Southern Miss
2-1-0, 0-0-0
Nicholls
0-3-0, 0-0-0
Eight Goal Thriller Ties Home Opener Record In Emphatic Win Over Nicholls
8/26/2021 10:51:00 PM | Women's Soccer
HATTIESBURG, Miss. – The Southern Miss soccer program made it six home opener wins in a row as it saw off Nicholls, 8-0, on Thursday, Aug. 26, at the Southern Miss Soccer Complex. The win also tied the record for largest victory in a home opener which was set on Aug. 30, 2013, as the Golden Eagles beat Arkansas-Pine Bluff, 8-0, in Head Coach Mohammed El-Zare's first season.
Leading the Black and Gold offensively was senior Ariel Diaz (Lubbock, Tx.-North Texas) as she continued her attacking prowess with two goals and an assist to her name. Freshman Ilana Izquierdo (Cali, Columbia-Commeva) had a night of her own, scoring her first two collegiate goals and notching her first collegiate assist. Junior Madisyn Flammia (Panama City, Fla.-A. Crawford Mosley HS) also added to the action with a goal to her name.
Freshmen Technayda Cobyte (North Miami, Fla.-North Miami) and Mia Sadler (Jacksonville, Fla.-St. John's Country Day), along with sophomore Elis Klein Spindola (Darmstadt, Germany-LIchtenbergschule Darmstadt Europaschule Gymnasium) all collected their first collegiate level goals. Cobyte also added an assist to her name during the match.
Ariel Diaz opened the scoring in the 12th minute after sprinting past two defenders and receiving a pass from junior Nolubabalo Sishuba (Cape Town, South Africa-University of Western Cape). Just three minutes later, the Texas native marked another down for herself on the score sheet thanks to a perfectly timed header from Izquierdo in the 15th minute. In the 23rd minute, Flammia netted her first of the season after a Nicholls goalkeeping error allowed her to score.
Izquierdo slotted her first of the night in the 33rd minute after Diaz returned the favor with a slanting run past the defense on the far side and a pass cutting through two defenders caught the wide-open No. 6. The Columbian doubled her tally in the game on an easy tap-in after a slice-and-dice by Cobyte. With 44 seconds left in the first half, Sadler added a worldie to her repertoire after taking the ball off of two Colonel defenders and sprinting past a third, rifling it into the top right corner. Cobyte saw her first goal of the season in the 54th minute after taking the mistimed Nicholls ball past two Nicholls defenders and lasered it past the goalie. Spindola put away the final Golden Eagle goal in the 54th minute thanks to a pass inside the box from freshman Ember Temple (Meridian, Miss.-West Lauderdale HS).
Southern Miss will hit the road and travel east to Tuscaloosa, Ala., taking on the Crimson Tide, Sunday, Aug. 29, at 1 p.m. inside the Alabama Soccer Stadium.
For Southern Miss Soccer updates, follow the team's twitter account, @SouthernMissSoc, and check the main athletics site at SouthernMiss.com.
Team Stats
Ariel Diaz (2)
Assisted By: Nolubabalo Sishuba
GOAL by USM Diaz, Ariel Assist by Sishuba, Nolubabalo.
11:18
Ariel Diaz (2)
Assisted By: Ilana Izquierdo
GOAL by USM Diaz, Ariel Assist by Izquierdo, Ilana.
14:54
Madisyn Flammia (1)
GOAL by USM Flammia, Madisyn.
23:29
Ilana Izquierdo (2)
Assisted By: Ariel Diaz
GOAL by USM Izquierdo, Ilana Assist by Diaz, Ariel.
32:14
Ilana Izquierdo (2)
Assisted By: Technayda Cobyte
GOAL by USM Izquierdo, Ilana Assist by Cobyte, Technayda.
34:03
Mia Sadler (1)
GOAL by USM Sadler, Mia.
44:16
Technayda Cobyte (1)
GOAL by USM Cobyte, Technayda.
53:19
Elis Spindola (1)
Assisted By: Ember Temple
GOAL by USM Spindola, Elis Assist by Temple, Ember.
53:34
