Southern Miss
10-4-3, 4-1-3
Old Dominion
13-4-1, 6-1-1
Soccer Falls To Old Dominion In C-USA Championship Final
11/7/2021 5:05:00 PM | Women's Soccer
BOCA RATON, Fla. – A season full of historic moments comes to an end as the Golden Eagles fell 1-0 to the Old Dominion Monarchs in the Conference USA Championship Final on Sunday afternoon, Nov. 7., in Boca Raton, Florida.
"These ladies have given it their best. I'm proud of the effort, the resiliency that they have shown throughout the year, and the group that they have become," stated Head Coach Mohammed El-Zare. "The seniors have left this program better than they found it and I thank them deeply from the bottom of my heart."
Freshman Mia Sadler (Jacksonville, Fla.-St. John's Country Day) took the first chance of the game with her shot in the sixth minute as it missed just left. Two shots within two minutes by Sadler and freshman Ryan Smith (Biloxi, Miss.-Biloxi) nearly gave Southern Miss the lead and opening goal, but could not beat the ODU keeper in the 16th and 18th minutes, respectively.
Moments later, Old Dominion capitalized against the run of play on a ball crossed into the box and headed past Mindnich. The Monarchs took the 1-0 advantage into the break.
Starting the second half, the Golden Eagles made two substitutions as senior Alice Campos (Campinas, Brazil-Northwestern Oklahoma State) and freshman Adaira Nakano (London, Ontario-St. Thomas Aquinas) came back onto the pitch. In the 70th minute, Alice Campos set up for a free kick in a dangerous area, only to have her shot saved by the ODU keeper on the bottom left. The Golden Eagles dominated possession for the final ten minutes but were only able to get one shot on goal.
Fifth-year senior Kendell Mindnich (Melbourne Beach, Fla.-Melbourne) made six saves throughout the 90 while senior Alice Campos led the team in shots with four.
16 Golden Eagles made an appearance in the match as six competed in the full 90 minutes.
The Monarchs led the Golden Eagles in shots, 12-to-11, while also having the advantage in corners, four-to-two. The only yellow card of the match was issued to ODU's Yuliia Khrystiuk.
Following the match, Kendell Mindnich, Ariel Diaz (Lubbock, Texas-North Texas), and Ilana Izquierdo (Cali, Colombia-Commeva) were named to the All-Tournament team.
Southern Miss ends the season with an overall record of 10-4-3, compiling a 4-1-3 mark in regular-season C-USA play. Over the course of the season, the Black and Gold saw four student-athletes named to the All-Conference USA teams, earned five C-USA Player of the Week honors, and had the winner of the C-USA Freshman of the Year. The Southern Miss Golden Eagles were also named the Conference USA West Division winners for the first time in program history.
For Southern Miss Soccer updates through the offseason, follow the team's Twitter account, @SouthernMissSoc, and check the main athletics site at SouthernMiss.com.
Team Stats
Morgan Hall (3)
Assisted By: Megan Watts
GOAL by ODU Hall, Morgan Assist by Watts, Megan.
19:21
