STEPHENVILLE, Texas – Tarleton State Soccer opens their third WAC season with a Family Weekend Saturday afternoon tilt against the Utah Valley Wolverines at noon on Saturday at the Tarleton Soccer Complex.
 
The game will be streamed on ESPN+ with Kyle Crews on the call. Live stats will be provided by StatBroadcast available on tarletonsports.com. Follow @tarletonsoccer on Instagram, X and Facebook for live updates, highlights and content.
 
Parking for the match will be in P17, the Tarleton lot across from Chamberlain elementary on North Garfield Avenue. Parking will not be allowed in Chamberlain Elementary as violators may be towed. ADA parking will be allowed in the normal lot adjacent to the field in the aquatics lot.
 
Last week, the Texans won their lone contest of the week in 2-1 fashion in Stephenville against Southeastern Louisiana. Tarleton tied its single season program record with six total wins. Kaitlyn Flanagan and Sam Liaty each notched their second goal of the season.
 
Goalkeeper Mikayla Kendall leads WAC goalies with 965 minutes played and ranks 46^th in the nation. She touts a 0.652 GAA which is second in the league and 46^th in the country. She has totaled 56 saves, the most in the conference and ranks 24th in the NCAA. Kendall is second in the league and 41^st in the nation with four shutouts. She also has two combined shutouts with fellow keeper Rylie Bloomfield. The junior is ranks 12^th among active D1 goalies with 5.26 career saves per game.
 
The Purple and White are 44^th in the NCAA in goal differential, +14 which also leads the conference. TSU ranks second in the WAC in total goals (19), shots on goal per game (6.92), points (456, fouls (7.25) and goals per game (1.75). The Texan goalkeepers rank 8^th in the nation and second in the WAC with a .894 save percentage. TSU ranks 26^th in the NCAA with a 0.583 GAA and second in the league.
 
The Texans are one of six teams in the nation to have at least 12 different goal scorers. Tarleton has the most goal scorers in the WAC. Last season, the Purple and White had 10 different scorers throughout the season.  In 2022, the Texans recorded 12 different goal scorers across the span of the entire year. Arkansas leads the nation with 17 different scores trailed by Iowa with 13. Tarleton State joins, Fairfield, Auburn and Duke with 12.
 
The Wolverines outscored their opponents, 9-2 last win in a pair of victories. UVU knocked off Weber State, 5-0 at home before a 4-2 road victory at San Diego State. Utah Valley did not receive votes in last week's polls after earning votes for five straight weeks (Aug. 10 - Sept. 20). Faith Webber anchors the Wolverines offensive attack again this season posting eight goals in 11 matches. She ranks ninth in the nation in goals. UVU starts their three-match road trip to begin their WAC slate against the Texans. Utah Valley owns the series, 2-0 including a 3-0 win in Stephenville last year. It will be the first time the two schools meet in the month of September.

Head coach Pete Cuadrado is in his 21st season as a collegiate head coach with Tarleton his third stop on his journey. He started his career at North Dakota State before spending time at Wyoming. During his career, he has amassed 183 wins, with 14 of those coming in the first three seasons of the Tarleton program.
 
Cuadrado retained both of his assistants from the previous two seasons and added a new face to the staff ahead of the 2024 campaign. Assistant coaches Rex Carrell and Delaney Castor will be on the sidelines for their third season, while Carrell was also a part of the building of the team in 2021, marking 2024 his fourth year with the program. Cuadrado added Stephenville native and retired professional soccer player Bailey Chaviers ahead of the season. Chaviers spent three years at The U, before heading overseas to play two seasons in Iceland. She then returned to the United State for the 2023 season but was injured during the preseason for the Chicago Red Stars.
 
Tarleton State will hit the road for three consecutive road matches. The Texans will travel to California Baptist and Grand Canyon next week before closing out its road slate at Seattle on October 12^th.