JAG SOCCER EDGES WARHAWKS ON STRIKE FROM BRIANA MORRIS
MOBILE, Ala. – University of South Alabama sophomore Briana Morris scored late in the first half to give the Jaguars the only offense they would need in a 1-0 win over Louisiana-Monroe Sunday afternoon at The Cage.
USA wins for the fourth time in its last five outings to improve to 4-4-1 on the year, while ULM falls to 0-9-1.
GAME FACTS
-The Jags outshot the Warhawks 22-1 in the first half, and put 10 of those shots on goal
-Morris' goal came at 40:42 off an assist from senior Chelsea Followwell
-Followwell found Morris in space, and Morris dribbled to just inside the 18-yard box before pulling the trigger
-Sophomore Kory Dixon put two of her three attempts in the first half on goal, and had a cross ricochet off the crossbar
-The Jaguars recorded the first 14 shots of the contest
-Dixon found herself in a 1-on-1 situation with the goalkeeper just over eight minutes into the second half, but her attempt was saved
-ULM's final shot of the day – which was blocked – came at the 57:39 mark
-The Jaguars' Justice Stanford made one save to pick up her second clean sheet of the season; Brooke-Lynn Scroggins made 13 saves for the Warhawks
NOTES
-Morris' goal was the first of her career
-Followwell is fourth among active players with 12 assists
-The Jaguars improved to 15-0 all time vs. the Warhawks
-USA is 2-3 in one-goal games this season
-South Alabama is 17-2 in its last 19 1-0 games
-The Jaguars have started 2-0 in Sun Belt games in each of the last four seasons, and are 31-5-2 in league play since the start of the 2014 campaign
-USA's 34 shots and 14 shots on goal are season highs in both categories, and the 34 attempts are the most by the program since 2014
-South Alabama has scored first and outshot its opponent six times in its last seven contests
-The plus-32 shot differential is USA's largest since outshooting Alabama A&M 50-6 in 2013
THEY SAID IT
Head Coach Richard Moodie
Overall thoughts on the game: "The stats say it all – I thought we were pretty comfortable, but we have to capitalize on chances. It was a great performance, and it was good to see Bree get on the scoresheet. It's Sunday football; we're out here, we're grafting and they're so tired but we get the result. We got a clean sheet, which is a positive, a new scorer, which is a positive, so we'll take it and move on."
On the performance of the midfield: "You look at a Danielle (Henley), a Chelsea and a Selma (Björgvinsdóttir), they've played almost every minute of the last two games. You ask them if they want to come off and they say 'No, I want to keep going.' It's great to have that attitude. When we moved the ball in the first half, we looked really good and were comfortable in possession. When we get into that kickball and that scrappy stuff, like the other teams, it's very difficult. When we play our game, we're good."
On Morris' goal: "When we made the decision to put her on, we just needed a change, some fresh legs and someone to go after it. She practiced well yesterday and she deserves a chance; she's done a great job for us. I think she sends a message to the kids on the bench. You come in and make the most of your time and she made the most of it. That's the sign of a true team performance, when someone comes off the bench and has that kind of impact on the game. I'm happy for her and that was a great goal."
UP NEXT
The Jaguars wrap up their three-match homestand next Sunday against Georgia State at 1 p.m.
A-State Rolls to 4-1 Victory Over Troy
JONESBORO, Ark. (9/17/17) – Behind a two-goal performance from freshman Sarah Sodoma, the Arkansas State women’s soccer team defeated Troy 4-1 Sunday afternoon at the A-State Soccer Park.
The Red Wolves (5-3-0, 1-1-0) never trailed in the game, but were pressured by the Trojans (3-6-2, 1-1-0) in the second half until Sodoma was able to score twice to put the match out of reach.
Troy closed the margin to 2-1 in the 71st minute on a goal by Kate Lorenz that was crossed to the near post and kicked backwards for a deflection off the post and into the goal. The Trojans continued to move bodies forward after the goal, which opened opportunities for A-State to attack on the counter and it paid off in the 85th minute when Sodoma took a pass from Hailey Furio and put it into the net on a first-touch kick.
The play was setup by Bailey Reed who intercepted a free kick into the Troy scoring area and found Furio in space, which allowed Sodoma to find angle to work in.
The Manchester, Mo., native scored again in the 88th minute when Julianna Coates sent a clearance out of her own box to the middle of the field and Sodoma tracked it down and out ran two defenders for her fifth goal of the season.
“Our counter really didn’t start working until the score was 2-1, but that had a lot to do with what they were doing,” A-State head coach Brian Dooley said. “They had to start bringing people forward at that point and that created space in the back and I think our kids found our runners about as effectively as they could.”
The Red Wolves struck in the 15th minute when Bailey Reed sent a long pass from behind midfield to freshman Maggie Ertl who was able to fight off a defender and then took a great angle on her kick to beat Mikki Lewis in goal for an early 1-0 lead.
A-State scored again in the 32nd minute when Reed and Olivia Smith worked together to get Furio a wide open look in front of the net for a 2-0 lead. Reed setup Furio by sending a pass to Smith just inside the scoring area and Smith sent it on to Furio who found herself unmarked in front of the goal.
“I think we certainly elevated our game after some of the adversity we faced Friday and we just decided that wasn’t something that we were going to let define us,” Dooley said. “I think the second goal we scored may have been one of the better goals that I have ever seen. We had beautiful moment all the way around and it happens because the kids are listening, watching film and the staff is preparing this team as if every game is the most important one and that’s the way it should be.”
Arkansas State’s four goals were the most it had scored in a Sun Belt Conference game since Oct. 20, 2012 when it scored five in a victory over Florida Atlantic.
The Red Wolves return to the field Friday, Sept. 22 for a home matchup with in-state foe Little Rock. Kickoff is set for 4 p.m. from the A-State Soccer Park.
Chants Bounce Back to Defeat Texas St.
CONWAY - Coastal Carolina women's soccer team got back in the win column with a 1-0 victory against Texas State Sunday afternoon at the CCU Soccer Stadium.
The win improves the Chants' record to 6-3 overall and 1-1 in Sun Belt action, while the loss drops the Bobcats to 3-4-1 overall and 1-1 in conference.
Texas State pushed the action early but the Chanticleers countered with a push down the left side of the pitch. Sunny Sigurvinsdottir found a streaking Daniella Famili, who then fed Kayla Christian just inside the right side of the box. Christian punched a shot by a diving Heather Martin for the eventual game-winning tally in the 10th minute.
In a match on paper, the advantage was all to the Bobcats as they out-shot CCU 15-to-5 and held a 7-to-1 advantage in corners.
Coastal goalkeeper Rylee Atteberry thwarted all seven attempts that Texas State put on goal to preserve the victory. Key among the saves were several diving stops to allow the Chants to earn the shutout.
The Chanticleers return to action against Troy on Friday, Sept. 22, with kickoff scheduled for 6:00 p.m. From September 18-24, players and coaches are encouraged to wear the rainbow laces during matches and post on social media with the hashtag #PlayWithPride to promote their team's participation in Play With Pride week.
Mountaineers Grind Out 2-1 Victory at Georgia State
ATLANTA - After a double-overtime setback against South Alabama on Friday, Appalachian State University women's soccer (2-6-2, 1-0 SBC) bounced back in a big way with a 2-1 victory over Georgia State (2-6-1, 0-2 SBC) on Sunday afternoon at GSU Soccer Field.
Kat Greer's third goal of the season and second in as many contests couldn't have been more clutch, as she tapped the ball into the frame after the initial shot went behind Georgia State's goalkeeper. Taylor Ray stopped Georgia State's final chance to tie the match for one of her four saves.
Appalachian held on for the final 2:11 of the game, avoiding a 0-2 start to conference play while already off to a better start than last season. The Black and Gold didn't get their first conference win of the season until Oct. 2 in addition to Sunday's victory being the first road win of the season for the Mountaineers.
"Today was a true Sunday conference match," head coach Sarah Strickland said following the win. "Both teams battled for the entire match, and Georgia State was fantastic both on and off the field. They were challenging to defend, and they created some dangerous opportunities. This was a tough weekend of travel, competition, and recovery. I'm so proud of these girls for grinding out the win today."
Much like Friday's contest, the Apps got off to a strong start when Sharon Osterbind registered her second goal of the season just over 11 minutes into the match to put Appalachian up with a 1-0 lead. The Appalachian defense did a great job of containing GSU's offense allowing just two shot attempts in the opening stanza, resulting in the advantage at the break.
Georgia State didn't go away quietly as Yvonne Ploeg would tie things up with a goal of her in the 61st minute. The Mountaineers and Panthers went back and forth until Greer capitalized on her opportunity at the 86-minute mark.
Five of App State's eight shots were on target with Erin Settle firing off two attempts at the net, while Lindsey Tully chipped in with a shot on goal as well.
App State will return home next Sunday with a 1 p.m. home match against Troy for the first of back-to-back contests at Ted Mackorell.
Trojans Tie Cajuns 1-1 Following Late Louisiana Goal
LITTLE ROCK – Two seconds separated Little Rock from three crucial points in the Sun Belt Conference standings, but a Louisiana goal in the waning seconds forced overtime as the Trojans and Ragin' Cajuns battled to a 1-1 tie Sunday afternoon at the Coleman Sports Complex.
Little Rock took the early lead in the 36th minute off a goal by Arola Aparicio Gill, who maneuvered past a handful of defenders before burying a shot in the bottom right hand corner to give the Trojans the 1-0 lead.
Both teams had opportunities in the opening 45 minutes as Louisiana ended the first half with a 10-6 edge in shots as both goalkeepers registered a pair of saves.
The two teams upped their aggressiveness in the second half, but Little Rock always seemed to be a step too eager. The Trojans were whistled for nine offsides calls on the afternoon, including a handful which looked to lead to prime scoring opportunities.
The times the Trojans were able to get to the goal, Little Rock just missed on a number of shots. In the 78th minute, Jaclyn Purvine took a hard shot from the left side of the goal which deflected off the hands of the Louisiana goalkeeper – right to a waiting Sairra Tucker. But Tucker's shot was saved as well, keeping the score at 1-0.
In the 82nd minute, Purvine had another opportunity to add an insurance goal, sending a long shot from along the endline which slipped past the goalkeeper, but ricocheted off the inside post and bounced out.
Goalkeeper Megan Swanson had a solid day in net for Little Rock, setting a new career-high with nine saves on the afternoon, including a pair in the 69th minute to thwart two great scoring opportunities for the Ragin' Cajuns.
But in the final minute, Louisiana was awarded a corner kick with less than 20 seconds remaining. After the initial inbound, there was a fight for the ball at the top of the box, ending with Louisiana's Haley Boroch slipping a shot into the lower left hand corner of the net with two seconds remaining, sending the game to overtime.
Both teams had opportunities in the extra periods to pick up those two crucial points as Little Rock and Louisiana each had two shots in the first overtime period and three in the second, with another offfsides call on Little Rock negating a final chance to give the Trojans the victory.
Purvine lead the Trojans with five shots on the day, putting two of them on goal, with Quin Wilkes and Tucker both firing three shots each. Doro Greulich and Aparicio Gili each notched a pair of shots but Louisiana ended the day with a 24-18 shot advantage.
Little Rock now looks to regroup with a trip to Jonesboro Friday, taking on rival Arkansas State at 4 p.m. The Trojans will then return to Coleman for a three game home stand, beginning with a non-conference tilt against UT-Rio Grande Valley on Sunday, September 24 at 1 p.m.