LEXINGTON, Va. – Looking to bounce back after a loss to Furman, the VMI women's soccer team travels to face rival The Citadel Thursday at 12 p.m. at Washington Light Infantry Field in Charleston, South Carolina. Originally scheduled for a 3 p.m. kick, the game has been moved up due to incoming weather concerns associated with Hurricane Helene.
   
Junior Riley Boucher and sophomore Barrett Callejo lead the VMI attack with five and three goals, respectively, on the season. Four others have scored solo goals on the year as the Keydets look to earn their first conference win of the season.
 
Last Time Out
The Keydets (4-5-1, 0-2) went into halftime with Furman tied at 1-1 after sophomore Barrett Callejo put in an equalizer midway through the opening period. Furman pulled away in the second half, however, by scoring four unanswered goals throughout the half to earn the conference win.
 
About the Bulldogs (4-4-2, 0-2)
The Citadel owns a similar record to the Keydets as both squads look to earn their first league win of the 2024 campaign. The Bulldogs also opened the season with a 3-0 record as they toppled UNC Asheville, Winthrop and South Carolina State for a strong start. After a 1-1 tie with Gardner-Webb and commanding win over Toccoa Falls, the Bulldogs have lost four of the last five matches, including a scoreless tie with Charleston Southern. The Citadel is coming off conference losses to ETSU and a hard-fought 4-3 defeat to Wofford as the teams combined for seven goals in the latter half of their game this past Sunday.
 
Ariana Paez and Chloe Washington lead the Bulldogs with four goals apiece on the year while Elisa Fuentes has contributed three. Eleina Bryant, Maggie Melogy and Reagan Wise each have a pair of scores this season.
 
In the goal box, Zoe Santos has seen the majority of minutes (769:00) including nine of 10 starts and has allowed 19 goals for a 2.22 goals-against average. She has logged 41 saves for a .683 save percentage and has earned two shutouts this season.