MONTGOMERY, Ala. --- The Auburn Montgomery women's soccer team will travel to Georgia to face Clayton State on Thursday, then return home to host Newberry College on Sunday in what will be the school's inaugural games as full-fledged NCAA Division II members. 

Match Information: Clayton State Lakers 
Date: Thursday, Sept. 5
Time: 1 p.m. (CST)
Location: Morrow, Ga. | Laker Field
Media Coverage: Live Stats | Video

Match Information: Newberry College Wolves
Date: Sunday, Sept. 8
Time: 1 p.m. (CST)
Location: Montgomery, Ala. | AUM Soccer Complex
Media Coverage: Live Stats | Video

About the Warhawks 
AUM will enter their first season as a full-fledged NCAA D-II member with a roster that features 13 returners and 10 newcomers, including freshmen Julia Pack and Helena Torres who were tabbed as the top newcomers in the Gulf South Conference Preseason Release. 
 
The Warhawks will look to build on an encouraging end to the 2018 campaign, where they were winners of three of their last four games, including a 5-0 win at GSC foe Union and a 4-1 win at Albany State to close out the year. 
 
The Orange & Black will return the bulk of the lineup from a year ago, including senior forward Ruby Mendez. Mendez led the way for AUM in 2018 with 19 goals and five assists to finish with 43 points. 
 
The San Jose native finished the year as the unofficial leader in points for the GSC. Mendez also garnered Preseason All-GSC team honors, marking the first time in school history a player had been awarded a GSC accolade since being awarded full-fledged NCAA D-II membership.
 
The Warhawk offense returns 85 of the 107 points AUM registered in 2018, including Mayson Jaindl and Allison Singleterry who finished second and third on the team with 18 and nine points respectively. 
 
Trinity Prater and Allison McCrimon will look to lead the Warhawk's defense into the new year. The Birmingham, Ala. natives managed to limit opponents to one goal scored in the last two games to end the 2018 season and contributed to three shutouts overall. 
 
Senior leadership figures to be a factor for the Orange & Black in 2019 as four seniors will look to leave their mark on the program in a positive fashion. Prater, Singleterry, Mendez, and Torai Slaughter all enter their final season at AUM. 
 
The Warhawks will also rely on a class of 10 incoming freshmen for significant contribution in 2019. Goalkeeper Chloe Kistler, along with defenders Rachel Reed, Torres, Gaby Walker and Brianna Yurkovich will help anchor the AUM defense. Emily Cruce, Faith Hayes and Pack will add depth to the midfield, while Jasmyn Jones and Milian Mollison will serve as scoring threats at the forward position for the Orange and Black.

About the Lakers
Clayton State begins the season with a rematch from 2018's season-opener in which they defeated AUM 5-3. The Lakers will feature a roster that has just six upperclassmen and six freshmen. The team will also be returning leading scorer and senior defender Manoly Baquerizo who paced the Lakers with 21 points. 

A year ago, Clayton State finished the season with a 6-6-4 record, including a 3-5-2 record within the Peach Belt Conference. The three-win total earned them a berth in the PBC Conference Tournament and set a date with Columbus State who defeated the Lakers 4-0 in the first round. 

CSU competed against four GSC schools in 2018, defeating the Warhawks on opening night, and capturing a 1-0 victory over the Valdosta State Blazers. Clayton State was also able to earn draws against West Georgia and Montevallo.

The Lakers were able to take care of business at home with a 4-2-1 record, but struggled away from Morrow, netting a 2-4-1 road mark. The PBC tabbed Clayton State to finish eighth in the conference in 2019, earning 52 points from the coaches. 


About the Wolves
Newberry will look to improve upon a 2018 season that found themselves left out of the South Atlantic Conference Tournament. The Wolves had an encouraging non-conference season but struggled in conference play with a 2-7-1 record. 

The SAC tabbed Newberry to finish ninth in 2019, earning 37 points from the SAC's coaches. The Wolves will open the season against GSC opponent Spring Hill on Sept. 6, before traveling to the AUM Soccer Complex to take on the Warhawks on Sept. 8. 

Wolves senior forward Daphne Heyaime garnered Preseason All-SAC honors and was the only representative from Newberry to make an appearance on the first or second-team. Heyaime finished the 2018 season with 12 goals and three assists and led the team with 27 points. 
 
Newberry's roster features just three seniors and will welcome 10 new freshmen to the 2019 roster. The Wolves will also return the majority of their scoring contributors, including Salley Slice's 22 points. 
 
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