Jaguar Soccer Voted To Finish 1st In Conference; Two Named To All-SBC Team
South Alabama women’s soccer team, the defending Sun Belt Conference Tournament champions, was voted to win the regular season championship and had two players named to the Preseason All-Sun Belt Team.
The Jags took first place with 98 points and 9 out of the possible 10 first-place votes. Louisiana-Lafayette was voted second with 81 points and one first-place vote.
Junior defender Nini Rabsatt-Smith and sophomore midfielder Monique Autmon were both selected to the All-Conference team.
Rabsatt-Smith was named to the 2013 Sun Belt Conference All-Tournament team where he helped the Jaguar defense allow just one goal in 290 minutes. She had 21 starts last season and recorded two goals, four assists and eight points.
Autmon also made 21 starts and appeared in all 23 matches as a freshman. She finished in a tie for fifth on the team with three goals, two of them came against SBC opponents.
The Jaguars won their first SBC Tournament title in school history last season after they ranked second in the league in both shutouts (9) and goals against average (1.01).
USA begins the 2014 season on Friday when they host UAB.
Jaguar Soccer To Play Friendly Match Friday Evening Against JSU
South Alabama women’s soccer team will host Jacksonville State for a friendly match on Friday at The Cage beginning at 7pm.
The Jaguars, after winning the Sun Belt Conference title last season, began their training this week with four days in Gulf Shores to allow the coaches and players to focus on training without the distractions of campus life.
“They’re working extremely hard,” head coach Graham Winkworth stated. “We went away and got everything we wanted achieved: we increased the intensity on our workload while we were away, we managed to train in the heat on a nice, quality field and we became closer as a team. I give us an A-grade in terms of our attitudes. From a playing standpoint, we’re at a C-plus right now and have some work to do, but we are putting the effort in and hopefully by the time we start playing games on a regular basis, we can start getting used to playing with one another. We look like we just met each other a week ago, which we did, but we’re getting there and have a long way to go.”
Winkworth has 12 new faces on the team and, after practicing against each other, he is eager to see how they will match up against another team.
“I want to get some match fitness, but more importantly, just get us used to playing with one another,” Winkworth said. “We just met a week ago and so we’ve had to learn how I want the game played from scratch, so we’re a long way behind where we were this time last year with respect to that. The more we practice and the more we get used to playing with one another, the better it will be. Playing against another team, who we’ve never seen before, gives us an opportunity to see us in that setting because we only carry 22 players and we don’t get to train 11-v-11 very often, so it gives us an opportunity to try a few things out against somebody that hasn’t seen us. Along with that, we have so many new faces it will give them a chance to get their first-game fears and nerves out of the way so they’re a little more relaxed going into the UAB game next week.”
Jacksonville State had a 4-13-2 record last season while going 0-9-1 in the Ohio Valley Conference in head coach Neal Macdonald’s first season. They return eight starters from last years team while adding two transfers from Mississippi State University.
Come out to The Cage to see the 2014 Jaguar Soccer team in action.
Four Former Jaguar Student-Athletes To Be Inducted Into USA Hall Of Fame
The University of South Alabama Athletics department announced that four new members will be added to the USA Athletic Hall of Fame this fall.
Henry “Dock” Richardson, Ronnie Powell, Shaun Rothuysen and Virgil Stanescu will be inducted in to the Hall of Fame in November, the time and date is yet to be determined. All four will also be honored on November 15 at halftime of the Jaguars football game against Texas State at Ladd-Peebles Stadium.
Richardson played baseball at USA from 1965-1968, in the schools first four years of competition. He led the team in batting average and RBI for three seasons and stolen bases all four seasons. He had a career high batting average of .371 as a freshman with 12 RBI and 12 stolen bases in just 15 games. As a sophomore he led the team with 11 steals and 10 RBI. As a junior he hit .316 with 17 RBI and 13 stolen bases. Then to close out his Jaguar career, he hit .355 with 21 stolen bases his senior season to help the Jaguars to a 18-9 record.
Ronnie Powell was an assistant coach in baseball from 1987-2006 where he served as pitching coach and recruiting coordinator. During his time at USA the team went 794-431-1 for a 64.8% winning percentage with 17 NCAA Regional appearances. During that time the Jaguars claimed nine Sun Belt Conference Regular Season Championships, four division championships and seven tournament titles. Five other times the Jaguars were one win away from a regional championship and a berth in the College World Series. Six pitchers under coach Powell earned All-American recognition while 35 signed contracts with professional organizations. Six players would go on and advance to the Major Leagues.
Shaun Rothuysen played men’s soccer from 1993-1995 and led the Jags to a 49-15 record, three Sun Belt Conference Championships and its first-ever NCAA play-in game in 1995. He was voted the league’s player of the year twice, was a three-time All-Sun Belt selection and named second-team All-South Region by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America as a sophomore. He led the conference, ranked eighth in the Region and 17th in the country in scoring with 40 points in 1993 as the team finished 16-5. He scored 40 points against in 1994 to help the Jags to a 18-2-2 record. As a senior he scored a team-high 45 points to end his career as the fifth highest at USA with 47 goals and 125 points.
Virgil Stanescu played men’s basketball from 1999-2001 and was a First-Team All-Conference selection as a senior. He was named the conference tournament’s Most Outstanding Player his junior season. In his final two seasons as a Jaguar he led the team in scoring and rebounding while helping the team to a 42-21 record overall and a 24-8 record in conference action during that time. He ranks 12th in school history with 1,126 points and sixth overall with 648 rebounds. He was selected to the SBC All-Tournament team twice and led the Jags to the Western Division Championship and a berth in the NIT his last season as a Jaguar.
The four additions to the Hall of Fame will make 68 former Student-Athletes to be enshrined in the South Alabama Athletics Hall of Fame since its inception in 1989.
South Alabama Releases 2014 Women’s Soccer Schedule
South Alabama released the 2014 women’s soccer schedule on Tuesday. Out of the 20 matches scheduled, 11 of them will be in Mobile.
A home exhibition match against Jacksonville State on August 15th will get their schedule underway before the regular season debut when they host UAB on August 22. UAB defeated the Jaguars 3-2 last season in Birmingham as they finished the season 11-7-2. Nicholls State will visit on August 24, they finished the 2013 season with a record of 12-6-2 with one of their two ties coming against the Jaguars in Thibodaux, Louisiana.
The following weekend the Jags will travel to Troy for the Trojan Classic where the Jags will face Tennessee Tech and Kennesaw State on August 29 and 31 respectively.
On September 5 they will return home to host Southern Miss before three-consecutive games on the road against Southern (September 7), Mississippi State (September 12) and Alabama A&M (September 14).
South Alabama will then host the Jaguar Classic to start a five-match homestand which will also begin conference play for the Jaguars. USA will face North Florida and Fancis Marion on September 19 and 21 respectively. Then they will begin their Sun Belt Conference schedule with Troy on September 26, Louisiana-Monroe on October 3 and Louisiana-Lafayette on October 5.
The Jags will then rotate between pairs of road and homestands to finish out the season. It will begin with a two match road trip at Texas State on October 10 and Appalachian State on October 12. Followed up with a two match homestand against Georgia Southern and Georgia State on October 17 and 19 respectively.
They will then finish out the season with two matches on the road against Arkansas State and Arkansas-Little Rock on October 24 and 26 respectively.
The Jags will look to defend their Sun Belt Conference Tournament championship on November 5-9 at The Cage on the South Alabama campus.
“The opening weekend is going to be big for us,” coach Winkworth said. “We play two teams that we failed to beat last season, so we know we’re going to be in for a test.”
“Our conference schedule is very tough,” Winkworth continued. “We have a lot of traveling to do with flights and long bus rides, so that’s going to be very difficult. The hardest thing is that we’re going to have such a young squad and getting them used to the rigors of such intense travel is going to be difficult, but we have some pretty good leadership with the 10 that are returning so I’m excited about that.”
South Alabama Sports – Weekend Preview
Baseball
South Alabama will host Louisiana-Monroe this weekend for a three-game Sun Belt series at Eddie Stanky Field. They will get underway tonight at 6:30pm with Locke St. John (4-1) taking the mound for the Jaguars in his 11th start of the season. Payton Coddou (0-2) will make only his third start of the season for the Warhawks.
Game two will start at 6:30pm on Saturday with Kevin Hill (2-5) making his ninth start of the season. Then Hunter Soleymani (0-2) will get the start in the series finale on Sunday.
USA is in the midst of a three game losing streak as they have fallen to 17-23 overall and 7-10 in conference play. The Jags are currently holding onto a tie for sixth place in the Sun Belt Conference standings. They are tied with their in-state rivals Troy and two games back from Western Kentucky and UT-Arlington who are tied for fourth place with a 9-9 conference record.
All three games will be broadcast on 105.5FM WNSP and streamed online on WNSP.com.
Softball
The 20th ranked Jaguar softball team look to return to their early season form as they play down the home stretch going into the Sun Belt Conference Championships that begin on May 7.
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USA’s Allison, Oram, Hernandez Are Part Of 10 SBC Players Selected For All-South Region Team
The University of South Alabama Women’s Soccer team pose after wining their first-ever Sun Belt Conference Championship by defeating Western Kentucky 1-0 on Sunday in San Marcos, Texas. | sunbeltsports.org
Ten Sun Belt Conference women’s soccer players were selected for the NSCAA/Continental Tire NCAA All-South Region team as announced by the NSCAA office.
Highlighting the list was Sun Belt Conference Offensive Player and Freshman of the Year Lauren Allison. She led the conference in points, points per game, goals, goals per game, assists, assists per game and game-winning goals. She and teammate Jessica Oram were both selected to the All-South Region First Team.
Jaguars Clarrisa Hernandez was selected to the second team.
Along with the three Jaguars, UL-Lafayette’s Grace Howell-Harries, who was selected SBC Defensive Player of the Year, was selected to the second team and Annika Schmidt was selected to the third team.
Troy freshman Necee Jennings was selected to the Third Team. WKU’s Nora Abolins, Chrissy Tchoula and Iris Dunn were all selected to the Second Team with Chandler Clark being selected to the Third Team.
Allison, Dunn, Jennings and Schmidt are all freshman and are just four of several players returning who will be impact players for the 2014 season. Additionally, each of the four returning players are ranked in the top ten in goals scored this season.
Howell-Harries is a junior and will also return for the 2014 season.
Sun Belt soccer looks to be a very exciting season.
USA Soccer’s Historic Season Ends Against FSU In NCAA Tournament
The University of South Alabama Women’s Soccer team pose after wining their first-ever Sun Belt Conference Championship by defeating Western Kentucky 1-0 on Sunday in San Marcos, Texas. | sunbeltsports.org
The University of South Alabama Women’s Soccer team saw their historic season come to an end on Friday against the top-ranked Florida State Seminoles in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in a 5-0 loss.
South Alabama (14-6-3) ended its most successful season ever with their first-ever Sun Belt Conference Tournament title and their first-ever appearance in the NCAA Tournament. The 14 wins are the second-most in program history. FSU advances to the second round of their 14th consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance.
Seniors Clarissa Hernandez, Jess Oram and Shelby Owen all made their 84th start for the Jaguars to extend their records for most most games played at South Alabama.
Florida State (19-1-3) scored their first goal in the ninth minute and never looked back. They held a 3-0 advantage at the half but would add another goal just over a minute into the second half. They outshot the Jags 20-3 in the match.
The 5-0 loss was the worst losing margin for the Jaguars since USA lost to FSU 9-0 on August 31, 2012.
“I’m really proud of the girls tonight,” said Jaguar head coach Graham Winkworth. “They have worked extremely hard. I think we came out a little shaky and, unfortunately, conceded some early goals with all the nerves. This is the first time that our program has been in this situation, so it’s understandable to have those nerves.”
“What I enjoy most and respect the most about Florida State is that they are a very well-coached team,” he continued. “They are class acts on the field as well. They are top-class players that are clearly experienced, but what makes me like Florida State over a lot of teams in the ACC is just the style of soccer they play.”
This was the final game for the following seniors: Lauren Arnold, Lindsey Snavely, Clarissa Hernandez, Melissa Drish, Stacie Bevens, Tatum Perry, Lizzie Goldsmith, Shelby Owen, Morgan Motes and Jess Oram. Thank you being South Alabama Jaguars. Once a Jaguar, always a Jaguar!
USA Soccer Begins NCAA Tournament Play Tomorrow Against #1 Seed Florida State
Tomorrow, the University of South Alabama women’s soccer team will make their debut in the NCAA Tournament. This will be their first-ever appearance and they will do it against the #1 overall seeded Florida State Seminoles at Seminole Soccer Complex in Tallahassee. The match is set to begin at 6pm CST.
USA (14-5-3) defeated Western Kentucky to win the 2013 Sun Belt Conference Tournament and earned an automatic bid to the tournament. They will be facing a Seminole team who finished the season with an 18-1-3 record, won the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament and will be hosting their fifth-consecutive NCAA Tournament first-round match on Friday.
This will be the sixth time these two teams have met each other with FSU having won the previous five meetings by a combined score of 20-2. The last time they met was in 2009 when the ‘noles won 8-0.
The Jags enter the match tomorrow with a five-match winning streak and riding an emotional high from the SBC Tournament. They have outscored those five opponents 11-4 during that run.
FSU defeated #25 Duke, #4 North Carolina and #6 Virginia Tech to win the ACC Tournament title and play in their 14th consecutive NCAA Tournament. Meanwhile, USA defeated Georgia State, Arkansas State and regular-season champ Western Kentucky to win the first SBC Tournament in program history.
The winner between the Jags and the Seminoles will face the winnver between Ole Miss and Jackson State in the second round.
USA Soccer Travels To Tallahassee To Face #1 Seed FSU
The University of South Alabama Women’s Soccer team pose after wining their first-ever Sun Belt Conference Championship by defeating Western Kentucky 1-0 on Sunday in San Marcos, Texas. | sunbeltsports.org
The South Alabama women’s soccer team found out that they will travel to face #1 seed Florida State in Tallahassee on Friday in the opening round of the 2013 NCAA Championship.
The Jags (14-5-3) won their first-ever Sun Belt Conference Tournament title and earned an automatic bid to the field of 64. Florida State is the #1 seed overall, the Atlantic Coast Conference champion with an overall record of 18-1-3. Their only loss of the season came to then #1 ranked Virginia.
Actually, all of the #1 seeds in this year’s tournament hail from the ACC. FSU, Virginia, Virginia Tech and North Carolina are all top seeds. Meanwhile, the ACC has eight teams competing in the tournament, which leads all conferences.
“We’re buzzing with excitement,” said USA first-year head coach Graham Winkworth. “Ten months ago, when I came here, I told the girls we would be playing for a championship, and here we are, playing the top team in the country in the NCAA Tournament.”
“I want the girls to enjoy this occasion,” Winkworth continued. “They enjoyed last night and watching the selection show today, but tomorrow we’re back to business, and it will be like any other week. Florida State are the best team, but we’ve prepared for good teams all year long.”
“We’re going to treat them with respect, but we’re not going to go to any game scared,” Winkworth concluded. “It’s 11 players versus 11 players, and we’re going to give them a game. We’re looking forward to the opportunity.”
Thirty-one conference were granted automatic berths in the 2013 Championship tournament with the remaining 33 teams selected at-large. The top 16 teams are seeded and conference teams cannot play each other in the first or second rounds. When pairing teams, the committee follows geographic proximity and sites are selected for the first round to create the least number of flights.
First round matches are played at campus sites on November 15 and 16. Second and third round matches will be played on Friday, November 22 and Sunday, November 24 at the same campus sites.
Quarterfinal matches will be played on November 29 and 30 also on campus sites.
The 32nd Annual NCAA Women’s COllege Cup will be held on December 6 and 8 in Cary, North Carolina at the WakeMed Soccer Park with Campbell University serving as the host. The national semifinals will be played on December 6 and both will air on ESPNU, the first at 5:00pm Eastern Time and the second airing at 7:30pm Eastern time.
The national championship match will air on ESPNU live on Sunday, December 8 at 3:00pm Eastern time.
The Jags and the Seminoles will play this Friday in Tallahassee with the match starting at 6:00pm Central time.
Jaguar Soccer Wins First-Ever Sun Belt Conference Championship
The University of South Alabama Women’s Soccer team pose after wining their first-ever Sun Belt Conference Championship by defeating Western Kentucky 1-0 on Sunday in San Marcos, Texas. | sunbeltsports.org
The University of South Alabama Women’s Soccer Team clinched their first-ever Sun Belt Conference Championship by defeating Western Kentucky at Bobcat Soccer Complex in San Marcos, Texas.
Lauren Allison, who scored her 16th goal on the year and her second of the tournament, was named the 2013 Sun Belt Most Outstanding Player.
Allison, Melissa Drish, Clarissa Hernandez, Nini Rabsatt-Smith and Shelby Owen were all named to the All-SBC Tournament team after the win.
The Jags (14-5-5, 5-2-1 SBC) advances to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history. The Jags opponent and where they will play will be announced today, November 11 at 3:30pm (CT) on NCAA.com. The tournament will begin next week.
In the 20th minute of the match, Allison scored on a breakaway by driving past multiple Lady Topper defenders to receive Morgan Motes’ pass. The Jags avenged a 1-0 loss to the Toppers late in the regular season though they were outshot 16-14 in the match and 11-5 in the second half.
WKU got their best looks came in the first half from freshman Haley Baldridge and sophomore Alanna Clancey. They both had shots blocked from the right corver of the box to preserve the win.
“This is a great feeling,” said first-year head coach Graham Winkworth, who also collected his first Division I conference title. “This was some excellent passing soccer, the best all season. And the girls defended magnificently today. We’re going to enjoy every moment of this and the rest of our season.”
South Alabama will host a selection show party at Heroe’s Sports Bar & Grill on Hillcrest near Old Shell from 3-5PM.
The 2013 Women’s Soccer College Cup will play on five seperate dates. The First round is scheduled for November 15, 16 or 17 at 32 different sites. The Second and Third rounds are scheduled for November 22, 24 at eight different sites. The Quarterfinals are scheduled for November 29, 30 or December 1 at four different locations. Then finally the Women’s College Cup will be held on December 6, 8 in Cary, North Carolina.