Jaguar Soccer Win Both Weekend Matches By Shutout
Sophie Haywood, Freshman from Hull, England, earned her first hat-trick against Southern Miss on Friday night as the Jags defeated the Golden Eagles 6-0. Photo: usajaguars.com
The Jaguar soccer team won both of their matches over the weekend, both by shutout and by a combined score of 13-0.
They started off the weekend when they defeated Southern Miss 6-0 after the Golden Eagles picked up an early red card. Freshman Sophie Haywood earned a hat-trick in the match.
The Jaguars outshot USM 31-3 to get their second largest margin of victory against the Golden Eagles in the history of the series between the two schools.
Junior Nini Rabsatt-Smith and freshmen Tiina Trutsi and Rio Hardy all found the back of the net for the Jaguars.
Haywood got the scoring started at the 33:12 mark from the left byline after a corner kick. She then added her second seven minutes later with a stop from the top of the box. Her third and final goal would come in the waning minutes of the match on a low shot past the goalkeeper.
On Sunday the Jaguars traveled to Southern University and blanked them with a 7-0 win.
All of the goals were scored by Freshmen with the exception of one. Beginning with Charde Hannah in the 13th minute, followed by Danielle Henley in the 14th minute to give South Alabama an early 2-0 lead. Then Rio Hardy netted a goal, her first of two for the day, in the 23rd minute followed shortly by Chelsea Followwell, the first of her career, in the 26th minute for a 4-0 advantage.
Jordan Duncan, a junior, made it 5-0 in the 37th minute which would also be the score at halftime.
Then the freshmen were at it again with Rio Hardy netting her second goal of the day in the 56th minute and Meagan O’Loughlin closing out the scoring in the 89th minute.
Rio Hardy added a pair of assists for her first six-point performance of her short career as a Jaguar. Hannah and Followwell both had an assist to go along with their goals. Nini Rabsatt-Smith had two assists.
“It was a very team-oriented, professional performance,” USA head coach Graham Winkworth said after the match against Southern. “The first half, we started slowly; Southern sat back and we didn’t move the ball quickly enough. But once we started to move the ball around a little bit quicker, we started creating more chances.”
“That shows how good we are from a depth standpoint,” Winkworth explained. “We have a lot of quality; we’re not a one-player team. When an opposing side is trying to scout us, who do they want to mark? You’re going to have to mark everybody because we’ve got a pretty solid group, and that’s not necessarily the players starting either; we have some quality coming off the bench. We emphasized that again today with scoring two more goals off the bench.”
The Jaguars will travel to Mississippi State for a match on Friday against the Bulldogs starting at 7pm.
Jaguar Volleyball Take Two of Three At Cowgirl Classic
The South Alabama volleyball team took two out of three in the Cowgirl Classic over the weekend.
Friday the Jaguars split a pair of matches with the first a straight set loss to Wyoming where the Jags struggled on offense by hitting only .050 and committing 24 attack errors while the Cowgirls hit .320 in the match. Wyoming improved to 5-0 on the season.
Jessica Lewis led the match with 16 kills which tied a season high for the sophomore.
In the second of two matches on Friday, The Jags picked up its first win of the season by defeating Montana 3-2 (25-22, 24-26, 27-25, 25-22, 15-8).
The All-Conference duo of Mechell Daniel and Lewis led the way for USA. Daniel led all players with a match-best 24 kills and 11 digs for her second double-double of the season. He had a .352 hitting percentage. Lewis added 20 kills.
On Saturday, the trio of Daniel, Lewis and Mallory Moore helped lead the Jaguars past Ball State in a straight set victory (25-15, 25-18, 25-20). Lewis and Daniel led the Jags with 10 kills each with Moore adding nine and a .519 hitting percentage. Emily Hundt posted 32 assists against the Cardinals after a career-high 65 assists on Friday night.
Lewis and Daniel were selected to the All-Tournament team. The Jags (2-4) will travel to Starkville, MS for the Maroon Classic on September 11-13. The Jags will open against the Bulldogs on Thursday at 7pm.
South Alabama opens 2014 with 23-13 win over Kent State
South Alabama used an early lead and a late touchdown to hold off Kent State for a 23-13 win on Saturday.
After building a 16-0 advantage midway through the second quarter, the Jags offense went cold while the Kent State offense found a way to move the ball and put points on the board. But most of all, the Jags found a way to finish the game.
The scoring began when Kent State quarterback Colin Reardon was flagged for intentional grounding in the end zone resulting in a safety. Then after a good return of the free kick, the Jaguar offense, aided with good field position on their own 46 yard line, got into gear and drove down to the KSU 4 yard line but would back up to the 9 on a penalty. Then Brandon Bridge’s pass would be deflected and seemingly intercepted by Nate Holley in the end zone, but pass interference would be called placing the ball at the 2 yard line with a fresh set of downs. Two plays later Bridge would connect with Shavarez Smith for a one-yard touchdown to take a 9-0 advantage.
Approaching midway through the second quarter, Bridge would hook up with Marvin Shinn for a 58-yard pass down the left sideline and called down at the 1 yard line. Jay Jones would punch it in on the next play to give the Jags a 16-0 lead.
Kent State would get on the board a minute-and-a-half before halftime on a 13 play, 69 yard drive capped off by an eight yard touchdown pass from Reardon to Nick Holley in the left flat. The two-point conversion would fail leaving the Golden Flashes trailing 16-6 at halftime.
The third quarter would be scoreless, but towards the end Kent State was starting to move the ball. Then on the first play of the fourth quarter, Reardon connects with Casey Pierce for a 44-yard catch and run for a touchdown to draw within three points, 16-13.
Midway through the final quarter, Kent State’s drive stalls at the Jaguar 15 so they set up for a game-tying field goal attempt from 32 yards out. Lining up on the left hash, Anthony Melchiori’s attempt would stay left giving the Jaguars defense a big sigh of relief and a resurgence of energy which helped them to stop the final two Kent State drives of the game.
After taking over from the missed field goal and aided by an unsportsmanlike conduct call after the try, the Jags started at their own 35 yard line with just over four minutes left in the game.
A steady dose of Jay Jones would help to bleed the clock with a pair of first downs. Then, facing third-and-six on the KSU 23 yard line, the senior would break a 23 yard touchdown run all but sealing the game.
On the ensuing possession, to take any chance of a comeback away, Montell Garner would pick off Reardon’s pass and allowing Bridge to simply kneel on the ball to run out the clock.
The Jaguar defense held Kent State to 277 yards on 68 plays. In the last four games dating back to the end of the 2013 season the Jaguar defense has not allowed an opponent to gain over 300 yards during that stretch.
Davin Hawkins, in his first start, led the defense with nine stops and two passes broken up. Roman Buchanan, Maleki Harris, Akeem Lewis and Theo Rich all had four stops each. Terrell Brigham had three passes broken up and a forced fumble. Jimmie Gipson III had two tackles for loss and three quarterback hurries.
Jay Jones rushed for over 100-yards for the third consecutive time dating back to the 2013 season. He led all rushers with 102 yards on 21 carries. Kendall Houston added 46 yards on 13 carries and Bridge added 41 as the Jags finished with 186 yards on the ground.
Bridge went 15-of-25 for 161 yards and a touchdown in his first start behind center. Jereme Jones, Shavarez Smith and Danny Woodson all caught three passes each to lead the receivers. Shinn led with the most yards with 58 on his one reception.
Brandon McKee got the start at punter with a school-record 10 punts in the game and a 42.9 yard average. He also had two kicks downed inside the 20-yard line.
“This is a big win for us on the road,” head coach Joey Jones stated. “We came up here last time and didn’t play well, but we came out and really played well early in the game. The thing I am most proud of is we finished the game. In our first game last year we let someone drive and score, and now look at the difference, just that mentality of we’re not going to get beat late in the game. I’m so proud of the defense for stopping them, and proud of the offense for driving down and scoring late in the game.”
“My hat’s off to our players who have really bought in to what we’re doing,” Jones continued. “We have some things we can work on, and that’s the thing about football, you always have things you can work on.”
The Jaguars will return to practice on Sunday as they prepare to host Mississippi State on Saturday for their home opener at Ladd-Peebles Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 3pm and will be televised on ESPNews nationally.
Know Your Stadiums: Dix Stadium – Kent, Ohio
Kent State’s Dix Stadium exterior with the Golden Flash logo on the sign. | Photo: tailgatershandbook.com
Dix Stadium is a 25,319 seat stadium primarily used for football on the campus of Kent State University. It is named in honor of Robert C. Dix, former publisher of the Record-Courier and member of Kent State’s Board of Trustees for more than three decades in 1973.
The Stadium is the centerpiece of what has become an athletic complex on the eastern end of the campus. It opened on September 13, 1969 with an initial capacity of 30,520. Dix Stadium was regarded as an “Expansion and relocation” of the old Memorial Stadium rather than a new stadium.
A new grandstand on the west side of the stadium, which had seating for over 12,000 people with locker room and press facilities, were constructed on the new (current) site just over a mile east of campus. Approximately 17,000 seats from the original Memorial Stadium were dismantled and moved to the new site and became the end zone seats in the new stadium while the auxiliary bleacher sections were used for the east stands.
The first game in Dix Stadium was on September 13, 1969 with a win over the Dayton Flyers in front of 8,172 spectators. Due to delays, the new west stands including the home and visitor locker rooms, press box, and most of the seating were not completed until after the 1969 football season which limited the capacity to 18.200. During that first season the teams dressed in locker rooms at the Memorial Athletic and Convocation Center and were then bused to the stadium. For halftime, the teams met in separate public restroom facilities.
In 1973 the stadium was renamed in honor of Robert C. Dix, its initial capacity was listed at 28,748 before later being revised to 30,520 which stood through the 2001 season.
In the early 1990s the first major changed to Dix Stadium were undertaken with the addition of an elevator to reach the press box and suites. In 1996 permanent lighting was installed after night games had been played since 1990 but with temporary lighting. In 1997 a new scoreboard and artificial turf were installed, which allowed the field hockey team to begin play at the stadium, which they also occupied through the 2004 season.
The east side bleachers were condemned and demolished in 2001 and the area remained open for the entire 2002 season. Prior to the 2003 season, a new section of bleacher seating was built as the student section which brought the seating capacity to 29,287.
Starting in 2007 a two-phase renovation of the stadium began. Phase one included the contruction of a large canopy over the press box, new entrance gates and a ticket office which were completed prior to the 2007 season opener. Phase two had the demolition of the south end zone seats and the former press box above the north end zone. It also included a new high definition scoreboard, concession area and a plaza in the south end zone area. The removal of about 5,000 seats in the south end zone reduced the stadium’s seating to 25,319.
The west side stands, referred to as the home stands, seat over 12,000 with both bleacher and chair back seating. The east stands, built to replace the original wooden bleachers, are the smallest section with bleacher seating for about 4.000 and are primarily the student section. The north end zone, which is the original grandstand of the old Memorial Stadium, is entirely bleacher seating. In the south end zone is a large plaza, concession area and the scoreboard.
Original plans were to have the old wooden stands removed by 1973 and replaced with permanent seating. It was to have 18 rows and eventually be expanded to duplicate the west stands, increasing capacity to 35,000. The final phase of the original plan was to add a second deck on both sides but none of this came to fruition for 31 years when the east side bleachers were condemned and demolished.
The first official game listed as a sell-out occurred on October 9, 2010 when 24,221 fans watched Kent State defeat arch-rival Akron 28-17 in the Battle for the Wagon Wheel. It ranks as the third largest crowd at Dix Stadium with the largest being their November 10, 1973 game against Miami with 27,363.
In 2013, the university began a $60 million “Building Champions” campaign to upgrade the facilities for all of Kent State’s athletic teams and also raise additional scholarship money.
The first project was an expansion of the Field House with new locker rooms for indoor track and field, women’s soccer, field hockey, and softball. The plans also include Dix Stadium with will expand the chair back seating in the west stands, upgrade suites, new building for coaches’ offices on the north side of the stadium, and improvements to the locker room and other player facilities including a new lounge. On the east side, two new covered seating areas for students will be built adjacent to the existing student seating.
South Alabama and Kent State will finish their 2-for-1 series on Saturday in Kent, Ohio as the series is tied 1-1. Kickoff scheduled for 1pm and the game can be seen on ESPN3.
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- Photo: csnbbs.com
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- Aerial view of Dix Stadium. | Photo: kent.sidearmsports.com
No Cowbells Please – Noisemakers Not Allowed At USA Home Games
C.J. Bennett reads the defense while head coach Joey Jones looks on from the sidelines in Starkville Mississippi on September 22, 2012. The Bulldogs would win the game 30-10.
In case you haven’t heard the news, it’s looks like the Jaguars game against Mississippi State on September 13 at Ladd-Peebles is going to be a sellout. But one of the things that Mississippi State fans are known for will not be allowed into the stadium as South Alabama officials have declared that no artificial noisemakers will be allowed at South Alabama home games this season. That includes the cowbells that Bulldog fans so covet ringing.
USA officials have already contacted their counterparts at MSU to inform them of the policy in hopes that the message will be received by the Bulldog faithful prior to their travels to Mobile for the game.
Despite there being a “ban” on artificial noisemakers already in place in the SEC, Bulldog fans can let their cowbell inhibitions go wild during designated periods in Starkville. When the Jaguars played in Starkville two years ago, the Jags kept the cowbells silenced early, but as the Bulldogs gained momentum the rang loud. I can attest that it is one of the more annoying things in college football too. Personally, I think if you’re crowd has to rely on a cowbell to make noise then you’re doing it wrong as all of the other teams are able to make plenty of noise without a cowbell to encourage their team and cause communication problems. But I digress.
USA Athletics Director Joel Erdmann does not anticipate any problems with the enforcement of artificial noisemaker policy as all bags are subject to search just like any other game. “If anyone entering the stadium is found to have an artificial noisemaker, they will have to leave it at the gate or return it to their car,” Erdmann elaborated. Furthermore, if an artificial noisemaker is used during the game it is possible it will be confiscated and/or the person using it could be escorted out of the stadium.
South Alabama and Mississippi State will kickoff at 3pm on Saturday, September 13th with radio coverage on 99.9FM locally and online through iHeartRadio. It can also be seen on ESPNews nationally.
South Alabama vs Kent State Preview
Running back Jay Jones diving in for a Jaguar touchdown against Kent State in 2013.
After sitting out the first weekend of the college football season, the Jaguars are ready to start their 2014 campaign in Kent, Ohio.
The Jags ended their 2013 season with three-consecutive wins by double-digit margins including a 30-8 win in the season finale against Sun Belt Conference co-champion Louisiana-Lafayette. Now they hope to carry over that momentum into the 2014 season.
USA enters the final game of a three-game series against Kent State with an even record at 1-1. The Jags dropped their first meeting 33-25 in 2011 in Ohio, then picked up a 38-21 win last season in Mobile.
Head coach Joey Jones enters his sixth season leading the program he started from scratch during which he has earned a career mark of 31-21. With his most talented team to date, the Jaguars had nine student-athletes earning preseason All-Conference honors over the summer as voted by SBC head coaches and media. Five of those honorees came from the offensive unit which averaged 425 yards and nearly 30 points per game last season.
Senior tight end Wes Saxton, who has been named to preseason watch lists for the 2015 Senior Bowl as well as the John Mackey and Biletnikoff Awards, was one of three first-team All-SBC selections. Junior Chris May and senior Ucambre Williams are two of five lineman to be named to the first-team as well.
Senior wide receivers Shavarez Smith and Jereme Jones were both named to the second-team All-SBC team. Danny Woodson returns to the lineup after catching 26 passes for 439 yards and four touchdowns last season before missing the remainder of the season due to an Achilles injury. Braedon Bowman, Tony Ray Parnell, Claude Garrett and Alabama transfer Marvin Shinn will add depth to the Jaguars receiving corps this season.
Senior Jay Jones returns after receiving an honorable mention All-Conference selection after leading the Jags with 737 yards on 143 rushes with five touchdowns. He is joined by Kendall Houston and Terrance Timmons and adding redshirt freshman Xavier Johnson and T.J. Glover makes the move back to running back.
Senior Drew Dearman starts at left guard and helps lead a large, experienced offensive line. Melvin Meggs returns from a knee injury to start at right guard. Sophomore Joseph Scelfo takes over the starting reins at center for the Jaguars.
Ross Metheny exhausted his eligibility last season where he earned second-team All-SBC honors and led the conference in total offense per game. Senior Brandon Bridge looks to take over for Metheny and help lead the Jaguars to their first bowl game and potentially their first conference championship. Matt Floyd transferred in from South Florida and Hunter Vaughn came in from Butler (Kansas) CC to provide more depth at quarterback.
The Jaguar graduated several seniors from the defensive front seven, but return several experienced lineman who saw lots of action last season. Also returning are two seniors who were among the team leaders in tackles last season. Cornerback Qudarius Ford and linebacker Maleki Harris, both voted second-team All-SBC last season. Ford’s 76 tackles are the most among returning Jaguars but he also had six pass breakups and two interceptions. Harris added 63 tackles, 8.5 of them for loss, with a team-best seven passes defended.
Kent State dropped their first game of the season last Saturday on a last-second field goal. Quarterback Reardon showed promise after going 30-of-41 for 264 yards and two touchdowns. Ernest Calhoun led the team with 11 catches for 62 yards while Chris Humphrey led the receivers in yardage with 91 yards on six catches. But the team struggled on the ground as they only gained 31 yards on 22 carries as a team.
Nate Holley led the Golden Flashes defesne with 18 stops, 12 solo and forced two fumbles to earn MAC East Division Player of the Week honors. As a team the defense forced four fumbles on four-consecutive possessions in the second half.
The game can be heard on the Jaguar radio network locally on 99.9 FM WMXC (Lite Mix 99.9) and world wide through the iHeartRadio app. You can view the game on ESPN3. The Jags and Golden Flashes kickoff is scheduled for 1pm on Saturday, September 6.
Jaguar Soccer Split Weekend Series In Troy
South Alabama Soccer split a pair of matches over the weekend.
Their first match on Friday against Tennessee Tech in Troy, Alabama saw the Jaguars win 5-0 behind junior Jordan Duncan’s hat trick. Duncan’s three goal performance is the first by a Jaguar since Lauren Allison against Louisiana-Lafayette last season and the first to post seven points in a match since Linsey Snavely on September 15, 2013.
Duncan started the scoring just before halftime off of a cross from freshman Danielle Henley. She also closed out the scoring with the Jags final two goals with her second at the 77th minute then completed the hat trick with less than four minutes left in the match.
Freshman Charde Hannah converted a pass from freshman Rio Harding into a goal. Henley netted her third goal of the season in the 75th minute.
Freshman Sophie Haywood earned assists on the final two goals of the day while playing in her first ever career match.
The Jaguar defense held the Golden Eagles to only four shots total and none of them forcing sophomore goalkeeper Sarah Hay to make a save.
On Sunday, the Jaguars fell to Kennesaw State 2-1 despite a 19-6 shot advantage. The split matches over the weekend puts the Jaguars at 2-2 on the season as the Owls earned their first win of the season to stand at 1-2-1.
Freshman Charde Hannah scored an unassisted goal, her third of the season, at the 3:59 mark but the Jaguars could not net another goal for the rest of the match.
Shortly after Hannah’s goal, the Owls responded when Maggie Gaughan scored off of a pass from Alma Gardarsdottir at 11:35. The match would remain tied at 1 for almost 70 minutes before Gaughan netted her second goal of the match in the 82nd minute after a Jaguar defender and goalkeeper collided to give her the scoring opportunity.
Freshman Courtney Baum made three saves in the net for USA and allowed both goals.
The Jags return to action on Friday for a 7pm match against Southern Miss at The Cage.
Jag Volleyball Comes Up Short In ASICS Classic
The South Alabama Jaguar volleyball team got started on their 2014 schedule over the weekend at the ASICS Classic in Malibu, California. Their matches were close, but the Jags just could not get over the hump in several sets over the weekend.
They opened the weekend with a straight set loss to Pepperdine (22-25, 23-25, 17-25). Mechell Daniel led the Jags with 11 kills whiel Nikki Gittens added six and Jessica Lewis and Symone Stephenson both added five. Emily Hundt earned her first double-double of the season with 16 assista, a match-best, and 12 digs. Jenna Hassel, returning fron an injury, recorded a match-high 15 digs while Emma Anderson added 14 assists.
The Jags had a 48-36 advantage in digs, but Pepperdine had nearly twice as many service aces as the Jags (11-6). They also limited the Jags to a .107 hitting percentage.
Pepperdine led 7-6 in the first set when the Jags scored six consecutive points, but the Wave scored six in a row themselves to get back into the set. The teams were tied at 22 when a kill by Pepperdine led to three straight points to give them the 1-0 advantage.
They continued that streak in the next set by opening with six of the first seven points of the match, half of them coming from Samantha Cash on aces. Trailing 16-10, the Jags responded with four consecutive kills from Hundt, Daniel and Mallory Moore to close within two points at 18-16. Pepperdine would later take the set with a kill to take a 2-0 advantage.
The Jags jumped out to a 4-2 lead in the final set on Hassell’s ace and kills by Daniel and Moore. Evening the match at 13, the two teams exchanged points before the Wave took advantage of three errors and a kill from Olivia Okoro to go up by four points. They would then cruise to the end of the set to take the match 3-0.
On Saturday the Jags fell twice, first to Oral Roberts 1-3 then to Nevada 1-3 to round out their weekend.
Against Oral Roberts, redshirt senior libero Jenna Hassell moved into third place on the Jagaur career digs list with 1,289 all-time in the two losses. Sophomore outside hitter Jessica Lewis combined for 28 kills on Saturday as well.
The Jags will return to action this weeke with three matches at the University of Wyoming Classic where they face Wyoming, Montana and Ball State in Laramie, Wyoming.