JACKSONVILLE – The combination of sophomore
Danielle Monroe and senior
Kayla Thompson set the tone with two early goals by Monroe in Jacksonville State's 4-1 win over Middle Tennessee on Friday night at the JSU Soccer Field.
The Gamecocks have put together back-to-back wins after Friday's result and have tallied seven goals in the last 135 minutes. The win pushed Jax State's mark to 2-1 on the season, while the MTSU fell to 0-3 overall. JSU will look to extend its winning ways on Sunday, hosting Georgia State on the JSU campus. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. Admission is free to all home matches.
Monroe and Thompson put together mirror images on a pair of scoring plays with in the first 20 minutes of action and the came within five minutes of each other. Thompson started both scoring opportunities with drives past the MTSU defense and crossing it to Monroe to finish the play. Monroe, from Villa Rica, Georgia struck for the first goal in the 15
th minute and added her second goal in the 20
th minute.
Thompson, a forward from Brandon, Mississippi, capped off a solid outing with her first goal of the night to extend JSU's lead to 3-0 in the 53
rd minute. Thompson was able to get by the Blue Raiders for a 1-v-1 situation for the goal. Thompson finished the night with five points overall in 69 minutes of action.
After the Blue Raiders quickly responded a minute after Thompson's goal to give them life, the Gamecocks were able to add an insurance goal in the 80
th minute as sophomore
Emma Meadows carded her first goal of her collegiate career after taking a cross from sophomore
Rachel Blanding.
JSU's defense was once again stingy throughout the contest as MTSU was limited to seven total shot attempts and three on goal opportunities. The Gamecocks were balanced offensively with seven shots in the opening half and six in the final 45 minutes for 13 total chances, including nine on goal.
The win snapped a four-game losing skid to MTSU and recorded a win over the side from Murfreesboro, Tennessee for the first time since 2008. The first goal of the contest on Friday also snapped a four consecutive games against MTSU that JSU did not tally a goal.
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