University of Southern Mississippi Athletics
Soccer begins season Thursday night at Mississippi State
8/15/2018 4:12:00 PM | Women's Soccer
HATTIESBURG, Miss. -- The 2018-19 Southern Miss athletic season begins Thursday night at 7 p.m. CT when the Golden Eagle soccer team heads to Starkville to take on Mississippi State.
Fans can tune into the game via SEC Network Plus (as well as the WatchESPN app) and may be asked to provide their cable provider login information.
This begins the program's sixth year under the direction of head coach Mohammed El-Zare. The staff also features first-year assistant coach Megan Soileau, who was hired in February. Seven seniors will look to provide leadership on this year's squad, including 2017 All-Conference USA First-Team defender Ola Akinniyi.
The Bulldogs lead the all-time series 7-2-2, with the last battle coming in Hattiesburg in 2016. Mississippi State scored in the 50th minute to ultimately take the 1-0 win in front of a school-record crowd. It also posted a 1-0 victory in Starkville in 2015.
Southern Miss' home opener is Sunday at 1 p.m. against ULM.
Offense
The Golden Eagles will bring back three of their top-five point scorers from last year. Akinniyi boasted a team-high seven goals and added an assist, while Miah Zuazua (nine points and All-Freshman recognition from the league) and senior Stephanie Garcia (nine points) return. Akinniyi was the epitome of efficiency by needing only 21 overall shots to reach that mark, and 16 of those were on goal. Zuazua was able to celebrate success extremely early in her career, giving the Golden Eagles a game-winning penalty kick to defeat Stephen F. Austin in her second-collegiate game.
"We've really been working hard at helping our players to play all moments of the game," El-Zare said. "To be a complete player, you have to play on offense, defense and transition. That has been a lot of our focus. You've seen it with such a young team, lots of freshmen and sophomores, that high school and club soccer is totally different from college. We need to help them adjust to the speed of the play and play in all moments of the game."
Rana Hussein, a freshman out of Houston, also scored two goals in the team's exhibition win over Mississippi Valley State on Aug. 7.
Defense
There could be a new voice between the posts for the Golden Eagles this season with the departures of Kelly Brahmbhatt, last year's starter, and the leadership of senior Shelby Presnell. Kendell Mindnich will be the veteran to the three newcomers in Sarah Preston, Julia Curatolo and Karsen Gildea.
"We have a junior college player like Karsen who has brought new energy to that spot," El-Zare said. "Sarah Preston has played in the Pac-12 and has seen what it takes to play at that level and has brought that with her. Julia has had a lot of success at various levels and is working hard to sharpen her skills at this level. Competitively, we are really excited for that position. I commend Kendell for the resilience she has shown in terms of coming in prepared this preseason knowing it will be a competitive environment. All four of them have brought their best."
Akinniyi, already well-known around C-USA for her offensive prowess, will continue to be a defensive weapon with her strength to win the ball of forwards and her speed to win the 50/50 balls both in the air and played behind the defense. Ashton Stennis, another senior stalwart, joins her, as well as Caitlin Pierce who had a fantastic season with staying calm under pressure at the center defender spot as a freshman.
The Golden Eagles return eight key players from last season's squad in addition to yet another talented field of freshman.
Follow the team on Facebook (Southern Miss Soccer), Twitter (@SouthernMissSoc) and Instagram (southernmisssoccer) for more content throughout the season.
