Thursday, Aug. 31

SWOSU (0-0) at #5 Central Missouri (0-0) | Live Stats

Saturday, Sept. 2

SWOSU (0-0) at Southwest Baptist (0-0)

Setting the Scene:

- The Bulldog Soccer team takes the field for the first time this regular season against No. 5-ranked Central Missouri, taking on the Jennies on Thursday, Aug. 31 at 3pm in Warrensburg, Missouri

- Two days later on Saturday, Sept. 2, the Dawgs will take on Southwest Baptist in Bolivar, Missouri to conclude the weekend road trip

- Last season, SWOSU captured the regular season Great American Conference Championship by compiling a 9-3 league slate and allowing them to host the conference tournament on their home field

- Both matches the Dawgs played in the postseason came down to dramatic penalty kicks, advancing past Southern Nazarene in the semifinals before finally falling to Harding in the championship and ending the season

The Coaches:

SWOSU: Mark Persson (80-59-15; 9th season)

- Since taking over the program in 2009, Persson has amassed a 80-59-15 record, becoming the all-time winningest coach in program history

- Persson has now led the Bulldogs to three regular season Great American Conference crowns and two GAC Tournament championships in the last five years

- A two time All-Conference Coach of the Year, Persson holds a 46-27-7 record in GAC play

- He has coached three All-Americans, 16 All-Region players, and numerous All-Conference players during his time in Weatherford

UCM: Lewis Theobald (172-27-18; 11th season)

- Theobald enters the 2017 season as the second-winningest active coach in Division II women's soccer with an .834 winning percentage

- He has coached 13 All-Americans, 42 All-Region selections, and 92 All-Conference players

- In 10 seasons as head coach, his UCM squad has finished first in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association Conference standings nine times

SBU: Megan Link (9-26-1; 3rd season)

- The 2015 season was the first season Coach Link was head coach of Bearcat Women's Soccer

- In that season, she led her team to a fifth place finish in conference and saw seven players receive All-Conference honors including two receiving All-Region honors

- Prior to SBU, Link was an assistant coach at Quincy University for the 2014-15 season

- Link also played professional soccer in 2013 for Afturelding Football Club in Iceland's Premier league

The Opponents

Central Missouri (0-0)

- Central Missouri finished last season with a 21-2 record, winning the MIAA Conference Championship and Tournament and advancing to the NCAA Soccer Tournament where they beat Central Oklahoma and Fort Hays State before falling to Grand Valley State for the second-consecutive year

- Since first playing SWOSU in 2005, UCM is now 4-0 all-time against the Bulldogs after defeating the Dawgs by a score of 3-0 in 2016

- Jennie's goalkeeper Ana Dilkes returns to the team after allowing just six goals in 23 games last season with 17 shutouts

- UCM's leading goal scorer in 2016, Jada Scott, enters her junior season after scoring 16 goals last season

Southwest Baptist (0-0)

- The Lady Bearcats are coming off of a winless 2016 campaign, finishing 0-17 overall and last in the MIAA

- SWOSU defeated SBU 4-0 in Weatherford a year ago, bouncing back from their loss against UCM

- The Dawgs are now 1-0-1 all-time against Southwest Baptist, with the first contest between the two in 2006 ending in a tie

Bulldog Facts

- The Bulldogs were picked to win the GAC in 2017 in the preseason coaches poll, acquiring four first-place votes out of a possible seven

- SWOSU returns 17 letterwinners from the GAC Championship team a year ago, including all but one starter

- The Dawgs must replace two-time GAC Goalkeeper of the Year Courtney Flores, but bring back D2CCA All-Americans Alimata Rabo and Sandra Nabweteme

- Erica Brunet and Olivia Butler also return, having garnered All-Region recognition in 2016

- Nine players in 2016 earned all-conference nods, one fewer than the school record set in 2015

Looking Ahead

- The Bulldogs play their first home match of the season on Thursday, Sept. 7 against Central Oklahoma at 4 pm

- The first Great American Conference game is Sept. 19 at home against Northwestern Oklahoma State