Soccer Continues C-USA Slate on Road
10/9/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
HATTIESBURG, Miss. - The Southern Miss soccer team hits the road for a pair of Conference USA tilts this weekend as the Golden Eagles take on Old Dominion on Friday (6:00 p.m.) before concluding the weekend at Charlotte on Sunday (12:00 p.m.).
Southern Miss enters the weekend with a 5-6-2 (.462) overall record, including a 0-2-2 (.250) mark in C-USA play. Old Dominion is 3-6-3 (.375) overall with a 2-1-1 (.625) clip in the league. Heading into the weekend, Charlotte is 5-5-1 (.500) and 2-2-0 (.500) in C-USA play, but will play host to Louisiana Tech on Friday night before hosting the Golden Eagles on Sunday.
The Black and Gold enter the weekend after a pair of double overtime draws. Last weekend, Southern Miss played UAB even, 1-1, on Friday night before recording a 2-2 tie with Middle Tennessee. On the weekend, senior Casey Adkins led the way with all three goals scored on the weekend. Adkins now has four goals in her career and notched her first multi-goal game.
Offensively this season, twenty-one (21) of Southern Miss' 24 position players have recorded at least on point, led by eight points by true freshman Karen Torres and sophomore Breann Hedin. Torres leads the team with four goals scored and is one of 13 players to notch at least one goal this season. Hedin paces the team with four assists, while true freshman Beth Coleman is second with three.
Defensively, Brittany Taylor returned between the posts over the weekend. After sitting out with an injury, Taylor returned to her goalkeeping duties after missing seven games. In six games this season, Taylor is 2-2-2 for a .500 clip. The sophomore has 30 saves, allowing just seven goals for a 1.08 goals against average with two shutouts to her credit. In her absence, freshman Shelby Presnell played in all seven games, making six starts. Presnell recorded 33 stops and a 2.39 GAA in 640 minutes of action. The true freshman also notched a pair of shutouts, giving the team four on the season.
Southern Miss holds a 1-0-0 advantage in the all-time series with Old Dominion. The Golden Eagles defeated the Lady Monarchs 4-3 in overtime on Senior Day last season in Hattiesburg. Charlotte leads the series 6-0-1 all-time. The two teams started the series in 1998, but have not faced each other since 2004.
Scouting the Opposition:
Old Dominion: The Lady Monarchs have had their share of close games already this season, as 11 of their 12 matches have been decided by one goal or less. In fact, a total of seven matches this season have ended up going to overtime, while the three most recent games have all required extra time.
Charlotte: In their last outing, an all-around, solid team performance carried Charlotte to a 3-0 triumph at WKU in Conference USA women's soccer action. The 49ers tallied all three of their goals during the second 45 minutes, while the defense limited the Lady Toppers' chances on the other end.