Live Stats vs. Tennessee Tech |
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Live Stats vs. Eastern Kentucky |
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JACKSONVILLE – With the non-conference schedule complete, the Jacksonville State soccer team will begin its Ohio Valley Conference slate this weekend, traveling to Tennessee Tech and Eastern Kentucky.
Both matches on the opening weekend of league play will be afternoon contests as JSU and Tech will get underway in Cookeville, Tennessee at 3 p.m., while Sunday's match against the Colonels is set for 12 p.m. CST. Both conference battles will be streamed on the OVC Digital Network.
The Gamecocks, 3-5-1 through the non-conference portion of the schedule, will look to carry the momentum from last weekend's matches at the Nike Challenge 2 in Charleston, South Carolina. JSU dropped a 1-0 decision to Charleston Southern last Friday, but controlled the pace of the match throughout. Jax State showed its resilience on Sunday after trailing The Citadel, 1-0, at halftime. The Gamecocks took command of the match in the second half, scoring a pair of goals within a three-minute span and limited the Bulldogs to just one shot in the final 45 minutes. JSU turned in 19 of its 23 total shots in the second half of the contest.
JSU's defense has been solid throughout with the collective efforts of the backline and junior goalkeeper
Caroline Robinson. Senior defender
Justine Panchuk was honored by the OVC office as the league's top defender last week. The senior from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada sparked JSU's second half against The Citadel on Sunday with the equalizing goal in the 59th minute. Panchuk scored JSU's first goal of the match on a rebound off the keeper. Sophomore
Claire Petersen gave the Gamecocks their second goal with the game winner coming in the 62
nd minute.
This weekend's contests features three of the top-five teams in the OVC in total shots. The Gamecocks rank second in the league with 116, with an average of 12.89 shots per match, while the Golden Eagles of TTU have posted 112 shots to rank third. EKU rounds out the top-five clubs in total shots with 101. Tech begins the 10-match conference schedule with a 4-4-1 overall mark and have dropped its last two outings. After starting the 2016 campaign 0-2-1, EKU has strung together five consecutive wins heading into OVC play.
The opening weekend of conference play wraps up a lengthy road trip for the Gamecocks as they have played the last five matches on the road. JSU's OVC home opener is set for Friday, Sept. 30 against Eastern Illinois.
