JACKSONVILLE – The Jacksonville State women's soccer team will finally take to the field on Tuesday, opening its season against Ohio Valley Conference foe Belmont.

Opening kick off is set for 3 p.m. at the JSU Soccer Field. Admission is free to all JSU home matches. The contest will also be streamed on ESPN+.

When the OVC pushed back its soccer season to the spring semester due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it has been since October 27, 2019 since the Gamecocks have competed on the pitch.  The Gamecocks will play a 1-=match, OVC-only slate during the spring semester.

Head coach Neil Macdonald has revamped the program heading into his eighth season in charge of the program by adding 12 new faces to the program to mesh with a solid core of returning players that gained valuable experience in the 2019 season.

That core of returning players evolves around the three captains on the club this year. After missing the 2019 season due to an injury, redshirt junior Lindsay Albani is set to return to action. Returning for her third season with the Gamecocks is goalkeeper Morgan Lerch. Lerch made 12 starts last season and collected 57 saves in 2019. After 81 saves in her first season of action in 2018, the Collinsville, Illinois native has posted 138 career saves. Senior Alicia Pallister rounds out the trio of captains as the team leader in assists in 2019. Pallister also played in 52 career matches.

JSU's leading scorer from 2019 returns for her sophomore season after Cynthia Bagozzi tallied seven and an assist on the season. Bagozzi earned a spot on the 2019 All-OVC Second Team and named to the OVC All-Newcomer Team.  The forward from Orlando, Florida also led Jax State in total shots with 38 on the season.  She accumulated 15 points combined with her goals-scored and assist.  Bagozzi played in all 18 matches and logged 1,396 minutes of action.

For more information on the JSU soccer team, follow the Gamecocks on Twitter (@JSUGamecocksSOC) and Instagram (@JSUGamecocksSOC). For more on all Gamecocks sports teams, follow the official social media accounts of JSU Athletics on Twitter (@JSUGamecocks), Facebook (Facebook.com/JSUGamecocks) and Instagram (@JSUGamecocks).