Jags Soccer Come Back For 1-1 Tie
The South Alabama Jaguar soccer team concluded their Sunday match with Louisiana-Lafayette with a 1-1 draw. The Jags (8-8-3, 3-4-2 SBC) fell behind in the 27th minute when the Ragin’ Cajuns made a kick from outside 18 yards.
Fifteen minutes into the second half the Jags tied the match when Linsey Snavely’s corner kick was headed in by Shawn Meach. This kept the Jags in sixth place in the conference and in the Sun Belt Conference Championships.
The Jags will host Troy on Friday for a match that is scheduled for 7pm on Friday, October 26th at The Cage. Troy is 8-9-2 on the year and 3-5-1 in SBC play. The Jags hold a slight edge, 4-3-1, all-time against Troy. All matches at The Cage are free to the public.
Lady Jags Soccer Split Opening Weekend Games
South Alabama women’s soccer opened the first weekend of the season by splitting their first two games.
They recorded their first win of the season by defeating Nicholls State 2-1 on Friday but fell to Mercer 1-0 on the road on Sunday to open the season with a 1-1-0 record.
South Alabama Sports Update 2009-10-04
Football
The Jags next opponent, Georgia Military Junior College is 3-2 on the season with wins over Ellsworth Community College, Arkansas Baptist College and North Carolina Tech. They had an open date this weekend before traveling to Mobile for the game on October 10.
Also, starting this week, multi-year season ticket renewals begin. The USA Ticket Office announced on Friday that they will be offering Jags season ticket holders the chance to lock in their 2009 rates for the 2010 season over the course of the next month. Starting on Monday, renewal letters will be sent out to all fans who chose to sign up for the three-year season ticket plan. This plan allows fans to guarantee the same price for their seats next fall by paying 50% of their balance by November 2.
Fans with season tickets who have not yet signed up for this plan are still able to if they contact the ticket sales office before November 2.
The Jags will kickoff Saturday at 11:30am against NJCAA #17 ranked Georgia Military JC at Ladd-Peebles Stadium on Saturday, October 10.
Sun Belt Football:
Arkansas State traveled to #13 Iowa and came close to having an upset. Scoring 14 points in the fourth quarter Arkansas State tried to rally, but a field goal by Iowa in the same quarter was the difference as the Hawkeyes stay undefeated 24-21.
In a high scoring game, Florida International traveled to UL-Monroe but could not get their first win of the season and lost 48-35.
Also winless Florida Atlantic hosted Wyoming but could not notch their first win either as Wyoming bested them in a close 30-28 game.
Currently the Sun Belt standings: UL-Monroe (3-2, 2-0), MTSU (3-1, 1-0), Troy (2-2, 1-0), UL-Lafayette (2-2, 0-0), Western Kentucky (0-4, 0-0), Arkansas State (1-3, 0-1), North Texas (1-3, 0-1), Florida Atlantic 0-4, 0-1) and Florida International (0-4, 0-0).
Soccer
On Friday the Jags played their first home conference game of the season when they hosted Western Kentucky in The Cage. However the Jags fell 2-0 to the lady Hilltoppers. The loss dropped the Jags to 2-8-1 on the season and are still winless in the Sun Belt at 0-2-1, while the Hilltoppers improve to 7-3-1 on the season and 2-1-0 in the Sun Belt.
Coach Vargas said the the team had problems with sickness this week. “We had eight players at practice this week, because of the flu and sickness. I told the team I didn’t want that to be an excuse or used as a crutch. We just didn’t do the little things we needed to do to be successful today.”
The Jaguars are scheduled to play Middle Tennessee at 1pm today. The Jags will be on the road next weekend to play North Texas at 7pm on Friday and Denver at noon on Sunday.
Volleyball
The Jags dropped three matches this week. On Monday the Jags dropped their match in Troy in straight sets (18-25, 23-25, 20-25). Then on Friday the Jags lost again in straight sets at Arkansas State (19-25, 14-25, 10-25). On Saturday the Jags lost 3-1 against University of Arkansas-Little Rock (16-25, 17-25, 25-16, 16-25).
With the three losses, the Jags fall to 9-9 overall but stay winless in the Sun Belt at 0-5.
Next weekend the Jags will host three opponents in three days. On Friday they play UL-Lafayette at 5pm, then University of New Orleans at 5pm on Saturday, then UL-Monroe at 1pm on Sunday.
South Alabama Sports Update 2009-09-28
Basketball
The 2009 Coors Classic schedule was released on Monday. The December 19 matchup will be a doubleheader on CSS the University and the GMAC Bowl announced Monday.
The first game will tip-off at 5:30pm with South Alabama taking on UAB which will be followed by Kansas State facing the University of Alabama 30 minutes after game one concludes.
Soccer
On Friday night the Lady Jaguar soccer team dropped its first Sun Belt Conference game 4-3 in Jonesboro, Arkansas to Arkansas State in overtime. However Katie Berry, USA’s goalkeeper, broke the teams single-game saves record with 18 saves against Arkansas State.
USA fell to 2-7-0 (0-1-0 in the SBC) after the loss. The Jags took and early 1-0 lead in just the sixth minute of the match on a Landi Wilson goal. But ASU would score two goals before the end of the first half to take a 2-1 lead. The Jags would answer back and tie the game 2-2 with a Wilson assist to Brandi Smith’s goal in the 49th minute.
ASU would score again to regain the lead 3-2 in the 66th minute before a second goal by Smith in the 75th minute to tie the game again at 3-3.
In overtime, ASU would score the game-winner off of a corner kick in the 96th minute.
On Sunday the Jags played the University of Arkansas-Little Rock to a tie in Little Rock, Arkansas. UALR who is 3-6-1 for the season and 0-1-1 in the Sun Belt gained a two goal advantage into halftime leading the Jags 2-0. The first goal happened in the first minute of the game with the second coming in the 36th minute.
However the Jags scored to tie the game in the second half with a goal in the 82nd minute and again in the 84th minute by Liz Clark and Brandi Smith respectively. But neither team could pull out a win and thus the match ended in a tie, 2-2.
The Lady Jags (2-7-1, 0-1-1 in the SBC) will return to Mobile to take on fellow Sun Belt opponent Western Kentucky on October 2nd with kickoff scheduled for 7pm at The Cage.
Volleyball
On Friday, the Jaguars volleyball team also opened their Sun Belt schedule against Florida Atlantic in Jag Gym. However the Jags would fall in straight sets (22-25, 20-25, 24-26).
Then on Sunday hosted Florida International at Jag Gym and fell for the second straight match, again in straight sets (15-25, 15-25, 17-25).
After these two losses, the Jags fell to 9-6 on the season and 0-2 in the Sun Belt after opening conference play.
The Jags will travel to Troy for a 7pm match.
South Alabama Sports Update 2009-09-21
Soccer
USA drops two games over the weekend. First the Jags traveled to Atlanta to play Georgia State. The weather forced a venue change and an early kickoff. At halftime, the Jags were only down 1-0 after a goal in the 41st minute. Then GSU added two goals in the second half to round out the final score of 3-0 to the Panthers.
From there the Jags traveled to Columbia, South Carolina for a match against the #12 ranked USC Gamecocks. The undefeated gamecocks took a 3-0 lead into halftime then scored another three goals in the second half. The Jags scored their lone goal of the weekend in the 85th minute of the match and was the first goal allowed by South Carolina this season. The final score was 6-1.
Volleyball
The Jags volleyball team traveled to Prairie View, Texas for a weekend tournament at Prairie View A&M. On Friday they had a rematch against Nicolls State that they won in straight sets 3-0 (25-23, 26-24, 25-20).
On Saturday the lady Jags first match was against Arkansas-Pine Bluff which they won in straight sets again 3-0 (25-12, 25-11, 25-11). They then took on the tournament host for the tournament title and won in straight sets once again 3-0 (25-20, 25-23, 25-23) to win the Lady Panther Invitational title.
Football
The Jaguars enjoyed another weekend off before beginning game-week preparation for this Saturday’s matchup against Army Prep at Ladd-Peebles Stadium.
However the weekend was not very good to Sun Belt teams. North Texas traveled to Tuscaloosa to take on the #4 ranked Crimson Tide but were demolished 53-7. LSU hosted Louisiana-Lafayette but the Ragin’ Cajuns could only muster a field goal to lose 31-3. Western Kentucky hosted Central Arkansas but could only punch it into the end zone once in the first half and lost 28-7.
Louisiana-Monroe traveled to Arizona State and managed to score two touchdowns but still fell short against the Sun Devils 38-14. Florida International took on Rutgers and lost 23-15. Troy hosted in-state rival UAB and took a 10 point lead into halftime but ended up with a 27-14 win.
Then the most exciting game of the weekend saw Middle Tennessee State travel to Maryland. The game stayed close then with two seconds remaining, down 31-29 MTSU made a 32 yard field goal to win the game 32-31.
Other action: Arkansas State had an off week but are 0-2 to begin the season after losing to Mississippi Valley State and Nebraska. They will host Troy this Saturday. Florida Atlantic traveled to South Carolina but lost to the Gamecocks 38-16.
South Alabama Sports Update 2009-09-18
Baseball
Due to wet field conditions South Alabama head baseball coach Steve Kittrell has been forced to postpone the start of fall practice until Sunday afternoon at the earliest. The Jags were expected to start their 45-day practice period Thursday afternoon. Kittrell made the decision to postpone due to NCAA rules that only allow 45 days for team workouts during the fall, and those begin with the teams first official practice.
Depending on the weather, the Jags may start practice on Sunday at 2pm.
Basketball
Men’s
The matchups have been announced for the second annual South Alabama Thanksgiving Classic. Coach Ronnie Arrow announced that Utah Valley, Georgia State and Alcorn State will play in the tournament on November 25 and 26 at the Mitchell Center.
Wednesday, Georgia State and Utah Valley will begin the tournament at 5pm followed by South Alabama and Alcorn State at 7pm. On Thursday, the consolation game will start at 2pm and the Championship game will begin at 4pm.
Women’s
Dr. Joel Erdmann, South Alabama’s Athletic Director, announced on Tuesday that Lady Jag coach Rick Pietri has received a contract extension through the 2013 season. Last season the Lady Jags finished 21-11, which is the first back to back 20-win season by the Lady Jags in 21 years. They also advanced to the semifinal round of the conference tournament for the first time since 2003 and only the second time since 1989.
On February 14th, Pietri grabbed his 150th career win at the collegiant level and ranks second in overall wins in South Alabama’s all-time coaching chart with 154 and ranks first in Sun Belt victories with 75.
Soccer
Kickoff of Friday’s soccer match between USA and Georgia State has been moved up from 6pm to 3:30pm due to a change in venue. Originally scheduled for a 6pm kickoff at GSU’s home field, they have moved to Atlanta Silverback’s Park due to unplayable conditions. Siverback’s Park has synthetic turf similar to USA’s football practice field.
Coach Varga was very grateful to head football coach Joey Jones for allowing the Soccer team to also use the football practice field to practice this week. He said, “We were very fortunate Coach Jones allowed us to practice on their field this week. I’m very grateful he allowed us that opportunity.”
Volleyball
This weekend will be the final tournament of the regular season for the Lady Jaguars before they begin their Sun Belt schedule. They are traveling to Prairie View A&M for the Lady Panther Invitational and will take on Nicholls State at 1pm on Friday then will take on Prairie View A&M and Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Saturday.
South Alabama Sports Update 2009-09-13
Football
Coach Jones and his staff will continue with with preseason camp-like practice schedule this week before going into game week practice starting Monday, September 21. This weeks practice will continue preparing the offense for the rest of the season by continuing to add more passing plays to the playbook that will translate to more passing during game situations.
There were several upsets around the nation in week two of college football play. Several teams came off big opening week games to fall in their second game. With three weeks between the Jags first game against Hargrave Academy and their second game against Army Prep.
Army Prep lost to the JV team from West Point 21-14 but came back for a win in their second game of the season in a high scoring affair against Hudson Valley Community College 46-43. Army Prep will play Nassau Community College this weekend before their trip to Mobile to face the Jaguars.
Volleyball
The Jags opened the Jaguar Classic with a loss against Southern Mississippi on Friday but came back to win two matches on Saturday beating Nicholls State 3-1 (17-25, 28-26. 25-10, 25-13) and Jackson State 3-2 (25-12, 20-25, 25-18, 16-25, 15-8).
These two wins on Saturday improved the Jaguars record to 6-4. They will close out their non-conference tournament schedule next weekend in Prairie View, Texas for the Lady Panther Invitational. The Jags will take on Nicholls State again on Friday Sept. 18 in the opening day of the Lady Panther Invitational. Then Friday, September 25 the Jags will open their regular season SBC play at home when they host Florida Atlantic at 5pm in Jaguar Gym.
Soccer
The Jaguars match with Stetson that was scheduled for Sunday was postponed due to lightning and eventually cancelled due to an unplayable surface due to heavy rain. The Jags will next play Georgia State in Atlanta on Friday, September 18 at 6pm followed by a trip to Columbia, South Carolina for their final non-conference match of the season when they play South Carolina on Sunday, September 20.
The Jags will begin their SBC scheude in Jonesboro, Arkansas when they take on Arkansas State on Friday, September 25.
Lady Jags Win In Overtime Versus Jacksonville
The lady Jags beat Jacksonville 1-0 on a clutch game-winning goal with 1:03 left in the first overtime.
Brandi Smith took the pass from Liz Clark and went up the left side of the box on a breakaway to score the game-winning goal, her second of the season.
This win ended a four game skid for the Jags (2-4-0) and earned their first victory and home this season.
The Jags will play again on Sunday when they host Stetson at “The Cage.”
Jags Soccer Drop Sundays Match Against Auburn On The Road
Jaguar soccer lost their second game of the season on Sunday afternoon to Auburn at Auburn Soccer Complex 3-0. USA drops to 1-2-0 while Auburn improves to 1-0-2 early in the 2009 season.
This weekend the Jags have played two outstanding teams in Auburn and Florida State. While their performance against the number 5 ranked Seminoles was a bit lack luster, they came back and played better against the Tigers. Head coach Mike Vargas mentioned this by saying, “It was a tough weekend. We played two very good teams this weekend. We competed a lot better in the second half today. We gave away two goals, but after that, we competed better and created some chances the other way. Hopefully, we learned some lessons in playing some very good teams this weekend. Florida State is a potential Final Four team, and Auburn isn’t far behind that.”
The Jags next game will be at home against Mississippi State on Friday, September 4, 7pm at The Cage.
Lady Jaguar Volleyball Start Season, Soccer Team Takes On #5 Florida State
Volleyball
The South Alabama volleyball team traveled to Louisiana for the Lady Techster Tournament to open play in the 2009 season. On Friday, they notched two wins to begin the season downing Arkansas-Pine Bluff 3-0 (25-20, 25-13, 25-13) and Centenary 3-0 (25-20, 25-22, 25-19).
The Lady Jags will continue play on Saturday when they play Tennessee-Martin at 2pm followed by Louisiana-Tech at 7pm with live stats available at www.usajaguars.com.
Soccer
Also on Friday, the Lady Jaguars soccer team traveled to Tallahassee to take on #5 ranked Florida State. The Jags came out on the losing end, falling 8-0 to the Lady Seminoles.
This evens their record for the season at 1-1-0 with their next game on Sunday, August 30 at Auburn Universtiy against the Lady Tigers starting at 2pm.