ROLLA, Mo. – With just two weeks to play in the regular season, Missouri S&T's women's soccer team heads to the road seeking to work its way into one of the top eight spots in the Great Lakes Valley Conference standings with games against two teams at the top end of the list this weekend.

The Miners will face GLVC leader McKendree Friday in a 5 p.m. game in Lebanon, Ill., before returning to the St. Louis area on Sunday to take on Maryville in a noon contest.  Maryville currently sits in a tie for second place in points in the conference standings with 19 as play begins this weekend, one point in back of McKendree.

S&T, meanwhile, is in ninth place with eight points based on its 2-4-2 GLVC record and is three points behind Drury and Missouri-St. Louis, the teams that currently hold the final two playoff spots in the GLVC.  The Miners got closer to that duo after beating UMSL 3-2 last Friday in Rolla in their only contest of the week.

In that game, Ally Hasken (Freeport, IL/Freeport) scored all three goals for the Miners – she currently leads the team in goals with those three and in points with six – marking the first time since 2011 that a Miner scored three times in a game.  Her performance netted her the GLVC's Offensive Player of the Week award, making her the first S&T player named on the offensive side in eight seasons.

Sydney Gratz (Geneva, IL/Geneva) has two goals and an assist on the year, while Andersyn Foster (Belleville, IL/Althoff Catholic) has a goal and two assists for four points.  Viktoria Johnson (Granite City, IL/Granite City) has posted a 1.66 goals against average and 40 saves in 977 minutes of playing time.

ABOUT THE OPPONENT: McKendree currently leads the GLVC with 20 points and brings records of 10-0-3 and 6-0-2 in the GLVC into Friday's contest.  One of the Bearcats' three ties came against Missouri S&T when the teams played to a 1-1 draw in Rolla on Sept. 9.  McKendree is ranked 12^th in the latest United Soccer Coaches poll.

The Bearcats have blanked their last five opponents behind the goalkeeping of Abby Tucker, who has a 0.40 goals against average that ranks eighth in NCAA Division II.  Anna Stiffler leads McKendree with nine goals and 19 points on the year, while Destiny Johnson has three goals and three assists for nine points.

Maryville comes into the week at 7-2-4 overall and 5-0-4 in the GLVC for its 19 points, as it is tied with Rockhurst for second place in the points standings.  The Saints are unbeaten in their last nine games after downing Southwest Baptist 1-0 on Sunday in Bolivar, Mo.

Goalkeeper Katie Nash has a goals against average of 0.39 that ranks seventh in the nation, while Ashlyne Hunt leads the Saints with seven goals on the season.  Lexi Gentry has scored four goals and has added three assists.