Soccer Returns to the Pitch on Friday Afternoon as They Host Texas Southern

Friday, August 24

Hattiesburg, Miss.

4:00 PM

Southern Miss

Texas Southern

Soccer Returns to the Pitch on Friday Afternoon as They Host Texas Southern

8/23/2018 4:33:00 PM | Women's Soccer

The Golden Eagles will be Seeking Their Second Win of the 2018 Season

HATTIESBURG, Miss. – The Southern Miss soccer team will return to the pitch on Friday, August 24^th when they host the Tigers of Texas Southern in a 4:00 p.m. (CT) contest at the Southern Miss Track and Field and Soccer Complex.

The Golden Eagles (1-1) will be coming off of a 7-0 Sunday victory over the ULM Warhawks. The seven goals scored by the Golden Eagles in Sunday's match are the most goals scored by the team since their home match against Jackson State on September 14, 2017 where 10 shots found their way to the back of the net.

Sophomore Miah Zuazua and freshman Rana Hussein each scored two goals a piece while freshmen Morgan Robertson and Kaleigh Killeen recorded the first goals of their collegiate careers. The Texas trio composed of sophomore Jennyfer Caracheo, and seniors Stephanie Garcia and Ola Akinniyi rounded out the scoring for the Golden Eagles squad. Zuazua and sophomore midfielder JoAnnie Ramos were credited with two assists each. Garcia also recorded an assist in addition to her goal.

Melbourne Beach, Fla. native Kendall Mindnich started the game in goal for Southern Miss before being substituted for Oregon transfer Sarah Preston to begin the second half. For the redshirt freshman Preston, her appearance in the second half of Sunday's match was her debut as a Southern Miss Golden Eagle.

Southern Miss will look to extend their non-conference home game winning streak to eight games with a win over Texas Southern.

The Texas Southern Tigers (0-2) led by head coach Kathryn Balogun currently find themselves seeking their first win of the 2018 season. The Tigers dropped their season opener to UT-Rio Grande Valley by a final score of 4-1 and were shutout by Portland State 2-0 in their second match of the season. Texas Southern was out-shot by UT-Rio Grande Valley 18-6 and by Portland 17-10. The Tigers first and lone goal of the season was scored by junior midfielder Kayla Smith on a penalty kick that came at the 30:59 mark in Tigers season opener against UT-Rio Grande Valley on August 17^th.

Southern Miss is 1-0 all-time against Texas Southern. The first ever meeting between the two schools on the pitch took place on September 10, 2017 at Alexander Durley Sports Complex in Houston, TX where the Golden Eagles came away with a 3-0 road victory.

Friday's contest will feature post-game TOPSoccer (The Outreach Program for Soccer). TOPSoccer is a community-based training and team placement program for young male and female athletes with mental or physical disabilities that is provided by US Youth Soccer. The Arc of Southeast Mississippi (Arc) will be participating in the inaugural TOPSoccer event hosted by Southern Miss, following the Golden Eagles match against Texas Southern.

Southern Miss head soccer coach Mohammed El-Zare is a certified TOPSoccer instructor who stresses the value and importance of the program.

"It doesn't matter what age a person is, what background they come from or what challenges they face, everybody deserves to enjoy sports. It is our responsibility as a team, to provide people within our community with disabilities a platform in the world of sports. The TOPSoccer program is a great way for our players to give back to the community while also learning valuable life lessons." Said El-Zare.

Admission to all home soccer matches is free. Fans can follow the action on the pitch via live updates through the official Southern Miss soccer Twitter account (@SouthernMissSoc).