STEPHENVILLE, Texas – The Tarleton State women's soccer team will begin its second season of competition against ULM on Thursday night at the Tarleton Soccer Complex.
Thursday's match will be streamed on ESPN+, and stats will be provided by StatBroadcast found on the Tarleton Sports website. After the match, players will be available to sign autographs. Poster schedules and Sharpies will be provided.
The Texans return 10 of their 11 starters from their final match last season.
Kiki Baurmann is the only non-returning starter who graduated in the spring. Tarleton in total is returning 17 student-athletes from its inaugural team and has added seven freshman for this year's slate.
Last season,
Mila Bettinelli led the team with eight goals and 17 points and subsequently was named to the WAC All-Freshman Team. Bettinelli became the first Texan to earn a postseason honor from the conference. In addition to Bettinelli, 12 individuals were selected to the WAC All-Academic team.
In goal,
Mikayla Kendall served as the primary keeper for the Texans in 2022. The Orange, Calif., native, held a 1.91 goals against average in 16 games. She recorded 60 saves and notched six wins in net.
Head coach
Pete Cuadrado and his staff are ready for their second competition season as a group. Cuadrado is in his 21
st year of coaching and has totaled 174 total wins across his tenure.
ULM started last season undefeated in non-conference play, holding an 8-0-1 record heading into its Sun Belt slate. The Warhawks finished the season eighth in the league following a 2-6-2 Sun Belt performance. The Warhawks won their exhibition match, 2-0, at McNeese State last weekend. Mara Grutkamp scores a pair of goals assisted by Skylar Blaise on both.
Lousiana-Monroe's top attacker, Inge Konst, returns for her junior season. In 2022, the Netherlands native tallied a team-high eight goals and added three helpers for 19 total points a top-10 mark in the conference. Mara Grutkamp led the team with six assists, the second-most in the Sun Belt.
The Warhawks retain their primary goalkeeper from last season, Mikaela Leal. Leal started 17 matches last season and totaled nearly 1,500 minutes in goal. She notched eight wins while maintaining a 1.50 GAA with 62 saves.
Will Roberts was named head coach over the summer and he will embark on his coaching career with his first career match on Thursday night. He served as the interim last season, but those games did not go on his record.
The two programs met during Tarleton State's inaugural season in Monroe. The Warhawks got the better of the Texans, 3-1.
Tarleton State will complete its first week of play with a Sunday home matinee against Texas A&M – Commerce. As always, entry to the Tarleton Soccer Complex is free.
