Soccer Shuts Out Nicholls in 6-0 Victory

Sunday, September 10

Hattiesburg, Miss.

1 p.m.

Southern Miss

Nicholls

Southern Miss vs Northwestern State compete in NCAA Soccer Match. August 31, 2023 (Joe Harper/bgnphoto.com)

Photo by: Joe Harper/bgnphoto.com

Soccer Shuts Out Nicholls in 6-0 Victory

9/10/2023 5:37:00 PM | Women's Soccer

Box Score

HATTIESBURG, Miss.-- The Southern Miss Soccer Team (3-4-0, 0-0-0 SBC) dominated Nicholls State (1-7-0, 0-0-0 SLC) with a resounding 6-0 victory at the Southern Miss Soccer Complex Sunday afternoon. Junior midfielder Adaira Nakano led the charge with a remarkable hat trick, while graduate defender Tay Collum scored her first-ever career goal.

"It was a solid performance from everybody. This game allowed us to give a lot of players good minutes before the start of conference play. I was pleased with how they performed today, and it gave one more look before conference play at what we have prepared all year," said coach El-Zare.

Southern Miss wasted no time asserting dominance, scoring four goals in the opening 20 minutes of play. The scoring spree began with Emillie Torres delivering a precise cross to Adaira Nakano on the left side of the box, who expertly directed the ball into the back of the net just one minute into the game. Freshman Chole Taylor added another goal six minutes later, winning a foot race with a Nicholls State defender and finding the back of the net. Nakano struck again in the 11th minute, courtesy of Torres' assist. Midfielder Brooke Amos extended the lead to 4-0 in the 21st minute for her first in the Black and Gold, with Nakano providing the assist. By the end of the first half, Southern Miss held the lead in both goals scored and shots attempted, with a tally of 8-1 in their favor.

In the second half, graduate student Tay Collum secured her first collegiate goal unassisted in the 52nd minute, breaking through the Colonels' defense. Adaira Nakano, hailing from Canada, completed her hat trick in the 83rd minute by converting a penalty kick.

Defensively, Southern Miss allowed Nicholls three shots, with two on target. Goalkeepers Alex Helbling and Maddie Ellis each played a half and made one save apiece.

Notables:

It was the first time with multiple first-half goals since their opening match in the 2021 C-USA Tournament versus the FAU Owls.
The last time the Golden Eagles had four first-half goals was Sept. 19, 2021, versus Marshall.
This is the first time the Golden Eagles scored goals within the first ten minutes of play since last season when Blessing Kingsley scored in the first four minutes of action against Troy.
Since 2016, Southern Miss has been very successful in their final non-conference matchups as they have gone 6-1-1 and outscored their opponents 38-2.
The six goals today is the most for Southern Miss since their final non-conference match of the 2021 season when they defeated Jackson State 6-0.
Midfielder Adaira Nakano was one point away from breaking the individual single-game program record held by Kayo Suzuki with her eight points in the Golden Eagles matchup against Troy in September of 1998.

Next up: The Golden Eagles will open conference play in Hattiesburg on Sunday, Sept. 17, against South Alabama. The event will be streamed on ESPN+, and live stats will be available.

Follow @SouthernMissSoc on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.