Nicholls soccer hopeful this weekend’s road tip isn’t the last of the season

Although this weekend’s road trip is the last on the regular season schedule for the
Colonels, the team is hopeful it isn’t their last one. They have their sights set on taking another
trip to participate in the Southland Conference tournament in Corpus Christi, Texas, on Nov. 1st.

Nicholls, currently ranked seventh in SLC standings, is 5-8 on the season and 2-3 in Conference
play. The top eight teams in the conference at the end of the year will make the tournament.

“Hopefully it’s not (our last trip). We’re really hopeful that this will just be the last
regular season road trip,” said head coach Mac McBride. “We feel good about making the
playoffs still, we’ve got a good chance. We’re in a much better position than we were last (year).
I think two more wins would seal it for us.”

In this weekend’s matchups, the Colonels will travel to face Sam Houston State
University on Friday and Stephen F. Austin State University on Sunday. With both teams being
Conference opponents, this weekend looms large for Nicholls soccer. Luckily for the Colonels,
they are more rested up than usual, as they only played one game last weekend.

“After the McNeese game, we had a recovery weekend. I think that really helped because
we’re at the point in the season where everyone is just exhausted and our bodies are breaking
down. We refueled and look to take advantage this weekend,” explained junior midfielder
Haylee Atwell.

Sam Houston comes into the weekend with a 5-7 record on the season and a 2-4 record in
conference play, a similar record to the Colonels. The Bearkats are coming off a 3-1 victory over
Northwestern State University. The Colonels have taken the past two matchups between the
teams, including a 3-0 win last year.

Stephen F. Austin comes into Sunday’s match tied for fourth overall in the conference
with a 4-2 conference record and are 7-6 on the season. Last season, the Colonels defeated
Stephen F. Austin by a score of 1-0, their first win against the Ladyjacks since 2007.

“Both teams are good. It’s two very different teams, the styles are different and their
fields are even different; one is artificial and one is grass. Even the kickoff times are different.
One is under the lights on a Friday and the other is in the afternoon sun on Sunday. Really, we’re
going to have two very different approaches to each opponent,” said McBride.