(LEBANON, Ill., Oct. 6) – The McKendree University women's soccer team will wrap up a short three-game home stand this weekend with a pair of conference matchups. The Bearcats will host Missouri S&T on Friday night at 5 p.m. and will conclude the weekend against Drury University on Sunday at noon.

McKendree enters the weekend with an overall record of 8-3 and a 5-3 mark in the GLVC. McKendree registered another shutout victory last Friday as they defeated Lewis 1-0 before snapping their three game winning streak with a loss to University of Wisconsin-Parkside 3-0 on Sunday. The Bearcats played their final non-conference matchup of the year Tuesday evening. McKendree would register their six shutout of the season thanks to a 3-0 victory over Lindenwood-Belleville. Tim Strange's squad have won four of its last six matches and continues its run at making the Great Lakes Valley Conference Women's Soccer Championship for a third time in a four-year span.
 
SCOUTING THE MINERS: Missouri S&T comes to Lebanon with a 2-6 overall record and 2-5 mark in the GLVC. The Miners snapped a five-game losing streak last weekend with a 1-0 win at Maryville University on Sunday. Freshman Kayla Foster currently leads the Missouri S&T in scoring with three goals, while junior Julie Bride has tallied a goal and two assists. In between the posts Karen Nightingale picked up her first shutout of the year with five saves against the Saints. The senior goalkeeper has recorded 38 saves this season while seeing all 725 minutes of action.

Last meeting:  September 27, 2015. McKendree trailed the host Miners after allowing a goal in the 16th minute, but tied the match as Cassie Kaiping (Waterloo, Ill./Waterloo) would record her first goal of the season from 25 yards out. Despite outshooting S&T 15-9 in a contest that saw double-overtime, McKendree would finish the match in a 1-1 tie.

All-Time Record vs. S&T: 2-4-1
 
SCOUTING THE PANTHERS: Drury University enters the weekend at 3-6-1 overall and 1-6-1 in conference play. Drury went 0-2 last weekend in conference play with losses to Maryville and UMSL at home. Despite offensive struggles the Panthers have seen success against the Bearcats, out scoring McKendree 30-5 in the all-time series which dates back to 1993.  Kerri Morris leads Drury with two goals and one assist while Gabbe Millot leads the team with two assists.  Drury will travel to Springfield, Ill. on Friday to take on the Prairie Stars before its match against the Bearcats on Sunday.

Last meeting: September 25, 2015. Drury shutout the Bearcats for the sixth time in program history with a 3-0 victory in Springfield, Mo. Both squads took just eight shots each with six shots on goal for the Panthers and five for McKendree. Kerri Morris was a force to be reckoned with as she tallied goals in the 8th and 60th minutes in the Panther victory.

All-Time Record vs. Drury: 1-8
 
HOME SWEET HOME:  Home field advantage has been the story of season for the Bearcats. McKendree posts an impressive 6-1 record at Leemon Field, which is the best start at home since the 2012 season when they posted the exact same home record 11 matches into the season. The only loss at home this year came to Truman State University in an early Saturday morning match. The Bulldogs would find the back of the net in the second half in route to a 1-0 victory. Including this weekend's matches, McKendree has three home games remaining. Senior Day festivites will take place on Friday, October 21 when the Bearcats host University of Southern Indiana at 5 p.m.

CONFERENCE AND NATIONAL LEADERS: Sophomore Sydnee Carroll (Millstadt, IL/Belleville West) continues to display her offensive skills at the conference and national level. Carroll currently leads the GLVC in goals scored with 10, which also ranks 10th in nation. Nationally, Carroll leads all NCAA Division II scorers with five game-winning goals. Carroll is also eighth in NCAA Division II with 23 points.

Other statistical leaders include Chelsea Whittaker (Dunedin, Otago, New Zealand/St Hilda's Collegiate School), who is fourth in the conference with five assists. Freshman goalkeeper Zoe Brochu (Ajax, Ontario, Canada/Pickering ) is fifth in the conference with 50 saves and second in shutouts with five.

GLVC TOURNAMENT WATCH: McKendree has passed the mid-way mark of GLVC play as they currently sit in fifth place of the current GLVC standings. The top eight teams in the conference will advance to play in the 2016 GLVC Women's Soccer Championship. Quarterfinal matches will be played on October 30 at the highest seed before the final four will play at Carroll Stadium in Indianapolis on November 4 and 6.

THIS DAY IN BEARCAT HISTORY: October 7, 2005.  Known as McKendree College at the time, the women's soccer program would pick up a 2-1 victory over Maryville University. At the time McKendree was a part of the NAIA while Maryville compteted at the NCAA Division III level. McKendree would out-shoot the Saints in the contest by a 31-7 margin. Troy, Ill.  native Jenna Shellenberg netted a pair of goals in the victory giving her 10 goals on the season. The win would be a part of a 12-match win streak, which was snapped during the NAIA National Championship in a second-round loss to No. 1 seeded Martin Methodist University.