Nicholls soccer returns home for two conference matchups

After being faced with a prolonged road-trip that included six straight games away from
home over the span of a month, the Colonels will finally play a game at home. On Friday at 4
p.m., the Colonels will face the University of the Incarnate Word in a Southland Conference
matchup. The Colonels will be home for another conference game on Sunday, as they play
Abilene Christian University at 1 p.m. The Colonels are 3-5 on the year and 0-1 in conference
play heading into the weekend.

In head coach Mac McBride’s first year coaching the team last year, the Colonels’
preformed much better at home compared to on the road. They posted a 5-2- 1 home record,
much better than the team’s 1-6- 1 road mark.

“This is a team that does better at home, there’s no question. The record speaks for
itself,” McBride said. “It’s nice to play around your friends and family and in an environment
that you’re comfortable with. There’s no comparison between playing home and away.”

Junior midfielder Haylee Atwell explained that home field advantage helps the team out
in more ways than people think.

“Traveling on the road all the time really wears us out. We’re excited to be home, the
people that come and watch us really pump us up. It’s always better to play at home, no matter
the circumstances,” said Atwell.

Incarnate Word comes into Friday’s matchup with a 1-5 record and 0-1 conference record
on the season. The Colonels lost last year’s matchup by a score of 3-0.

“Incarnate Word generally plays three up top (strikers), they play with a lot of energy.
Two players in their attacking third are technical and athletic. There’s a player that can work
without space and a player that’s dynamite with any kind of space, so that will obviously effect
the way we defend those individuals,” said McBride about the matchup.

Sunday’s opponent Abilene Christian is 3-5 on the season and 1-0 in conference play.
Nicholls has struggled with this team in the past, going 1-3 in the past four matchups against the
school.

“Abilene Christian has been one of the strongest teams in the conference for the past
couple years and they had a good result last weekend. It’s always hard playing Friday then
Sunday, so the Sunday game will be a little bit tougher obviously,” explained assistant coach
Danny Free.