Soccer Kicks Off 2024 Season with Home Match Against Mississippi Valley State

Thursday, August 15

Marshall Bell Track & Field and Soccer Complex

4:30 p.m.

Southern Miss

Mississippi Valley State

Soccer Kicks Off 2024 Season with Home Match Against Mississippi Valley State

8/14/2024 12:00:00 PM | Women's Soccer

HATTIESBURG, Miss.- Southern Miss Soccer officially begins the 2024 campaign Thursday, hosting Mississippi Valley State at the Marshall Bell Complex at 4:30 p.m.

Game 1: Southern Miss (0-0, 0-0 Sun Belt) vs. Mississippi Valley State (0-0, 0-0 SWAC)
Thursday, Aug. 15 at 4:30 p.m.
Marshall Bell Complex
ESPN+: https://es.pn/3SMzsn2
Live Stats: https://smttt.info/3MoNd89

Southern Miss looks to improve from its 6-9-3 (3-4-3 Sun Belt) finish in 2023, the best mark for the program since the 2021 season. The Golden Eagles concluded the season with a 1-0 defeat to Georgia State in the first round of the Sun Belt Championship Tournament.

Mohammed El-Zare enters his twelfth season as the head coach of Southern Miss Soccer, holding a 76-89-28 all-time record as the program's winningest coach. Juan Cediel returns for his second season as assistant coach, joined by first-year assistant coach Darby Nettles Pittman and volunteer assistant coach Avery Howell.

The Golden Eagles feature a roster of 26 players with 16 returners. Southern Miss' ten newcomers include eight freshmen and two transfers.

Home Sweet Home

Southern Miss finished its home slate in 2023 with a 5-2-2 record, which marked the tenth time in program history the team finished with five or more wins at home. The Golden Eagles boast a 19-13-6 record at home over the last five seasons and a 101-93-26 all-time record in Hattiesburg.

Southern Miss allowed nine goals at home in nine matches. The Golden Eagles only allowed goals in each half once at home in a 2-1 loss to Georgia State on Oct. 15, 2023. Southern Miss held three opponents scoreless, all coming in home contests (3-0 vs. Northwestern State, 6-0 vs. Nicholls, 0-0 vs. South Alabama). Since joining the Sun Belt conference prior to the 2022 season, Southern Miss has posted six total shutouts, with five coming in Hattiesburg.

The Golden Eagles had three comeback wins at home last season, including their home opening contest against MVSU. After the Devilettes scored in the tenth minute, Southern Miss responded with goals in the 37th minute and 71st minute to secure a 2-1 victory.

On The Attack

Southern Miss finished the season with 25 goals, the most since the 2021 season. Adaira Nakano led the Golden Eagles with 18 points, including team-highs of seven goals and four assists. Her seven goals tied for the fifth most in the conference last season.

A total of six Golden Eagles recorded multiple goals last season, with four returning in the 2024 campaign: Nakano, Chloe Taylor, Alice Williamson and Rebeka Vega.

Taylor joined Nakano as the two players with ten or more shots on goal last season. Taylor converted three of her ten shots on goal.

In the Goal

A new face will be in the goal this season as Southern Miss' last line of defense. Senior goalkeeper Alex Helbling started all 18 matches last season, as well as 32 of the program's previous 34 matches. The Highlands Ranch, Colo. native concluded her career with 123 saves at Southern Miss, the ninth most in program history.

Goalkeepers Kesaia Bruni, Lena Blake and Maddie Ellis are all returners in Southern Miss' roster, joined by Georgia Southwestern transfer Grace O'Shaughnessy.

O'Shaugnessy started two seasons in goal, recording 122 saves in 28 games played at Georgia Southwestern.

Bruni leads the returners in experience at Southern Miss with five appearances for 208 minutes of action, earning 18 saves, including a career-high ten saves versus Alabama on Aug. 25, 2022. Ellis appeared in six matches in her freshman campaign last season for a total of 115 minutes with five saves and Blake started one match as a freshman in 2022.

Series History:

This will be the second consecutive season that the Golden Eagles have opened their home slate against MVSU. Southern Miss won 2-1 against the Devilettes on Aug. 26, 2023.

Southern Miss leads the all-time series 10-1 with seven consecutive wins. MVSU's lone win against the Golden Eagles came on the road in a 1-0 victory on Sept. 16, 2008.

For the latest information on Southern Miss Soccer, follow the program on Facebook (facebook.com/SouthernMissSoccer), Twitter (@SouthernMissSoc) and Instagram (@southernmisssoccer).