RUSTON – The Bulldogs (1-6-1) return to Ruston for the first time in five matches to host the Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks (1-4-2) at The Mack on Thursday, September 11 at 7 p.m. CT. This will be the first time the two sides take the pitch together in 14 seasons.
 
Game Information
Date: Thursday, Sept. 11
Time: 7 p.m. CT
Where: Ruston, La.
Opponent: Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks
Venue: Robert Mack Caruthers Field
Watch: ESPN+
Stats: LATechSports.com/stats

Series Info
Record: SFA leads 4-2-1
Last time: September 9, 2011 – T, 1-1 (2OT) – Ruston
 
LA Tech is coming off a down stretch going 0-5 on their first road trip of the season, being outscored by a combined 13-0. The 'Dogs' stretch of five matches without a goal tie for the third-longest streak in program history and is the second time in as many seasons the Bulldogs have suffered such a sequence.
 
The Bulldogs are unbeaten at home against the Lumberjacks in their three all-time meetings in Ruston. Tech defeated SFA, 2-1, in 2006 before posting a 2-0 clean sheet two seasons later. In 2011, the two sides ended in a 1-1 draw following a double overtime period.
 
Previewing the Lumberjacks
Stephen F. Austin enters Thursday's contest with a 1-4-2 record under first-year head coach Ashley Whittemore. This is her second stint with SFA after she spent a season as an assistant for UTSA following her first departure from Nacogdoches, helping lead the Roadrunners to a Conference USA Tournament title and an appearance in the NCAA tournament.
 
While she was an assistant for SFA, Whittemore saw the Lumberjacks to a pair of runner-up appearances in the Southland Conference Tournament in 2018 and 2019 before being crowned champions in 2020. She also helped lead the program to a divisional title in SFA's first season as members of the Western Athletic Conference while also finishing as tournament semifinalists.
 
Taylor Dodson is the lone multi-goal scorer for the Lumberjacks this season while SFA has six separate goal contributors thus far. Alexis Miller and Brielle Buchanan each have dished two assists to combine for four of the team's seven.
 
Logan Heausler leads the team with 14 shots and is tied for the most with Buchanan with seven on target. Heausler is also one of three players with at least 10 shots alongside Buchanan and Miller.
 
The back line for SFA is on a hot stretch right now, not having allowed a goal in their previous three contests. Following a 5-1 loss at Texas State, the Lumberjacks notched their first win of the year over UTEP, 1-0, in El Paso before etching in back-to-back clean sheets in front of the home crowd against Texas A&M and Houston.
 
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