JACKSONVILLE – The Jacksonville State soccer team registered two goals in the first half en route to a 2-1 win over Jackson State on Friday night at the JSU Soccer Field.

The Gamecocks picked up their second win on the home pitch and moved to 2-4-1 on the season while the visiting Tigers dropped to 0-5 on the season.  JSU now turns its attention to Sunday's in-state battle with Alabama State on Sunday in Montgomery, Alabama.  The match is set for 1 p.m. on the ASU campus.

After being idle for a week, the Gamecocks wanted to pressure the Tigers early and put up an early score in the contest.  JSU had early chances but could not find the back of the net until the 25^th minute of the opening half.  Jax State's first of two goals in the opening 45 minutes came quickly after freshman Nadia Plawiuk entered the contest.  The Kleinburg, Ontario, Canada native was able to get behind the Tiger defense as fellow freshman Emma Meadows served up a quality pass for Plawiuk to center it in the back of the net. It was her second of the season and the assist was the first in Meadows' young JSU career.

The Gamecocks kept pressing the Tigers' defense looking for a second goal of the night.  The result came in the waning seconds before the halftime intermission.  Senior Carsen Taylor delivered a deep shot from nearly 45 yards out as it sailed past Jackson State's goalkeeper, Kylie Christian.  It was Carsen's first goal of the season and fifth of her career.

Taylor's goal would prove too be the difference in the match and become the game-winning goal after the Tigers slipped a goal past the Gamecocks in the 70^th minute to slice the deficit to 2-1 with plenty of time to equalize.  The Tigers were limited to a pair of shots in the first half, but posted seven attempts in the second half in search of the equalizing goal. 

JSU registered a season-high 21 total shots in the contest with 13 of the final tally coming in the first 45 minutes.  Taylor was one of seven Jax State individuals to collect multiple shot attempts as she paced the club with five.  Senior Nicola Dominikovich and Plawiuk finished with three each, while Kayla Thompson, Danielle Monroe, Mackenzie Bellows and Madison Carruthers pitched in a pair of scoring chances.

Jackson State's Jalah Carter finished with two shots in the setback and scored the goal for the Tigers
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Live stats for Sunday's battle with the Hornets will be available on JSUGamecockSports.com.

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