JACKSONVILLE – The Jacksonville State soccer team will wrap up the home portion of the non-conference slate this weekend against Mississippi Valley State and in-state rival North Alabama.
The Gamecocks and Devilettes will kick off at 4 p.m. on Thursday at the Jax State Soccer Complex. Admission is free to all home matches on the Jax State campus. The matches will also be streamed on ESPN+ and live stats via JaxStateSports.com. Sunday's battle with the Lions is set for 1 p.m.
Jax State split last weekend with a 4-0 blanking of Alcorn State last Friday night at the Jax State Soccer Complex and concluded the weekend with a 3-1 setback to Chattanooga on Sunday at Finley Stadium in Chattanooga. A pair of goals in each half separated the Gamecocks and Lady Braves. Junior
Kylie Wells expanded Jax State's lead with a pair of PK goals in the second half. Jax State held ASU without a shot in the match and finished with 25 shots. Sophomore
Naroa Domenech recorded her fourth goal of the season in the opening half, while junior
Laleh Lonteen posted her fifth goal of the season before the halftime break. Redshirt senior
Mya Fregoli tallied her first goal as a Gamecock in Sunday's match with UTC. The goal gave Jax State a 1-0 lead through the first 21 minutes before the Mocs rallied with a pair of goals right before the end of the first 45 minutes.
The Gamecocks and MVSU will be meeting for the sixth time on the pitch on Thursday. Jax State has won all five previous meetings by a combined score of 25-0, including a 15-0 rout in the last meeting during the 2014 season. Prior to the 2014 contest between Jax State and MVSU met in back-to-back seasons in 2009 and 2010 and 2003 and 2004.
After three weeks of the NCAA Division I Soccer season, Jacksonville State ranks among the to-scoring teams in the nation. Jax State has produced 23 goals through six matches (3.83 per match) which ranks sixth coming into the weekend activity. Jax State shares the sixth spot with Houston and Pittsburgh. Arkansas Pine Bluff has accumulated 31 goals so far this season to take the early scoring lead. Texas has tallied 28 goals, while Oklahoma State and Gonzaga have registered 24 goals. Jax State also ranks in the NCAA Top-10 in points per game (11.00). The Gamecocks' 13 goals against South Carolina State on August 20 ranks as the third-most goals scored in a single match this season in NCAA Division I Soccer. Individually, sophomore
Camryn Davis and Laleh Loneen are two of four players this season to have recorded four goals in a match. Eastern Washington's Maddie Morgan scored five against Providence in late August. Lonteen holds the top spot in points in a single match with 11 against SCSU.
Even though Jax State and North Alabama have been longtime rivals in athletic competition dating back to the two schools' days in NCAA Division II, the two schools have only met four times on the pitch. Sunday's outing will be the fifth meeting and the third on the Jax State campus. The first two meetings between the Gamecocks and Lions were non-conference match ups in 2018 and 2019. The two sides became conference foes in 2021 and 2022 as members of the ASUN. UNA leads the series, 3-1. Jax State's win over UNA came during the 2021 campaign.
The Gamecocks conclude the non-conference portion of the 2023 schedule on Thursday, September 14 in Montgomery, Alabama against the Hornets of Alabama State. The match is set for 6 p.m. on the ASU campus. Following Thursday's road outing, Jax State will open its first season of Conference USA, hosting another CUSA newcomer, Sam Houston. The contest is set for 1 p.m. at the Jax State Soccer Complex.
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