to increase her points total on the year to 3, a new career high for her for points in a single season.
>> Forward Taylor Karan has also set new personal bests for both goals (2) and points (5) in a single season just 10 games into the season.
>> With 74 saves so far this season goalkeeper Madeline Smakulski is just seven saves away from matching her career high for most saves made in a single season (81) set last year.  

Home is Where the Heart is
>> The Crimson Hawks have done an excellent job of making the South Campus field a fortress so far this season. IUP is currently 4-1 at home this year.
>> The Crimson Hawks have outscored their opponents 11- 5 when playing at home.

Willis Watch
>> Forward Mahogany Willis added a goal and two assists in the Crimson Hawks two wins this week.
>> Willis now has 11 goals on the year to lead the PSAC. She is tied for 6^th in the nation with that tally.
>> After scoring the game-winning goal against Clarion Willis now leads the PSAC with four game-winning goals this year.
>> Willis also leads the PSAC with 25 total points so far this season.
 
Keeping the Opponent in Check
>> The Crimson Hawks defense has managed to avoid getting into any high-scoring shootouts so far this year.
>> The Crimson Hawks are yet to allow their opponents to score more than one goal in their six wins.
>> The Crimson Hawks have shut out their opponents in three of their six wins, and have only conceded one goal in each of their other three wins.

Coaches
>> IUP: Adel Heder (19th year; 209-126-23)
>> Edinboro: Gary Kagiavas (24^th year; 226-180-39)
>> Salem: Theophilus Egbele (1^st year; 1-9-0)

Opponents
>> The Fighting Scots played Mercyhurst to a 0-0 tie in their most recent match on Saturday.
>> That tie extended Edinboro's current unbeaten streak to nine games.
>> The Fighting Scots are yet to lose a game to a PSAC opponent this season.
>> The Edinboro offense is led by Danielle Chatten and Brittnie Spithaler. Both players have 4 goals and 5 assets for a total of 13 points this season.
>> The Tigers lost to Pitt-Johnstown 6-0 in their most recent match, on October 9^th.
>> The Tigers will be coming off of an 11 day break when they face the Crimson Hawks on Sunday.
>> Salem has scored two goals this season. They came in a 2-1 overtime victory over Lincoln University.