Southern Miss
Arkansas State
Jones' Golden Goal Lifts Soccer in Season Opener
8/21/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
HATTIESBURG, Miss. -- In an exciting season opener, the Southern Miss women's soccer team defeated Arkansas State, 2-1, late in double overtime. Somer Jones broke the 1-1 tie with a goal in the 107th minute to lift the Golden Eagles in the season opener.
The game, which was played at Bobcat Soccer Stadium on the campus of Jones County Junior College, had a 40 minute delay because of thunderstorms in the area. Despite the delay, the Golden Eagles stayed focused and had control of the match, keeping most of the possession and outshooting the Red Wolves 22-8.
The Red Wolves struck first in the 37th minute. Forward Katey Carmichael won a second ball off a long free kick from defender Katherine Padgett and shot past Southern Miss goalkeeper Brittany Taylor. Taylor was solid for the rest of the match, making five saves for the Golden Eagles.
Southern Miss battled back in the second half and continued to create scoring opportunities. In the 63rd minute, junior Rikke Randrup turned her defender in the box and scored on an assist from freshman Mary Kate Smith.
In overtime, junior Adriana Garcia continued to push the ball up the right sideline to create chances for the Golden Eagles, including a cross to freshman Stephanie Garcia for a header that went just wide of the goal. Another great opportunity came in double overtime when freshman Ashleigh Lewis-Shodiende hit the crossbar on a shot inside the box.
The game winning goal didn't come until the 107th minute. Jones ripped a shot from 20 yards out that sailed far post past the Red Wolves keeper Amanda Lee.
"It feels great to see our hard work in preseason pay off," Jones said. "We have a lot of underclassmen, and I really think they stepped up for us tonight. By the second overtime, I think we were getting tired but we just pushed through it and worked together collectively."
The Golden Eagles play again Sunday, Aug. 23 at Jackson State. Kickoff is at 4:00 p.m.
