Stephen F. Austin Advances Past McNeese State, 5-1
NATCHITOCHES, La. - Four Ladyjacks scored goals as the No. 3 seed Stephen F. Austin advanced with a commanding 5-1 win over the No. 6 seed McNeese State in the opening match of the 2009 Southland Conference Soccer Tournament in Natchitoches, La.
Freshman forward Laura Sadler put the Ladyjacks ahead 1-0 in the first period (22:21) off an assist from junior defender Camille Royer. Her second assist of the season.
First-team all-conference selections, senior forward Megan Cash and freshman midfielder Kylie Louw each posted goals in the second period to give the Ladyjacks a 3-0 lead. Cash was assisted by second-team all-conference selection Kim Kimmel, her fourth of the season, and Louw beat two McNeese defenders for an unassisted goal.
Freshman Jayne Jahnke led the attack for SFA netting her second and third goals of the season.
Freshman forward Chelsea Smith tied the Southland tournament record for assists in a match with two. She joins Melissa Payne of Northwestern State (2008) and Joy Keating of McNeese State (1998).
McNeese sophomore forward Jordan Picou scored off a deflection from over 20 yards out to avoid the shutout.
The Ladyjacks advance to play the No. 2 seed Southeastern Louisiana. The Lady Lions took the regular season meeting against SFA, 2-0 on October, 11.
The tournament continues this evening with No. 4 Sam Houston State facing No. 5 UTSA.
Live stats as well as streaming video and audio are available on SLC NOW on the Southland Conference web site at www.southland.org.
Postmatch Quotes:
Stephen F. Austin Coach George Van Linder
We're very excited to get this kind of start. We were nervous about this first game but I was really proud of how we responded. The score is not indicative of how close the game really was. It was only 1-0 in the first half. McNeese State played us very close.
On Team Effort:
We take so much pride in a team effort and it was really great to see it tonight. We had four girls score five goals. Jayne Jahnke got her second and third goals of the year. I was really proud of how everyone stepped up.
Megan Cash
We are showing everyone that we're ready to play and we are looking forward to the next match.
Jayne Jahnke
Chelsea gave me a great set up and I was able to put us up. I'm excited about getting to move on.
McNeese State Coach Scooter Savoie
We knew it would be difficult for us to get into a good rhythm. I thought we had a good run to get into the tournament. They made it very difficult for us to move the ball. You have to give them credit for that. I thought we made a good home-stretch to get here. We expected this game to be very difficult.
We should have made more big passes than small passes. We were just slow in our decision making and in our play. It's about rhythm and being able to play quicker. We also knew that if we were playing one-on-one with no cover we'd pay for it.
Coming from this, we are going to learn and grow from it. We had some young players step in and play some very important decisions. I think our youth showed a bit but I think we will come back a better team.
Jordan Pichou
I think we gave it a good go. We were only down 1-0 at halftime and we let down. They made some good runs and they finished. I think next year will be very interesting.
I think it'll be a lot different than this year because this was more of a rebuilding year. We lost 10 seniors last year, so it was like meeting a whole new team because there are so many of them. It takes a while for you to click as a team. Playing one season won't do that. Now that they have the experience I think we'll be a lot stronger next year.
We didn't have a great season at the beginning but we pulled it out and we gave it a go. We always have next year.