Stephen F. Austin
Texas Southern
Ladyjacks Blast Texas Southern
9/19/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Sept. 19, 2010
Box Score |
Photo Gallery 
| Postgame Interview
NACOGDOCHES, Texas - Stephen F. Austin scored its first goal just six minutes into the game and never looked back, rolling to a 7-0 verdict over Texas Southern Sunday at the SFA Soccer Complex. The seven-goal margin of victory is the largest for the Ladyjacks since a 10-2 win over Prairie View A&M in 2008.
Seven different players scored in the contest, led by senior Kim Kimmel and sophomore Becky Johnson who each posted a goal and two assists, as SFA improved to 6-3-0 on the year and stretched its win streak to four games. Texas Southern fell to 0-6-0 with the loss.
"We knew coming in that we were probably more talented overall, and it was a matter of having a good team performance and making sure we got something out of it," SFA head coach Tony Amato said.
Johnson opened the scoring at the 6:23 mark when she ran onto a cross from Jordan King and put it home in an empty net. She then picked up her first assist in the ninth minute, when she served a corner kick into the box. Breanne Vernon headed the ball toward Kimmel who put it away with a header of her own to give SFA a 2-0 advantage.
"The person who stood out for me early was Becky Johnson," Amato said. "For her to step up and hit the goal from her outside mid position really set the tone for the game."
Kimmel's goal broke a tie between herself and King for the team lead, giving her a team-best five for the year. In the 19th minute, Kimmel helped King move back into a tie when she assisted on King's fifth scoring strike of the year. Kimmel started the play with a hard shot that deflected off Texas Southern goalkeeper Erika Vasquez's hands. The bounce put the ball at King's feet and she finished with a high shot into the back of the net.
Kimmel picked up a second assist in the 23rd minute, when she crossed a pass to Breanne Vernon on top of the six-yard box. Vernon tucked a shot inside the far post to make it a 4-0 game.
Defender Jordyn Young got her first goal in a Ladyjack uniform in the 25th minute, when she headed home another nice service off a corner kick by Johnson.
Each of the last two goals came on set pieces. The first was off the foot of defender Camille Royer on a direct kick from the top of the 18-yard box, and the second was put home by Jayne Jahnke on a penalty kick in the 36th minute. Royer's goal was her second as a Ladyjack.
Vernon, Young, Royer and Jahnke each scored their first goals of 2010 on Sunday.
"Sometimes when you know you're a little more talented, it can happen that the other team works hard and stays in the game, and then you're in for a dogfight," Amato said. "We wanted to make sure we scored in the first 10 minutes and we did that. And we wanted to have a total team effort where we kept possession and knocked the ball around. We were up a few goals pretty early and we have to give the team credit for that."
After outshooting Texas Southern, 23-10, in the first 45 minutes, SFA played a more possession-oriented game in the second half and finished with a 33-3 advantage in shots. Twenty-two of the Ladyjacks' 33 shots were on goal.
Freshman goalkeeper Lacey Lee (1-0-0) made her first career start and played all 90 minutes, facing three shots with one save.
"Having the maturity overall to come into the game and make sure that we performed and got the job done was the overall thing that I thought we could take out of this game, and I feel good about that," Amato said.
SFA's current four-game win streak matches the best run the Ladyjacks have put together the last three seasons. The last time an SFA team won more than four in a row was the 2007 campaign, when the Ladyjacks won five straight before falling to Texas A&M in the NCAA Tournament.
SFA will play its final non-conference game of the year on Sunday, Sept. 26, when the Ladyjacks take on Arkansas-Pine Bluff in a road game. The contest is set for a 2 p.m. start.
-- SFA --
