DALLAS, Texas -- Northwestern State coach
George Van Linder will experience a homecoming of sorts when the Lady Demons head to Southern Methodist for a 1 p.m. kick on Sunday.
Van Linder enjoyed some of his greatest coaching success at SMU, appearing in three NCAA tournaments in his four seasons (1999-2002).
He led the Mustangs to an NCAA Sweet 16 in 1999 and won four regular season Western Athletic Conference titles en route to a 59-20-7 record at the school.
"SMU was wonderful and I have close friends on SMU's staff," said Van Linder, the 2000 WAC Coach of the Year. "It will be emotional for me from that standpoint.
"They are very competitive, and I'm competitive. We definitely want to battle and win that one. They are a good program that's played strong teams and have strong results. A win in that game would be a huge thing for us and would be another highlight to this season. We need to have a victory like that going into conference play."
Though NSU (3-3-1) didn't record a result Friday against Texas State because of lightning and a resulting power outage at the Demon Soccer Complex, the Lady Demons surely want to improve their performance. Texas State led 3-0 with 11 minutes left in the first half.
But NSU could wash away that memories of that match -- much like its result -- with a positive result against SMU (2-3-1).
The Mustangs beat Southland Conference member Sam Houston State 3-1 in their last match that's capped a tough slate so far. SMU has losses to St. Louis (5-0), Kansas (2-1) and Maryland (2-1) with ties against Missouri (1-1) and RIce (1-1).
NSU boasts its own tie against a Southeastern Conference opponent with a 1-1 draw at LSU, and the Lady Demons played a scoreless half with then-No. 5 Texas A&M in a 3-0 loss.
NSU freshmen still lead the way in scoring, accounting for 16 of the Lady Demons' 20 goals. Freshmen forwards
Kayleigh Phillips (four goals) and
Brittany Caserma (three goals) top the scoring charts.
For SMU, junior Paige Jacobs and sophomore Lauren Guerra are tied for a team-high three goals as part of SMU's 12 total goals.
Van Linder has coached against SMU twice before since leaving the Mustangs, losing both matches while at the Baylor helm.
