LINCOLN, Neb. (August 30th, 2024) - Nebraska Wesleyan women's soccer is set to kick off the 2024 season with a pair of games in Illinois this weekend. The Prairie Wolves will take on Principia College on Saturday, August 31st, and Illinois College on Sunday, September 1st.
LOCATION, GAME TIME, LIVE STREAM & LIVE STATS
Nebraska Wesleyan will play Principia College in Elsah, Illinois, on Saturday, August 31st. The game is scheduled to begin at 5:30 p.m. Principia will
live stream the game and carry
live stats. Following Saturday's game, Nebraska Wesleyan will travel to Jacksonville, Illinois, to face Illinois College on Sunday, September 1st. Game time is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.. Illinois College will
live stream the game and carry
live stats.
ABOUT THE PRAIRIE WOLVES
Nebraska Wesleyan returns 13 players from last year's team, three of whom started all 16 games.
Faith Forehand,
Payten Smith, and
Bryce Melis finished 2023 with 10, 6, and 5 shots, respectively. Forehand also scored the go-ahead goal in Nebraska Wesleyan's 3-1 victory over Illinois College. As a team in 2023, Nebraska Wesleyan averaged 0.81 goals per game and allowed 2.44 goals per game. The Prairie Wolves took 118 shots in 2023 and finished the season with 65 shots on goal, good for a .551 shots on goal percentage. Additionally, Nebraska Wesleyan had eight assists.
HEAD COACH KEVIN LEBAHN
Kevin Lebahn is set to begin his second season as the head coach at Nebraska Wesleyan. During 2023, the Prairie Wolves finished 2-12-2. Prior to joining the Prairie Wolves, Lebahn worked as a men's soccer assistant coach, goalkeeper coach, and women's assistant soccer coach at Iowa Western Community College. In 2021, Lebahn helped the Iowa Western men's soccer team win the NJCAA Division I national championship.
RISING STAR
Sophomore
Averie Hike burst onto the scene as a freshman, leading the Black and Gold in goals with four and finishing second on the team in shots on goal with 19. Her stats earned her an All-Conference honorable mention selection, making her the first freshman Prairie Wolf to earn the honor since 2018. Hike is poised to have an even bigger year in 2024 and looks to help the Prairie Wolves find consistent success.
NEBRASKA WESLEYAN SOCCER HISTORY
Nebraska Wesleyan has won seven conference championships since the program began in 1993. The Prairie Wolves hold a 292-232-35 all-time record.
SCOUTING THE PANTHERS
Principia College went 2-12-1 in 2023, finishing seventh in the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. Principia averaged 1.07 goals per game and allowed 2.20 goals per game. The Panthers took 113 shots in 2023 and finished the season with 61 shots on goal. Principia also had 11 assists.
SERIES HISTORY AGAINST PRINCIPIA COLLEGE
Saturday will mark the second meeting between Nebraska Wesleyan and Principia. Nebraska Wesleyan won the only prior matchup 1-0 on September 5th, 2014.
SCOUTING THE LADY BLUES
Illinois College went 7-9-2 in 2023, finishing sixth in the Midwest Conference. Illinois College averaged 1.94 goals per game and allowed 2.17 goals per game. The Lady Blues took 245 shots in 2023 and finished the season with 117 shots on goal. Illinois College also had 16 assists.
SERIES HISTORY AGAINST ILLINOIS COLLEGE
Sunday will mark the fourth meeting between Nebraska Wesleyan and Illinois College. Nebraska Wesleyan has won each game in the series, including last season's 3-1 victory in Lincoln.
