Aug. 29, 2009
JONESBORO, Ark. -- The Louisiana Tech women's soccer team will travel to Jonesboro, Ark. for their first road game of the season as they will take on Arkansas State Sunday at 1 p.m. at the ASU Soccer Park.
LA Tech enters the match against the Red Wolves with a 1-0-0 record following Friday's postponement versus Grambling State due to inclement weather. Arkansas State last played Aug. 22 and earned a 4-1 win over Central Arkansas in their only match of the season thus far.
Tech head coach Kevin Sherry knows Sunday's match is going to be a challenging one for his young team.
"Arkansas State is very strong, both mentally and physically," Sherry said. "They are a difficult team to break down, and it will be a test for us especially with the match being on the road. This match will be the type of game that helps prepare us for conference play. It will be an intimidating atmosphere. We will need to adapt to be successful."
Kiva Gresham currently leads the Lady Techsters in points. In the Techsters' season-opening victory at the Lady Techster Soccer Field, Gresham scored the team's first goal of the year and also recorded an assist.
The Lady Techsters and Red Wolves have faced each other two times with Arkansas State holding the only victory. In 2004, they defeated LA Tech 2-0 in Jonesboro during the Techsters inaugural season. In Ruston, two years later, the two teams concluded the match with a 0-0 draw.
Arkansas State welcomed back 16 letterwinners from their 2008 squad. Sophomore forward Kara Nitti returns after scoring six goals and adding an assist in her freshman season. Anna Kaloughirou, who accounted for two of her team's goals in its season-opener against Central Arkansas, will join Nitti as a forward on the front line.
"Our more experienced players are going to have to step up and lead by example for our freshmen to follow," Sherry said. "We will probably play a particular counter attack system in order to defend Arkansas States' direct style of play and have the mind set to change the system, if we needed."
For complete coverage of Lady Techster Soccer, please visit the official home of LA Tech Athletics at LATechSports.com.
