The Lady Jaguar Soccer team came into the game 3-1-1 in Conference play after beating Grambling State 1-0 and was looking to set themselves up on top of the standings against Arkansas Pine-Bluff, who went into the game on a seven-game losing streak. Coming in, senior goalkeeper Sydney Bellamy pointed this game out as a big game for the fate of the upcoming season for the Jags. “Coming in, we knew this had to be a big win for us to set ourselves up for success in the conference and the standings… We knew we had to handle business here on the field.” Southern would control the game with aggressive possessions and shots all game, with 15 shots on the goal compared to Pine-Bluff’s two. Rookie magic would lead the way as freshman midfielder Kailyn Jackson would score the only goal of the game in the 18th minute, assisted by freshman defender Shania Walters. Head Coach Jeremy Fontenot expressed the feeling of capping off Southern’s Homecoming week with a win, “As a coach, you never know what to expect…[But] I feel great.” The Lady Jags would control the time of possession for most of the game, which was pointed out as a focus for the whole team going into the matchup. “We knew they didn’t have the numbers we had.” Coach Fontenot commented. “We wanted to able to push that ball [and] get them tired quick and early.” After the win, the Lady Jags now sit second in the standings, improving their in-conference record to 4-1-1 and officially winning two in a row.
With two games until the SWAC tournament, Coach Fontenot gave his thoughts on the upcoming matchups, “Both of them are tournament-based teams. We know coming in those two teams are [going to] come play and give us our hardest game(s)… We expect a good tough game against both teams.” Sydney Bellamy also shared her excitement about the upcoming matchups on the Jaguar’s schedule before the SWAC tournament. “I’m excited to play the next two teams in conference[and] see how our team builds together. I feel this next game is going to be really important.”
Southern finished with 6 shot attempts complimenting the 4 saves the Jags committed in the second half. Southern did have a few fouls in the game, totaling 18.
The next game for the Lady Jaguar Soccer team is against the 1-3-2 in conference record Mississippi Valley State on Oct.28th at 7:00 PM on the Bluff.
