Sunday, September 12
SOUTH ALABAMA SCORES EARLY, HOLDS OFF OLE MISS
OXFORD, Miss. – The University of South Alabama soccer team got a goal from junior Ashlynn Jones (Pickerington, Ohio) in the 10th minute, and despite being outshot 6-3 in the second half, picked up its third consecutive shutout, defeating Ole Miss 1-0 Sunday at the Ole Miss Soccer Stadium.
All three clean sheets have come by the same 1-0 score with freshman Justice Stanford (The Colony, Texas) in goal. The Jaguars improve to 5-2-1 on the year, while the Rebels fall to 4-4.
"I thought the girls were excellent tonight," USA head coach Graham Winkworth said. "We had a gameplan and felt we could play soccer against this team. We weren't going to put up a wall in the same sense that we did against Florida State. We wanted to attack them, but at the same time, we wanted to attack them in a sensible, conservative manner and keep possession. To be honest, even when we were under pressure from their players at times, we didn't panic and managed to keep the ball. Credit to the girls for playing soccer when the game was pressurized and close.
"I thought one group that played well after not having a strong couple of weeks was our forwards. They worked a lot harder today in maintaining possession and getting on the end of that first ball. Rather than turning into trouble, I thought they did a lot better holding the ball up and bringing the midfield into play. It really enabled us to get into the final third. A lot of credit to them as well."
Unlike Friday, where South Alabama had to score in the final moments to pick up the win, Jones goal – the team's second-earliest of the season – put the pressure on Ole Miss to equalize.
"They came back at us after we scored a goal – they hit the post – but other than that, Justice had to make one save and the others were relatively routine," Winkworth stated. "Our backline has been phenomenal – we have three 1-0 wins in a week against a team that reached the Sweet 16 and another against the No. 1 team in the nation. For us to be that strong defensively and limit the easy chances that our opponents are getting, just emphasizes how well our back four and team are defending."
Freshman Alexis Jordan (Mesquite, Texas) picked up the assist after streaking down the right sideline with the ball and centering it to the top of the six-yard box. Jones hit it first time on the half volley past the Rebel goalkeeper at 9:26.
"I felt Alexis caused them problems the whole game," Winkworth said. "She's so athletic and they played a 3-5-2 against us where we were able to double up against them in a 2 v 1. Alexis was able to get outside all day. If we were a bit more clinical in the final third, we could've had two or three from her crosses. She had a phenomenal game and I'm really pleased with her."
USA threatened several times in the first half, putting four of its six shots on target and forcing Marnie Merritt to make some key stops, including a diving save on junior Danielle Henley (Hattiesburg, Miss.) at the seven-minute mark.
"We weren't very accurate with our shots on Friday night and when we play teams like Ole Miss, you're not going to get that many opportunities so you do need to put them on target," Winkworth said. "We created good chances as well. The shot count isn't always a fair judge of how the game goes because if we got on the end of some of these crosses that were rolling across the six, the shot count would've been much higher and they would've been good opportunities as well."
Jones shared team-high honors with Henley with three shots, but put all three of hers on net, including the game winner.
Ole Miss had six attempts after halftime, but only two hit the target, and South Alabama had all three corner kicks in the second period.
Stanford reduces her season goals against average to 0.25 after making five saves. She had recorded a clean sheet in three of her four career appearances, and the team has won three consecutive 1-0 games for the first time in school history.
"The defense has been extremely organized and played confidently," Winkworth said. "They've put headers in when they've needed to, covered each other and their positioning has been fantastic. They're learning the way each other play. We've got two freshmen starting in the back four, a sophomore that didn't start last season, and another sophomore – two sophomores, two freshmen and another freshman behind them in goal. It's a very young backline, so the fact that they're doing so well against the best teams in the country is remarkable. Hopefully their confidence is booming as we enter a new season next week."
Merritt had four saves and allowed the one goal.
The Jaguars move on to Sun Belt Conference play next, hosting Georgia Southern Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m.
Appalachian State Falls in Heartbreaker to No. 22 TTU
BOONE, N.C. — Appalachian State University women’s soccer pushed No. 22 Texas Tech to the limit on Sunday afternoon but was unable to complete the upset, falling 2-1 on a second-half own goal in the 76th minute.
“Today was the end of non-conference and Phase One of our season,” head coach Sarah Strickland said. “I am so proud of how these young women battled today and for the exciting opportunities we created. Texas Tech is a well-coached, nationally recognized contender that we knew would both challenge our speed of play and potentially help our RPI. Sarah Peatross showed what hard work and commitment are about by all of her repetition of set pieces and the finish she had on the direct kick. Lindsey Tully held the backline together and Sam Steyl came away with some huge saves. We found some areas we need to fix but I believe we are ready to compete and are exciting for the weekend ahead.”
The Mountaineers (5-3) battled from the beginning, keeping up the high-energy Red Raiders (6-1-1) on the pitch. To start, Texas Tech was able to get more opportunities on the goal, putting up a 9-4 shot advantage. But it would be App State who would strike first off a free kick by Sarah Peatross curved around the TTU goalkeeper in the 44th minute.
Appalachian was limited to just seven shots on the day, three of which were on goal. Lindsey Tully and Jane Cline led the way with two shots each, while Cline, Erin Settle and Peatross all finished with one shot on goal.
In the net for the Mountaineers was Sam Steyl. Steyl played the entire 90 for App and made save after save through the first 60 minutes, finishing with five on the day.
Helping lead the defensive line was Tully and Aubrey Fletcher, while Jackie Nieradka and Emmily Cowie helped contain the midfield and Sarah Moon once again provided key energy off the sidelines.
Texas Tech would equalize the match in the 61st minute when Gwennie Puente got out on a breakaway from a cleared App corner.
The Mountaineers begin conference play next weekend when they go on the road to face Troy on Friday, Sept. 16 at 7 p.m. and Sun Belt newcomer Coastal Carolina on Sunday, Sept. 18. The kickoff for the Sunday match is 1 p.m.
RAGIN’ CAJUNS NIPPED ON ROAD BY BULLDOGS, 2-1
STARKVILLE, Miss. – Jamila Coner snapped a 1-1 tie with a goal in the 55th minute and Mississippi State edged the Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns women's soccer team, 2-1, on Sunday at the MSU Soccer Field.
Louisiana (4-4), which was playing in its final non-conference tuneup before opening Sun Belt Conference play next week, tied the match 1-1 in the 43rd minute on a goal deep inside the box from senior Mackenzie Higgins, her eighth of the season. Junior Ashleigh Cade was credited with her sixth assist of the season.
Coner scored her first goal of the season for Mississippi State (5-3) after getting an assist from Mallory Eubanks. Eubanks gave the Bulldogs a 1-0 lead earlier in the match when she scored her second goal of the season in the 22nd minute on a breakaway goal.
"The plan today was to get after them and I really felt like we did," head coach Scot Wieland said of his team's performance against MSU. "I'm proud of them and the game could have gone either way."
Cosette Morche recorded six saves for the Ragin' Cajuns, who have won three of their last four matches. Tanya de Souza had five saves for the Bulldogs.
"Next weekend the season starts," Wieland said. "So, all of these games including today is all about working up to next weekend's conference start. Today was another opportunity for us to get better and I felt we did that and now the real season starts."
Louisiana begins Sun Belt Conference play when it hosts Georgia State on Friday, Sept. 16 in a 7 p.m. match at the Ragin' Cajuns Soccer/Track Facility.
Two First Half Goals Push Chanticleers Over Jacksonville, 2-0
Jacksonville, Fla. - Two first half goals by Amber Adams and Melanie Flatter powered the Coastal Carolina women's soccer team to a 2-0 victory over Jacksonville Sunday afternoon.
The victory improves the Chanticleers to a 3-3-1 record overall before the team begins conference play. Jacksonville, meanwhile, fell to 2-5 overall on the season.
Coastal outshot Jacksonville 21-17, including an 11-4 shot advantage in the first half. Adams closed the game with four shots, including two on frame, while Daniella Famili and Ambria Shutts each tallied three. Becca Austin earned her third win of the season while recording her second shutout on the season.
Adams tally came in the seventh minute mark to push the Chanticleers ahead. Famili ignited the play sending a ball in from the right flank to find Adams head directing it on frame between Jacksonville's goalkeeper legs for the go-ahead goal.
Just over the 20 minute mark, the match was sent into a lightning delay with play to resume after 30 minutes. Following the lightning delay, the Chanticleers returned to the pitch continuing its momentum.
The Chanticleers doubled its lead to 2-0 in the 30th minute as Melanie Flatter smashed one in the back of the net. A cross from Sam Patterson found Flatter who collected the ball eight yards from the goal line and pounded it home. This was Flatter's first career goal as a Chanticleer.
Jacksonville's best opportunity came late in the second half when Austin was drawn out of the box allowing the Dolphin's offensive to get in behind sending a cross into the box but Hanna Johannsdottir was there to block the shot off the line.
@AStateSoccer Downs MVSU 3-2
JONESBORO, Ark. (9/11/16) – The Arkansas State women’s soccer team enjoyed it’s biggest offensive output of the season in a 3-2 victory over Mississippi Valley State at the A-State Soccer Park Sunday afternoon.
The game was scoreless after the first 45 minutes of play, but saw a flurry of action at the start of the second half that resulted in five goals in a 20 minute span before things cooled off and the Red Wolves (2-2-2) returned to their sound defensive efforts to close out the match.
Mississippi Valley State struck first with a goal off the foot Laadi Issaka just 46 seconds into the second half, but A-State answered less than a minute later when Arianna Delli Carpini was fouled inside the 18-yard box and scored on the subsequent penalty kick to tie the game at one goal apiece.
“I think we had a good response after they scored,” A-State head coach Brian Dooley said. “I thought it was critical that we responded quickly and we had talked about being more aggressive at halftime and Arianna did a great job of taking her defender on in that situation and we got a positive result out of it which is what we had been wanting in the first half.”
Arkansas State scored again in the 48th minute when Annica Karlsson connected on her second goal of the season thanks to a misplayed clearance by the Mississippi Valley State defense. Taylor Schneider kicked the ball into the box to far post and the Lady Devilettes failed to clear the kick, which allowed Karlsson to collect the rebound and put it into the back of the net to give her squad a 2-1 advantage.
Schneider scored the Red Wolves’ third goal of the game in the 52nd minute when she put home a header off a corner kick from Tayler Carter to the far post. The goal would prove to the game-winner because Mississippi Valley State would score again in the 62nd on a penalty kick by Mariana Balbao to close the deficit to 3-2.
The Red Wolves had multiple chances to extend their lead down the stretch and had six corner kicks in the final 30 minutes, but failed to successfully convert them into goals. The best chance came in the 68th minute when Carter hit the head of Kat Padgett with her kick, but the header sailed into the hands of the MVSU goalkeeper for an easy save.
“We let up after getting the two goal lead and they took advantage of that,” Dooley said. “We made a mistake and gave up a bad penalty by being over aggressive defensively and credit Mississippi Valley State because they continued to push us and made us play hard for the entire match.”
Arkansas State will open Sun Belt Conference play against league newcomer Coastal Carolina Friday, Sept. 16. The game is set to kickoff at 5 p.m. (CT) and the CCU Soccer Stadium. Following the match the Red Wolves will travel to Troy, Ala., to take on the Trojans Sunday, Sept. 18 at 1 p.m.
Warhawks Down Cowgirls To Finish Non-Conference Slate
Lake Charles, La. – ULM senior Kylie Kukowski buried goal off of a header early in the second half and it proved to be enough for ULM as they would go on to win 1-0 over McNeese on Sunday.
THE TURNING POINT
In the 53rd minute, Alexandria Skidmore put a corner kick in the area for Kukowski to head it in for the goal which proved to be the difference in the game.
NOTABLES
-Kukowksi’s goal was her first on the season and the fourth of her career on Sunday.
-Sunday was also Kukowski’s second career game-winning goal, with the first coming on Aug. 25, 2015 against Arkansas-Pine Bluff.
-Brooke-Lynn Scroggins had her third solo shutout of the season on Sunday. With that shutout she moved into a tie for fifth place all-time with three other Warhawks for shutouts in a season.
-Sunday’s matchup was the 21st all-time meeting between two squads. ULM’s victory gives them their first win over the Cowgirls in their last 11 tries before today they had lost their previous eight and tied two since the Warhawks last win over McNeese State.
RHODES SCORES GAME-WINNING GOAL IN 2-0 WIN OVER LIONS
HAMMOND, La.- The Georgia State women’s soccer team closed out the non-conference portion of the regular season with a win on the road, defeating SE Louisiana 2-0. Freshman Erin Rhodes scored her first career goal which proved to be the game winner.
The Panthers opened the match strong, taking eight shots in the first half. Rhodes scored her first career goal in the 34th minute off an assist from senior Alexis Thomas. Rhodes led the team in shots with five, three of which were on target.
Georgia State came out of the half ahead 1-0 with the Lions, and concentrated on the defensive side of the ball. The team took just five shots in the second half, with SE Louisiana outshooting the Panthers 14-13, but holding them out of the net
Redshirt-junior Brie Haynes led the defensive effort with nine saves, tying her single-game career high for saves. Haynes secured the fifth shutout of the season for Georgia State.
Junior Kylie Ruffule put GSU ahead of the Lions 2-0 in the 46th minute, scoring off an assist from sophomore Caitlin Ray. Ruffule took three shots during the match while Ray took four.
“We’re very happy to come back with a win, especially after two lightning delays,” head coach Ed Joyce said. “I thought the girls showed a lot of maturity today in how they played today. I’m excited for Erin to have scored the game-winner and for Kylie to have her first goal this season. They both have worked very hard and it’s nice to see it pay off.”
The Panthers will open their conference schedule on the road at UL Lafayette on Sept. 16 at 8 p.m. Live stats will be available at GeorgiaStateSports.com.
Little Rock Rebounds from Early Deficit for Win
LITTLE ROCK – The Trojan soccer team recovered from a very early deficit and went on to beat Kansas State 2-1 at the Coleman Sports & Recreation Complex on Sunday afternoon.
The Wildcats' Haley Sutter scored a goal just 63 seconds into the game off a Trojan defensive miscue, but the Trojans (5-3) got the tying goal from Jaclyn Purvine 27 minutes later and the game-winner from Harrison Hayworth in the 79th minute.
Purvine's goal came off a scramble in the box. A loose ball popped out to Caitlyn Eddy, and she redirected the ball back toward the center of the box where Purvine was waiting to strike. The goal was her team-leading third of the year.
Hayworth got the game-winner with 11 minutes remaining, picking up a loose ball near the top of the box after a Kansas State defender deflected it into that area. With no one in front of her, Hayworth beat Wildcats keeper Miranda Larkin to lead the Trojans to victory.
Sara Small earned her third win of the season, making two saves. Little Rock outshot Kansas State 13-5 overall and had a 7-3 edge in shots on goal.
The Trojans are set to begin Sun Belt Conference play next weekend, starting with a trip to San Marcos, Texas, on Friday. Little Rock and Texas State will kick off at 7 p.m.
Kondikokff Nets Lone Goal in Bobcats’ 1-0 Victory
SAN MARCOS, Texas – Freshman Jordan Kondikoff tallied the lone goal of the game late in the first half as the Texas State women's soccer team defeated Northwestern State 1-0 Sunday afternoon at the Bobcat Soccer Complex. The goal was the first of the Mesquite, Texas native's collegiate career.
The Bobcats close out their non-conference slate with a 3-4-1 record while the Lady Demons are now 3-4-0 overall. With the win, Texas State also snapped a five-game winless streak.
Through the first 10 minutes of the game, Kira Zapalac had two shot attempts. The first went right at the NSU goalkeeper and the second was a header off a corner kick that sailed over the crossbar.
Kassi Hormuth had a solid shot on goal in the 15 minute. However, the ball went straight to the keeper for an easy save.
With nearly four minutes left in the first half, Kondikoff received a short pass from Clarissa Leon about 40 yards from the goal. The freshman dibbled down the field and sent a rocket of a shot past the goalkeeper into the left, upper portion of the goal. Also getting credited with an assist on the play was Taylor Allen.
Hormuth had another great look midway through the 53rd minute but the ball flew over the crossbar.
Texas State had another great opportunity to add to the lead in the 73rd minute. Kelly Barbalias took a long crack at goal. The ball went straight at the goalkeeper, who then mishandled it and nearly got away from her.
NSU first really challenge of the game in the 79 minute when April Trowbridge out dribbled the Bobcat defenders down the left sideline. She was able to cut into the box to send a shot past a diving Kathryn Budde and across the face of the goal. Thankfully it went wide of the right post for a goal kick.
A little more than two minutes later the Lady Demons got a free kick from about 15 yards out. The attempt of goal bounced off the wall of Texas State players for a corner kick. Camila Ardila was able to get a foot on the corner but sent it wide right of the net.
The last opportunity that Texas State had to add some cushion to the lead was in the 86 minute when Kondikoff found Leon on a through ball. Leon's ensuing shot rocketed past the left post for a NSU goal kick.
Less than a minute after Leon's shot, Ardila got a shot off from the top of the penalty box that went straight to Budde for an easy save.
Hormuth and Zapalac both attempted a game-high three shots. Maddie Nichols took two shots and five other Bobcats had one attempt apiece.
Freshman Heather Martin made a save in the first half to earn the win. Budde made two stops to preserve the shutout during the final 45 minutes.
The Bobcats open up Sun Belt Conference play on Friday when they host Little Rock at 7 p.m.
Troy Soccer Edged by No. 1 Florida State
TALLAHASSEE, Florida – Top-ranked Florida State scored 52 seconds into overtime to edge out a 1-0 victory over Troy at the Seminole Soccer Complex on Sunday.
The Trojans defended well allowing just three shots to challenge goalkeeper Mikki Lewis in regulation. Kiersten Edlund put the only shot on goal for Troy.
In the first minute of overtime, Florida State's Kristen McFarland chested in the game-winner off a headed pass from Kirsten Crowley.
MOMENT THAT MATTERED
Troy survived a scare in the 57th minute when Florida State's Megan Connolly hit the crossbar on a shot from the top of the penalty box. It was just the second clear chance on goal the Seminoles had in the game.
QUOTABLE
"I'm extremely proud of how our girls battled today," head coach Jason Hamilton said. "We took one of the best teams in the country to overtime at their place and we are going to walk away with our heads high; that is a big confidence booster heading into conference play.
No. 14 South Florida Defeats Eagles, 2-0
STATESBORO, Ga. – The Georgia Southern women's soccer team fell 2-0 to nationally-ranked South Florida on Sunday afternoon. USF, an offensive powerhouse, scored their only two goals in the first half of the match. GS held the Bulls scoreless in the second half but the Eagles were not able to score, falling to 3-3-1 on the season. This match wrapped up a tough set of preseason games for Georgia Southern, and the team will travel to UL Monroe on Thursday to begin Sun Belt play.
MATCH FACTS
South Florida (7-0-0) – 2
Georgia Southern (3-3-1) – 0
SCORING
24' – USF - Evelyne Viens runs down the left side of the field and crosses to Gudrun Sigurdardottir, who shoots from 5 yards out and scores her first goal of the season, putting the Bulls up 1-0.
28' – USF – Freshman Evelyne Viens fights off GS defenders and sinks a shot from 15 yards out to extend the Bulls lead.
NOTES
- Freshman goalkeeper Lauren Karinshak (3-2-1) made five saves while going the distance between the pipes.
- GS senior forwards Jennifer Wittick and Melinda Lukas both recorded two shots on the day for the Eagles. Senior Taylor Burns, freshman Marcela Montoya, and junior Sarah Price each recorded one.
- Bulls freshman forward Evelyne Viens, who recorded a hat trick in USF's match against Jacksonville on Thursday, scored her 7th goal of the season in the 28th minute of the contest.