Lady Jags make a Comeback: now 2-0 in the SWAC

After their win against the Lady Tigers of Grambling State (4-2), the Lady Jags soccer team took on The University of Arkansas-Pine Bluff Golden Lions. With the momentum of the win against Southern’s rivals still fresh in their minds, they took the field at A.W. Mumford Stadium on Sunday September 28.
The first goal was scored just three minutes into the game by SU, a corner-kick pass from junior, Jami Blackston, to sophomore Shelby Carbin, who scored the goal. This was Carbin’s first goal of the season, and just before it Blackston could be heard shouting, “We don’t give up corner-kicks.”
It appeared the Lady Jags had improved greatly with their aggressive offensive tendencies, as they kept the ball in range of UAPB goal, and maintained plenty of communication throughout the game on the field. Though passing and ball handling still seem to need slight improvement.
As the clock ran down, senior goalkeeper Sarah Forde, blocked numerous UAPB attempts to score. The first period ended with SU in the lead, the score 1-0.
The second period began slowly; Southern appeared as though they’d lost some of their energy, which would be no surprise as all the girls had played the duration of the first period. However, after two shot attempts by Blackston, the second goal of the game was scored by freshman, Jessica Perisco assisted by sophomore, Brooke Callahan-Darby.
The head referee called for a pause in the game as derogatory heckling from the crowd, directed toward UAPB began to directly interfere with gameplay. Head Coach Courtnie Prather crossed the field to deal with them directly.
“Comments from the peanut gallery, they need to stop. If I get red-carded, I will be finding you later,” said Prather. As gameplay resumed, no further comments were heard from the bleachers.
The third goal of the game was scored after Mitchell passed the ball to Blackston, who shot for the goal. After the reset, UAPB player Janet Garcia was seen elbowing a Lady Jag during an attempt to regain possession of the ball; she was given a yellow card. However, the foul play riled up both teams, as small physical altercations began to break out on the field. However, the Lady Jags reigned themselves in with no further incident.
A collision between UAPB’s Janet Garcia and sophomore defender Shelby Carbin received a yellow card, and Garcia being helped off the field by her coach and teammates.
The rest of the period played out smoothly. The Lady Jags kept up their defense, and took the game, final score 3-0.
SU’s starting line played the duration of the game; no substitutions could be made. While a few of the girls were incapable of playing due to ineligibility, senior mid-fielder, Fabiola Parra, was out due to an infected spider bite.
“Unfortunately, the infection spread a bit, and we had to get her into the hospital and let them take care of it. Hopefully, she’ll be out for another week and it’ll heal up,” said Prather.
After the game, in regards to the hecklers, Coach Prather said, “ The center ref came over and asked me politely if we could address what was happening, as the comments were becoming negative. It was beyond heckling, it was a little bit more intense. Soccer’s a classy game; we like to keep class on the field and throughout the stands. We appreciate their energy, we love the fact that they come out to support us, but we have to keep it classy. This is Southern University.”
The next time the Lady Jags soccer team plays will be an away game on Friday, October third against Alcorn State.