Postseason Implications At Stake On Soccer Senior Night

JACKSONVILLE – With the regular season coming down the final stretch, the Jacksonville State soccer team will close out the home slate on Saturday evening against rival Kennesaw State at the Jax State Soccer Complex.

Match time is set for 7 p.m. Admission to all home matches is free. The Conference USA tilt will be streamed on ESPN+. Jax State will honor its senior class prior to te start of the match with prematch festivities beginning at 6:40 p.m.

Postseason implications are at stake heading into the home finale with just two matches left in the regular season. The Gamecocks enter the weekend two points behind the Owls at seven points after the results from last weekend. Jax State will be looking to bounce-back from a setback to New Mexico State, while KSU knocked off CUSA frontrunner, FIU, last Sunday in Kennesaw, Georgia. The Owls start the weekend activity with nine points and would hold the final CUSA Soccer Championship field spot. The top-six clubs in CUSA will advance to the postseason event at FIU in early November.

LAST TIME OUT
New Mexico State tallied a pair of goals in each half to post a 4-1 win over Jacksonville State last Saturday at the NM State Soccer Complex. The Conference USA tilt was marred with weather delays as the match was pushed back over an hour due to lightning in the area. Weather forced a second lengthy delay in the contest with just under 10 minutes left in the opening half. The two clubs combined for 22 shots on the night with NM State holding a 12-10 edge in shots. Junior Nancy Almanza paced the Gamecocks in the setback with a pair of shots and registered a goal late in the contest. Almanza posted her sixth goal of the season in the 87th minute to break up the shutout. Graduate Melissa Kuya Strobel and junior Allison Sibley also had two shots.

SENIOR SALUTE
Jax State will honor its senior class that has made countless contributions to the Gamecock soccer program on and off the pitch. The five-member senior class has combined to play in 223 matches throughout their career. Taking to the pitch at the Jax State Soccer Complex for the final tonight will be Bailey Dean, Melissa Kuya Strobel, Salome Kerguillec, Baylee Eads and Laleh Lonteen. Dean, a goalkeeper, has collected 145 career saves and has posted six career shutouts. Kuya Strobel, who came to Jax State from Troy, has made an immediate impact to the club with three goals and five assists. Kerguillec, a two-year member of the program has combined for eight assists in a Gamecock uniform. Eads has keyed the Jax State defense and was named to the 2023 CUSA All-Academic Second Team with Kerguillec. Lonteen, in her fourth year with Jax State, has recorded nine career goals, including eight as a junior.

UPCOMING SCHEDULE
The Gamecocks will spend Halloween night in Miami, Florida as they conclude the regular season against the Panthers of FIU. Jax State returns to South Florida for the second consecutive year as it visited the Sunshine State last season against FIU. The top-six teams in Conference USA will earn bids to the 2024 CUSA Soccer Championship that will be hosted by FIU on November 6-10.

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Players Mentioned

Nancy Almanza

Bailey Dean

Baylee Eads

Salome Kerguillec

Melissa Kuya Strobel

Laleh Lonteen

Allison Sibley

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