EDINBURG, TEXAS – The University of the Incarnate Word women's soccer team travel South this weekend to participate in the UT-Rio Grande Valley Tournament.
The Cardinals will be playing the host on Friday at 7:30 PM and then play again against South Carolina State on Sunday at 11 AM. Also in the tournament but not scheduled to play against UIW is Southern University.
UIW is coming off a 2-0 exhibition victory against UTSA at home last Friday. Freshman forward
Emani Stewart (Victorville, CA/Hesperia HS) scored in the 26
th minute to the left post. Sophomore
Nikki Popa (San Antonio/Reagan HS) received a cross in front of the goal which she finished off a volley that went clear over the UTSA keeper in the 65
th minute to close out the game.
The Cardinals return nine starters from last year including juniors
Alexis Santos (Mesquite/North Mesquite HS) and
Abigail Koenigs (San Antonio/Brandeis HS). Santos finished her sophomore year as the second leading scorer for the Cardinals. Koenigs is coming back fully recovered from an injury last season and will be holding the midfield and pushing the ball forward. Last season's defensive backline is led by the experience of
Mikaela Noriega (Helotes/ Brandeis HS),
Kylie Allison (Bellevue, WA/ Sammamish HS), and
Ashley Crabbe (Finksburg, MD/Reagan HS), who was an honorable mention all-Southland Conference selection last year. Returning senior goalkeepers,
Heather Kowalik (Boerne/Champion HS) and
Karly Brightwell (Houston/Elkins HS), will be battling for the playing time in the net.
This will be the first UTRGV women's soccer tournament under their new moniker. Rio Grande Valley is the product of University of Brownsville and UT-Pan American merging into one university. UT-Pan American began women's soccer last season and went 8-9-4, including a win over the Cardinals. They return eight starters from last year.
South Carolina State went 3-14 last year and play in the MEAC. This will be the first ever meeting between UIW and SC State.
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