RIO HARDY, TRUTSI POWER SOCCER TO WIN OVER JACKSONVILLE STATE
MOBILE, Ala. – University of South Alabama senior Rio Hardy scored a brace and Tiina Trutsi had a goal and an assist in the Jaguars' 3-1 victory against Jacksonville State Sunday at The Cage.
USA (1-4) scored twice from the penalty spot to give head coach Richard Moodie his first win at South Alabama.
GAME FACTS
-Trutsi scored her team-best third goal of the season at 6:57 from the penalty spot, putting it in off the left post
-The Jaguars had nine shots before halftime, but hit the target just twice – once each from Trutsi and Hardy – other than Trutsi's penalty
-Jacksonville State equalized eight minutes into the second half when Danelle Lindo found Danielle Monroe with a long pass over the top and Monroe finished into the left corner
-Hardy wasted little time in putting the Jags back on top, converting from the spot at 55:07 after she was taken down in the penalty area
-JSU got off a pair of shots within three minutes of Hardy's tiebreaking goal, including one on net, but didn't threaten again the rest of the way
-In fact, neither team recorded a shot for almost 25 minutes until Hardy added an insurance goal with 3:46 remaining
-Trutsi chased down a pass in the corner from Ashleigh Pyle, evaded a defender, then found Hardy who headed it home at the edge of the six-yard box
-The Jaguars outshot the Gamecocks 15-6 and hit the target seven times
-Justice Stanford made a pair of saves for the Jaguars, while Caroline Robinson had four stops for the Gamecocks
NOTES
-Hardy's second goal of the day was the team's second during the run of play this season and first since the Florida State game on Aug. 20
-Trutsi has scored in three straight games, all from the penalty spot
-Trutsi is the first USA player to score in three straight games since Chardé Hannah in November 2015
-Four of South Alabama's six goals this season have been PKs
-Trutsi had one career goal coming into the season
-Hardy recorded the fifth brace of her career and first since Sept. 18 vs. Georgia Southern
-USA has won five of the last six meetings with JSU, including three straight
-South Alabama has 16 shots on goal in its last two games after recording 10 in its first three
-Trutsi has hit the target eight times in nine attempts this season
-Hardy moved into fifth place by herself at USA with 29 career goals, and passed Snowy Birgisdottir for sixth place in career points with 70
-Hardy also tied Rebecca Kahn in third place in career game-winning goals with nine
THEY SAID IT
Head Coach Richard Moodie
Overall thoughts on the game: "We were scrappy. We had to dig deep to win it, but the team found a way to do it. I'm really proud of their efforts and the performance. I thought everyone chipped in. We played with three left backs, and that's always difficult to do, but that's what Sunday football looks like. We had to be better than them today and we were."
On finally getting their first win: "We've competed with some of the top teams in the country. People can look at our record and see we're 1-4, but you have to look deep at the schedule and the teams that we've played and what we had to go through to get where we're at. To still be fighting, to still have the belief, to put in the performance we did on Friday against Alabama… they made today's game look easy and we were in their ear working hard. It's great to get a win because they deserve it, and truthfully, I think we could've had one or two wins up until this point, but we are where we are now. We're still very much in it and we don't want to be reading too much into things now."
On the team finally scoring during the run of play: "If we had to win every game by penalties, I'll take it. We're getting into dangerous positions, and if we don't get fouled, we score anyway, I think in the run of play. I was happy to see us score that third goal. Ashleigh Pyle getting forward, let Tiina get into the channel to cross it to Rio. It's a great goal and it's things that we work on in practice, so it's great to see it during a game."
On Trutsi's role in the third goal: "That was phenomenal, but she wasn't the only one working hard. If you ask her to do something, she will not let you down. We've got great seniors and great upperclassmen, and we just got done telling them that you don't need a captain's band to be a leader on this team. She's one that believes in the team and works hard for the team, and she'll do whatever you need her to do. She's a great leader, a great kid and a great example of what we're about here at South Alabama."
UP NEXT
The Jaguars return home Thursday to take on Southeastern Louisiana at 7 p.m.
Chanticleers Improve to 5-1 with 1-0 Victory
CONWAY - The Coastal Carolina women's soccer team defeated the Davidson Wildcats 1-0, Sunday evening at the CCU Soccer Stadium. The victory improves the Chants to 5-1 while the Wildcats fall to 1-4 on the season.
Both CCU and Davidson had trouble getting control of the ball early in the match before things settled down. The first half remained scoreless yet the Coastal was able to put up six shots to Davidson's two and took three corners to the Wildcats' one.
After the intermission Coastal kept applying the offensive pressure taking eight shots to three and two to nil in corner kicks.
The Chanticleers hit pay dirt when Brianna Oliver delivered a pass to the top left of the box to Kendall Parks, who punched the ball by a diving Wildcat goalie for what turned into the game's only goal in the 64th minute.
On the night Parks led the team with five shots and Elisabeth Rockhill put up two shots.
The win also pulls head coach Paul Hogan three shy of 100 total victories.
The Chants close-out a four game home stand on Friday (Sept. 8 at 6:00 p.m.) when they host the Dolphins of Jacksonville from the Atlantic Sun conference.
Furio's Late Goal Lifts A-State to Victory
JONESBORO, Ark. (9/3/17) – Hailey Furio’s goal with 29 seconds to go in the match propelled Arkansas State to a 1-0 victory over Central Arkansas Sunday evening at the UCA Soccer Complex.
As the final seconds of regulation ticked down, Furio chipped a ball to the upper back side from 25-yard out that was out of the reach of UCA goalkeeper Anna Hughes for the game-winning goal. Furio was setup on the play by a pass from Maggie Ertl in the center of the field with enough space in front of her to take the shot on goal.
“I can’t say enough about this team’s resolve,” A-State head coach Brian Dooley said. “Our backs were against the wall a lot tonight, but we never gave in and we stood our ground and we took our chances when they came our way and we were able to convert on one of those chances really, really late in the match.”
With the victory A-State improved its record to 3-2-0 on the year, while UCA fell to 2-4-0 in non-conference play.
UCA controlled much of the possession in the second half and appeared to have the upper hand in the final portion of the match. The Bears took a flurry of attempts that forced freshman goalkeeper Megan McClure to make consecutive saves to preserve the score.
McClure (1-1) made nine saves during her second career start. Perhaps her biggest save came in the 69th minute when the Bears got off three shot attempts on goal that she was able to keep from going into the net. She also stopped a shot in the 80th minute by Lauren Hargus to preserve the scoreless tie at that point in the match.
The freshman from St. Louis, Mo., made five saves in the first half and settled in after stopping three attempts in the match’s opening 20 minutes.
“I’m real excited and pleased with Megan and the way she was able to control this match,” Dooley said. “I thought she faced some tough situations at certain points, but she worked through them all and made the right decisions that kept us in the match and allowed us to find our way.”
Sarah Sodoma provided the Red Wolves with two scoring chances in the second half, including a breakaway that resulted in a one-on-one shot attempt against UCA goalkeeper Anna Hughes. Sodoma dribbled in on goal as Hughes (0-3-0) took her position in the 57th minute and stopped the attempt by the Red Wolves freshman. Sodoma also took an attempt in the 63rd that was stopped by Hughes.
Taylor Schneider also had two scoring chances, each on a header attempt. Her first came during the 8th minute of the match on a corner by Riley Ebenroth that was struck right at the UCA goalkeeper. Schneider again sent a header in off a corner kick in the 61st minute that was cleared away before it could cross the end line.
UCA out shot A-State 16-13 on the night, but the Red Wolves held a 7-3 edge in corner kicks. UCA also made four saves in goal, while A-State tallied nine stops.
The Red Wolves return to the field for their final non-conference match Friday, Sept. 8 at UT Martin. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.
2-0 Win Against Lady Demons Gives Cajuns Two Over The Weekend
LAFAYETTE – Thanks to two second half goals from seniors Denice Emokpae and Taylor Kennedy along with sophomore Mackenzie Lee's second clean sheet of the weekend, the Louisiana's women's soccer team got their second win of the weekend beating the Northwestern State Lady Demons 2-0 here at the Ragin' Cajuns Soccer/Track Complex.
Louisiana's win improves their record to 2-3-0 while the loss drops Northwestern State's record to 2-3-0.
HOW IT HAPPENED (First Half): Continuing a tone that the Cajuns set in their previous game against Southeastern Louisiana, Louisiana came out the gate aggressive and looking to attack.
Within the first three minute Emokpae ripped a shot that was blocked and she followed that up with a shot that went left in the sixth minute. That quick start was only a sign of things to come for the Cajuns.
In the 10th minute senior Ashleigh Cade forced the first save of the game by the Lady Demon's Alex Latham on a hard shot from right outside the box.
But the Cajuns weren't done and neither was Emokpae, who was on a mission all night.
In a three-minute period Emokpae recorded three shots, two of which were on goal. The first was in the 22nd minute, the second came quickly in the 23rd minute and the third, which was the only one not to find the net, came in the 24th minute.
While the Cajuns were aggressive on offense, the possession they earned and kept in the final third, translated to zero opportunities for the Lady Demons in the first 30 minutes of the game.
It wasn't until the 33rd minute, did the Lady Demons finally record a shot and it was blocked but the Cajuns defense.
When the half was done, the Cajuns had eight shots, four of which were on goal. While Northwestern State could only muster two shots and those didn't come until the final 10 minutes of the half.
With all that work, the Cajuns had yet to find pay dirt and the score was tied 0-0 at the half.
HOW IT HAPPENED (Second Half): As the second half began, the Cajuns were looking to collect on their hard work that they had put in throughout the first half.
They didn't have to wait long to taste the sweet flavor of a beautiful goal.
In the 50th minute, with the Cajuns asking all the questions, Cade took possession and forced the play into the center of the box.
From there she played a smart ball to the outside to freshman Ally Busalacchi who took it off the right wing, picked her head up and sent a perfect cross to the far post, where Emokpae was waiting.
Emokpae, having come close so many times in the first half, didn't waste the chance and calmly slotted the ball in the bottom right corner to give the Cajuns the 1-0 lead early in the second half.
The goal was her first scored since her freshman season in 2014, when she scored two against Alcorn State on Sep. 21
Louisiana didn't sit on their morals, nor were they finished putting the pressure on.
And in the 54th minute, with Cade having a throw in from the 30-yard maker on the right side, the Cajuns added to their lead.
Cade's throw was played by a Lady Demon defender who headed the ball directly into the ground, and waiting for the bounce ready to play the volley was Kennedy.
With her eyes lighting up, she didn't hesitate to take the shot which she slammed into the top right corner with authority giving the Cajuns a 2-0 lead that they had no intentions of giving back.
The goal was Kennedy's first since she scored on Aug. 30, 2015 against Southern Miss.
At that point, the Lady Demons sensed time was running out and began to pressure the Cajuns just a bit more. But the Cajuns were ready for it and didn't let their hard work or concentration waver at any time.
Through the remainder of the match the Cajuns defense was solid, while Lee earned her clean sheet, facing a shot in the 74th minute that she easily saved.
The Cajuns made sure that Lee's hard work was rewarded with possession in the Lady Demon final third and in the 78th minute senior Kimberly Grasso took a throw in that, because of her perfect position, was headed, with great power behind it, right at Latham who was forced to make a great save.
Emokpae added one more shot on goal for good measure in the 79th minute, and with that momentum Lee took care of the rest.
Lee recorded saves in the 80th minute, 85th minute and 89th minute to put the final touches on the Cajuns victory, and their best weekend so far in the 2017 season.
NOTEWORTHY: Making her second start of both the season and weekend, Lee not only recorded her second win of the season but she recorded her second clean sheet as well. In this match, she recorded five saves while facing 11 shots; Emokpae's goal was her first of the season and she lead the team with seven shots, four of which were on goal; Kennedy's goal, was her only shot on the night but she made it count; Cade had two shots, both of which worked the keeper to add to her first assist of the season; Freshman Una Einarsdottir had two shots both of which were on goal; Busalacchi's assist was the first of her career.
The Cajuns, for the fourth straight game, outshot their opponents with Louisiana recording 16(10 on goal) to Northwestern State's 11(five on goal); This was the first time the Cajuns had back-to-back clean sheets in the same weekend, the last being on the weekend of Sep. 4-6, 2015 against both McNeese State and Northwestern State. Both were 1-0 wins for the Cajuns.
UP NEXT: The Cajuns return to action next weekend, first they make the trip to Sam Houston State on Sep. 8 at 6:30 p.m., followed by a return to Ragin' Cajuns Soccer/Track Complex to host Nicholls on Sep. 10 that'll start at 6 p.m.
The Sam Houston State game will have live stats provided courtesy of the Sam Houston State website, while the Nicholls home match will have live stats available on RaginCajuns.com. And the match will be streamed for free on the Ragin' Cajuns Digital Network which can be found at RaginCajuns.com.
Hormuth Nets 10th Career Goal against Lady Jacks
NACOGDOCHES, Texas – Senior Kassi Hormuth scored her 10th career goal in the 18th minute of the Texas State soccer team's 2-1 loss at Stephen F. Austin Sunday afternoon. The match was played at Nacogdoches High School because the Lady Jacks' home field was unplayable because of rain from Hurricane Harvey.
The Bobcats drop to 1-3-1 on the year while SFA improves to 2-2 in its home opener.
In the middle of the 16th minute, the Lady Jacks got on the scoreboard first when Carli Arthurs placed her shot from 16 yards out into the left corner of the goal. Assisting on the score was Hanna Barker.
Hormuth answered back two minutes later. She ripped a shot into the right corner of the net from 19 yards out. Setting her up for the shot was Rachel Grout.
The rest of the first half saw TXST held to one shot, that being an attempt from Genesis Turman in the 21st minute that was stopped by the goalkeeper. SFA recorded two shots in the same time period with one being placed on goal and stopped by Kathryn Budde.
In the 54th minute, the Lady Jacks scored for their match-winning goal on a penalty kick by Barker. She placed the shot into the lower left corner just out of the reach of Budde. The penalty kick was awarded after a SFA player fell down after being sandwiched between two Bobcat defenders in a match that featured only four combined foul calls.
Hormuth had an opportunity to even the score again in the 59th minute but her volley attempt from 12 yards away was caught by the keeper.
The Lady Jacks nearly extended their lead halfway through the 61st minute. Breanna Moore headed a ball towards a corner but Budde made a diving stop to keep it a one-score contest.
Jordan Kondikoff had the Bobcats' last great opportunity to score during the 69th minute when she unleashed a shot from 28 yards out. Unfortunately, the ball sailed just wide of the goal.
TXST was outshot 11-5 including 8-2 in the second half. The teams came in combing to average 18.75 fouls per match but saw only four called with a 3-1 disadvantage for the Bobcats.
Hormuth and Turman took a team-high two shots piece with Hormuth placing both of her attempts on goal to lead all players. Budde made three saves during her third consecutive start between the posts.
The Bobcats return home to host their Teal Game to raise awareness of ovarian cancer on Friday against Prairie View A&M with kickoff slated for 7 p.m.
For more information on the Texas State soccer team, visit the official website of Texas State Athletics at www.txstatebobcats.com, like on Facebook at Texas State Soccer and following on Instagram and Twitter at @TxStateSoccer.
Troy Unable to Overcome Crimson Tide
MOBILE, Ala. – The Troy soccer team concluded play in the Jaguar Classic on Sunday suffering a 3-0 defeat to Alabama at The Cage on the campus of the University of South Alabama.
The Trojans conceded a penalty in the ninth minute and struggled to get anything flowing offensively throughout the day. Alabama took 21 shots in the match to just six for Troy.
The Crimson Tide (5-1) scored twice in the second half to put the game out of reach. The second goal of the game came on a cross from Taylor Morgan to Abbie Boswell, who also knocked in Alabama's penalty, while the third saw Neaka Khalilian connect with Emma Welch in the 82nd minute. Troy falls to 0-5 all-time against the Crimson Tide.
Qarli Stone, Claire Taylor, Abby Donnelly, Ally Bayer, Julia Winter and Amber Harless all took shots for Troy in the game.
UP NEXT
The Trojans (2-4-1) travel to Ruston, La., to face Louisiana Tech on Friday for a 7 p.m. kickoff. It will be the seventh all-time meeting between the schools with Troy taking the most recent matchup 1-0 in 2015.
NOTEWORTHY
• Haley Roberson and Nicole Strahl played the full 90 minutes for Troy. Roberson played all 110 minutes of the Trojans 0-0 draw against Jacksonville State on Friday, while it is the third time Strahl has played the full match this season.
• Troy started three freshmen in the game: Abby Donnelly, Karley Baker and Maria Kaschalk. The Trojans have started at least three freshmen in five of seven games this season.
App State Falls at Texas Tech
LUBBOCK, Texas. - Appalachian State University women's soccer (0-4-2) fell to Texas Tech (4-1) on Sunday evening, 4-0, at John Walker Soccer Complex.
It was a tough go for the Mountaineers against a strong Texas Tech squad when at home, as it boasts a 23-6-2 over the past three seasons in Lubbock.Unlike the past three contests where the offense scored in all three games and posted a .471 SOG percentage, the Mountaineers had just one shot on goal by Erin Settle and six attempts overall.
The Red Raiders scored its first goal around at the 33:16 mark and never looked back, scoring another goal in the first period and two more in the second half.
Taylor Ray recorded the start for the Black and Gold, playing all 90 minutes and posting nine saves.
Appalachian will look to get on track this Thursday at Ted Mackorell against Davidson at 7:30 p.m.
Cougars Early Surge Too Much for Eagles
STATESBORO, Ga. – On Sunday afternoon the Eagles concluded the Cougar Classic against host school Washington State. The Cougars pounced on an early lead and continued to add to it in the second half. The Eagles will have the next week off, preparing for Sun Belt Conference opener against Coastal Carolina, on September 15, at 7:00 PM.
MATCH FACTS
Washington State (3-1-1) – 5
Georgia Southern (2-3-1) – 0
SCORING
6' - WSU – Sofia Anker-Kofoed scores off a penalty kick, after Washington State drew a foul in the box.
14' – WSU – Sydney Pulver scores from the middle of the pitch about 22 yards out.
54' – WSU – Morgan Weaver controls the throw in, turning and beating the defenders to score.
78' – WSU – Jamie Rita scores during the scramble for the ball in front of the net.
88' – WSU – Sarah Davidson scored after taking one touch at the top of the box and shooting to the top right corner.
NOTES
- The Eagles were outshot 15-5 in this afternoon's matchup.
- Juvenia Hylton, Elvira Gustafsson, Aila Sendra, and Nicole Aussin all tallied shots against the Cougars.
- Lauren Karinshak added 3 saves to her season total, increasing it to 21 on the season.
WHAT HEAD COACH BRIAN DUNLEAVY SAID
"Many lessons learned today. The score line certainly flatters Washington State. We made three big errors in the back today, and that atypical of our team this year. When you play a power 5 team, they punish mistakes. I'm proud of our players though, they worked really hard. Particularly how physical our opponent was, they fouled us an awful lot and we should've done better with the set pieces we had. Washington State's style of play asked a lot of questions of our back four and goalkeeper. So we can learn from this and do a better job defensively in the future. On a more positive note, we got forward and caused them issues. When we got a good rhythm things looked good. Not a pleasing result but we learned a lot from this trip out here. We have a big break to get focused on our Sun Belt Conference schedule."
NEXT UP
The Eagles will have the next week off to prepare for Sun Belt Conference competition. The Eagles will face off against Coastal Carolina on September 15, at 7:00 PM.
ULM Drops Hard-Fought Match to LA Tech, 2-0
MONROE, La. – Louisiana Tech netted two second-half goals en route to a 2-0 victory over the University of Louisiana Monroe Sunday, Sept. 3 at the ULM Soccer Complex.
Louisiana Tech scored its first goal in the 48th minute, as freshman Elizabeth Doll advanced the ball inside the top of the 18 to junior Mylene Roy-Ouellet, who made a perfect pass to sophomore Jenna Dages, who deposited it inside the far right post.
The Lady Techsters added an insurance goal in the 69th minute, as senior Monica Gebler crossed the ball into the box and Roy-Ouellet headed it inside the right post from 10 yards out.
Louisiana Tech (4-1-1) out-shot ULM, 13-8 (4-1 on shots on goal).
Sophomore goalkeeper Carlotta Cartelli made one save to earn the shutout for the Lady Techsters.
Warhawk junior goalkeeper Brooke-Lynn Scroggins recorded two saves. Senior Danielle LaFrance and freshman Rahel Zerazion took two shots each to account for half of ULM's eight attempts. Sophomore Erica Wiest was credited with ULM's only shot on goal.
"I was pleased with the performance today," ULM head coach Keyton Wheelock said. "Obviously, we would have liked to come out with the win; however, I do believe we played well today. We solved some problems we've been having with our build up. We possessed nicely and created scoring some opportunities. We just need to be more clinical in our finishing.
"We had a few players step in early in the match today due to injury, but those players really stepped up and filled in holes. We are also getting a few players back from injury and looking forward to the future and conference being at 100 percent."
The Warhawks (0-6) play host to Jacksonville State in a non-conference match on Friday, Sept. 8 at 4 p.m. CT.
PANTHERS FALL TO GOLDEN EAGLES
COOKEVILLE, Tenn.- In the second match of a three-game road stretch, the Georgia State women’s soccer team fell 1-0 to Tennessee Tech Sunday night.
With the loss, the Panthers fell to 1-3-1, while the Golden Eagles improved to 3-1.
GSU opened the match with four shots as Monique Hundley and Kylie Ruffule took all of the first half shots. Tennessee Tech got on the board in the middle of the first half, with Kendall Powell scoring what proved to be the game-winner at the 26-minute mark.
The Panthers came out of halftime looking to find the equalizer, but two Golden Eagle saves kept the team out of the net.
Hundley led the team’s eight shots with five, two of which were on goal, and now leads the team with 16 shots this season. Senior Brie Haynes had seven saves on the night, posting 22 saves after five matches.
The team will return to the field on Friday night at Mercer, before closing out its non-conference schedule at home on Sunday.