W-D-L: 1-1-1 2-1-0
August 30, 2013
7:00 pm @ University of Houston
I don't think there was a team more dominant over their opposition last year than Stephen F. Austin. The Lady Jacks went undefeated in Southland Conference play and at home, outscoring their SLC opponents 27-3, and finishing with a +39 overall goal differential. The Southland 2012 statistics book has Chelsea Raymond, Laura Sadler and Kylie Louw occupying the top goal-scorer spot with five each in eight conference matches, and Zuri Prince tied in the next spot with four, on their way to a double league and cup championship. Finishing at the top of the league is actually not uncommon for the Jacks; they have not been beaten in the regular season since before the arrival of Zuri and Chelsea for the 2011 campaign in which the latter topped the conference with 13 goals, nearly doubling the 7 by Lamar's Lisa Hance who came in second. With both Chelsea and Zuri, along with defender Megan Dunnigan and senior keeper Lacey Lee who produced the fifth best shutout percentage in the nation and a 0.62 goals-against average last year, SFA is poised to continue dominating the opposition, justifying their top ten ranking in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America Central Region.
What the Lady Jack offensive juggernaut probably was not expecting last Friday when they strutted into the Carl Lewis International Complex was a Cougar defense that had hardened their resolve, determined to find redemption from an outing in which lapses at the back cost them two goals and the game against Georgia at home, a defense that had found its form, a defense that, if they had read at all these astounding numbers the Lady Jacks put up last year, were unfazed but rather played like they were motivated by them. The backline in chaos against Georgia's wings were disciplined and well-organized, putting up an impregnable wall that kept Chelsea and Zuri and company out of the paint for not 90 minutes, but over 120 through double overtime, forcing the Jacks to take nearly all their 21 total shots from beyond 18 yards, albeit twice denied by the woodwork.
Megan and the SFA defense answered with their own domination of the Houston attack, limiting the Coogs' forward rotation of Kelsey Zamora, Jasmine Martinez, Kayla Walker, Alexis Weaver and sophomore transfer from Akron Lexa Green to just six total shots on goal. As momentum shifted from one direction to the other, the intensity of the match took out two of the hardest working players on the pitch. Late in the first half, Chelsea stuck her left foot out in front of an all-out clearance by a Houston defender. Out of balance, the ball must have struck her ankle in a vulnerable position, and she crumpled to the grass. Helped off the field, Chelsea would not come back into the game, which means that her final tally of eight shots on goal were all taken in the first half. Then, early in the second half, Houston midfield general Kylie Cook took a bad spill as she drove to try and keep the ball in at the top endline, typical of her uncompromising hustle. It was unclear from the stands what her injury could have been as she was tended to by the medical staff and driven away in the ambulance. I saw her clutching her arm, leading me to speculate that it may have been her wrist or shoulder.
At the time of this writing, I have yet to come across any details of Kylie's injury. We continue to hope that she will be back for UH's crosstown match at Houston Baptist, the second game in Kokoy's Matches of the Week double-header on September 15, if not sooner. (Good news on Chelsea - she did come on for 76 minutes as a substitute in SFA's subsequent match last Sunday at home against Arizona State.)
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| Courtney Dudley (26) pressures Chelsea Raymond (9) laterally and forces her to shoot from outside the box. Disciplined and well-organized, the Cougar defense held off one of the most potent offenses in the nation. |
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| Intrepid Kelsey Zamora (7) was very busy on Houston's left side, sometimes taking on a double-team, but Kara Marshall (21) and the Stephen F. Austin defense gave her little space and time on the ball. |
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| In response to pressure from Kara Marshall (purple 21) with her back to goal, Alexis Weaver (5) pushes the ball to the outside. |
(All photos by Kokoy Severino.)
UPCOMING MATCHES OF THE WEEK:
Sunday Sep 1 Lamar (#161, 1-0-2) @ University of Texas at San Antonio (#230, 1-0-2) Classic Tournament 1:00 pm
Monday Sep 2 Texas Lutheran University (Div III, 0-0-1) @ Concordia University (Div III, 0-0-0) at Town & Country Field, Austin 2:00 pm
Friday Sep 6 Southern University (#323) @ Lamar University (#161) 7:00 pm
Friday Sep 13 University of Texas at El Paso (#185) @ HBU (#205) 7:00 pm
Sunday Sep 15 Louisiana State University (#66) @ Rice (#82) 1:00 pm
Sunday Sep 15 U of H (#126) @ HBU 7:00 pm
Friday Sep 20 Oklahoma State University (#76) @ Rice 7:00 pm
Sunday Sep 22 South Carolina State University (#292) @ TSU 7:00 pm
Friday Sep 27 Northwestern State University (#260) @ HBU* 7:00 pm
Sunday Sep 29 Vanderbilt University (#114) @ Texas A&M University (#15)* 1:00? or 3:00? pm in College Station
Thursday Oct 3 University of Cincinnati (#227) @ U of H* 7:00 pm
Friday Oct 11 TSU @ Prairie View A&M University (#303)* 7:00 pm
Sunday Oct 13 Texas Tech University (#21) @ Baylor University (#10)* 1:00 pm in Waco
Friday Oct 18 Oral Roberts University (#124) @ HBU* 5:00 pm
Friday Oct 18 Colorado College (#50) @ Rice* 7:00 pm
Sunday Oct 20 Mississippi Valley State University (#275) @ TSU* 1:00 pm
Thursday Oct 24 University of Central Florida (#20) @ U of H* 7:00 pm
Friday Oct 25 Grambling State University (#322) @ TSU* 7:00 pm
Saturday Oct 26 University of Texas-Tyler @ Concordia* 5:00 pm at St. Stephen's HS, Austin
Sunday Oct 27 East Carolina University (#97) @ Rice* 1:00 pm
Thursday Oct 31 LSU @ Tx A&M* 7:00 pm in College Station
Friday Nov 1 Sam Houston State University (#233) @ HBU* 5:00 pm
Friday-Saturday Nov 1-9 Red River Athletic Conference Tournament* @ Houston Amateur Sports Park
Monday Nov 4 Conference USA Tournament Quarter-Finals @ Rice* Wednesday
Nov 6 Conference USA Tournament Quarter-Finals* @ Rice
Thursday Nov 7 Southwestern Athletic Conference Tournament* @ Houston Amateur Sports Park
Friday Nov 8 Conference USA Tournament Semi-Finals* @ Rice
Saturday Nov 9 Southwestern Athletic Conference Tournament* @ Houston Amateur Sports Park
Sunday Nov 10 Conference USA Tournament Final* @ Rice
(Kokoy's Matches of the Week are those which I plan to attend.)
Kokoy Severino has been coaching junior high school soccer in the public school system of the Greater Houston area for 19 years. He holds a National Youth Diploma from the National Soccer Coaches Association of America, two coaching certifications from the United States Soccer Federation, and a Master in Educational Leadership degree from the University of St. Thomas in Houston, Texas. His research focuses on the relationship between interscholastic competitive soccer and the academic success of at-risk students. He returns regularly to his native country of the Philippines and conducts soccer training sessions for economically disadvantaged youths.
"This blog is to document the intensity, the depth, the passion, the strategic and tactical nuances, the stars, the spectacular play that I witness in the women's teams at the college level. And in doing so, it is my hope that others might be inspired to discover for themselves the beautiful game brought by the women." (Kokoy, from blog entry dated Nov 4, 2012)
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