CLINTON, S.C. – As is the case for the majority of the team's pre-Big South slate, the Presbyterian College women's soccer club will hop between home and away designations over their next two encounters in a similar manner to their first pair last week. On Friday night at Martin Stadium, the Blue Hose will face in-state foe Columbia International before a return trip to Georgia two days later to meet GSU in Atlanta.

Still trying to shake the monkey off their back in consecutive 1-0 losses to Furman and Kennesaw State, neither one telling the full story of PC's stout offensive desires, head coach Brian Purcell's unit searches for their first W of the young year tomorrow under the Clinton lights versus CIU.

The Georgia State duel on Sunday will be streamed live via ESPN+, Presbyterian's lone matchup on the schedule against a Sun Belt opponent. All in all, the setting for PC's appearances will not remain the same back-to-back until mid-September.
 
GAMEDAY INFO – FRIDAY, AUGUST 25
Presbyterian (0-2) vs. Columbia International (0-0) – 7:00 PM (Martin Stadium)
LIVE STATS - StatBroadcast
 
GAMEDAY INFO – SUNDAY, AUGUST 27
Presbyterian (0-2) vs. Georgia State (2-0) – 6:00 PM (Atlanta, Ga.)
WATCH – ESPN+
LIVE STATS - StatBroadcast
 
SCOUTING THE OPPONENT – COLUMBIA INTERNATIONAL
 
- Making the short drive from the Palmetto capital, CIU will traverse to Martin Stadium for the first time since Presbyterian entered the NCAA's Division I echelon in 2007. The Rams will approach their season-starter with fairly high expectations on the back of a nine-win spurt last fall that included six shutouts at the NAIA level.

- The school's first-ever women's soccer director and longest-tenured head coach at Columbia International, Kara Lail (entering year nine) guided her squad to an NCCAA South Region Championship appearance in 2022 and a 2-0 victory over fifth-seeded Carolina University in the National Championship's pool play stage.

- While the Rams were only able to muster a sole win away from their home turf, CIU made up for the discrepancy with 32 assists on 35 goals for an average of nearly two strikes per game.
 
SCOUTING THE OPPONENT – GEORGIA STATE

- While the Panthers (much like the Blue Hose) have another bout in front of them before they can set their sights on each other, GSU figures to be a major obstacle in PC's path if the club's first two decisions are anything to go by.

- Awaiting a Thursday date with Mercer, Georgia State has outscored their first pair of challengers by an added difference of 15-0. That lopsided margin included a 12-0 record-breaker over South Carolina State in the '23 opener and another shutout over Murray State four days ago.

- GSU made their way to the Sun Belt Tournament semifinals for the fifth consecutive time last November, falling in a 1-0 barnburner against James Madison to end a 9-7-5 campaign. The Panthers' conductor since 2016, Ed Joyce has his roster firing on all cylinders halfway through a four-match home streak to begin the season.

- Freshman midfielder Aaliyah Faddoul immediately seized the moment in her first week with the program, named the Sun Belt Player of the Week on Tuesday behind a four-score tally and an additional assist for good measure.

- Sunday will denote the third year in a row that PC has encountered the Panthers, hoping to put a pause on GSU's momentum following a 1-0 loss in Clinton last September. In that defensive-minded affair, the deciding blow came in the 69^th minute on a penalty kick scenario.
 
LAST TIME OUT
 
- While Presbyterian currently sits on an 0-2 mark in the infant stages of the semester, it hasn't been for a lack of exertion and well-executed sets on the offensive end. In the aforementioned losses to the Paladins and Owls, coach Purcell's group is only minus one in the shot department (22-21) against a pair of quality opponents.

- The opening breaths of the 2^nd period have been the area where the Blue Hose witnessed the match's turning point, conceding a haphazard score in the 55^th minute against Furman and in the first 30 seconds of the half on Sunday at Kennesaw.

- Despite a number of near-misses in trying to even the odds following either of those sequences, PC has been unable to salvage a tie or gain a W at this point. That fact is unlikely to remain true in the near future, considering Presbyterian's efficiency in ball control during their first two matchups.