Friday, October 5
Nacogdoches, Texas
7:00 PM
Stephen F. Austin
3-6-2, 1-3-2SLC
0
vs
2
Central Arkansas
9-3-1, 4-1SLC
1
2
F
Central Arkansas
1
1
2
Stephen F. Austin
0
0
0
Ladyjacks Outshoot Bears at Home in 2-0 Loss
10/5/2018 9:27:00 PM | Women's Soccer
SFA outshoots visitors 15-10 and earns nine corner kicks
NACOGDOCHES, Texas -- The Stephen F. Austin women's soccer team played well throughout Friday night's home contest versus Central Arkansas, but were undone by an unlucky own goal in the 29th minute in dropping a 2-0 decision at SFA Soccer Field. The loss drops SFA to 3-6-2 on the season (1-3-2 SLC) despite outshooting the Bears 15-10 and earning three times as many corner kicks (9-3).
"Our message to the team as we leave the field tonight was that they need to walk out of here knowing that the product they put out on the field was good", said SFA head coach Wally Crittenden. "What we created was tough to play against, it was dangerous, we had great variety in our attacks and earned plenty of set pieces and run of play opportunities. At the end of the day I'll be the first to challenge them when it's not where it needs to be, but that was not the case tonight. The soccer was good, the energy was good, we just had a really unlucky goal in the first half that ricocheted off two players and into our net. It's just unfortunate because from a game standpoint I thought it was pretty balanced and I liked our chances."
A game between two Southland powers was every bit a close and contested affair throughout the opening half, but the tides shifted in UCA's favor in the 29th minute, when a service intot he box bounced off two SFA's defenders and back into the corner of the net, an unlucky and unlikely goal that put the home side at a disadvantage. Despite that, the Ladyjacks rallied to post an 7-5 advantage in shots in the first half, and would turn up the intensity in the second half.
In the second stanza, the Ladyjacks looked to respond with a goal of their own and equalize. SFA would generate eight shots in the second half, including numerous opportunities generated by six second-half corner kicks, but multiple blocked shots kept the deficit intact for the visitors. A blistering final shot from Carli Arthurs with seven seconds left showed significant promise of cutting the margin in half, but UCA's Lauren Mercuri denied the attempt with a strong save. Arthurs finished with three shots on the day, with a pair of very well struck and dangerous looks. Breanna Moore tallied four shots, while Katie Jennings and Katelyn Termini each notched a pair. SFA put a pair of shots on frame, with others being blocked or carrying just wide of the goal mouth.
"To be fair, it's been how they responded since the second game of league play, they've been putting a pretty consistent product and team identity out on the field", Crittenden added in regards to his team responding to being a goal down. If we weren't creating chances, if we weren't creating set pieces, if we weren't denying penetration then I'd be concerned, but right now I'm not concerned with those things. We'll recover, we'll come back on Monday and be sure that everything we do come that point is just a little bit better, to give our team that much better a chance to win some of these games."
Allyson Halliday (1-4-1) took the hard-luck decision in goal, allowing one goal to UCA in the 90 minutes and making two saves. Her finest moment came in the first half, when she charged out of net to deny a 1v1 breakaway by UCA's Connie Awuku-Darkoh and come up with a big save at a time when the 'Jacks trailed by just one goal. Darkoh would tack on the game's second goal in the 82ndon the strength of a strong individual move, beating a diving Halliday with a low shot at the near post.
The 'Jacks have a break from action with no game scheduled for this Sunday and a chance to regroup before resuming play in the form of a Louisiana swing to Southeastern Louisiana and Thiboaux next weekend.
-SFA-
"Our message to the team as we leave the field tonight was that they need to walk out of here knowing that the product they put out on the field was good", said SFA head coach Wally Crittenden. "What we created was tough to play against, it was dangerous, we had great variety in our attacks and earned plenty of set pieces and run of play opportunities. At the end of the day I'll be the first to challenge them when it's not where it needs to be, but that was not the case tonight. The soccer was good, the energy was good, we just had a really unlucky goal in the first half that ricocheted off two players and into our net. It's just unfortunate because from a game standpoint I thought it was pretty balanced and I liked our chances."
A game between two Southland powers was every bit a close and contested affair throughout the opening half, but the tides shifted in UCA's favor in the 29th minute, when a service intot he box bounced off two SFA's defenders and back into the corner of the net, an unlucky and unlikely goal that put the home side at a disadvantage. Despite that, the Ladyjacks rallied to post an 7-5 advantage in shots in the first half, and would turn up the intensity in the second half.
In the second stanza, the Ladyjacks looked to respond with a goal of their own and equalize. SFA would generate eight shots in the second half, including numerous opportunities generated by six second-half corner kicks, but multiple blocked shots kept the deficit intact for the visitors. A blistering final shot from Carli Arthurs with seven seconds left showed significant promise of cutting the margin in half, but UCA's Lauren Mercuri denied the attempt with a strong save. Arthurs finished with three shots on the day, with a pair of very well struck and dangerous looks. Breanna Moore tallied four shots, while Katie Jennings and Katelyn Termini each notched a pair. SFA put a pair of shots on frame, with others being blocked or carrying just wide of the goal mouth.
"To be fair, it's been how they responded since the second game of league play, they've been putting a pretty consistent product and team identity out on the field", Crittenden added in regards to his team responding to being a goal down. If we weren't creating chances, if we weren't creating set pieces, if we weren't denying penetration then I'd be concerned, but right now I'm not concerned with those things. We'll recover, we'll come back on Monday and be sure that everything we do come that point is just a little bit better, to give our team that much better a chance to win some of these games."
Allyson Halliday (1-4-1) took the hard-luck decision in goal, allowing one goal to UCA in the 90 minutes and making two saves. Her finest moment came in the first half, when she charged out of net to deny a 1v1 breakaway by UCA's Connie Awuku-Darkoh and come up with a big save at a time when the 'Jacks trailed by just one goal. Darkoh would tack on the game's second goal in the 82ndon the strength of a strong individual move, beating a diving Halliday with a low shot at the near post.
The 'Jacks have a break from action with no game scheduled for this Sunday and a chance to regroup before resuming play in the form of a Louisiana swing to Southeastern Louisiana and Thiboaux next weekend.
-SFA-
Team Stats
UCA
SFA
Goals
2
0
Shots
10
15
Shots on Goal
4
2
Saves
2
2
Corners
3
9
Fouls
8
5
Scoring Plays
TEAM
Richoceted off SFA player for own goal
29:16
Awuku-Darkoh, Connie (8)
strafed across the box to her left, low
82:10
Game Leaders
Players
Shots
4
SOG
0
Goals
0
Assists
0
Shots
3
SOG
1
Goals
0
Assists
0
Shots
2
SOG
0
Goals
0
Assists
0
Shots
2
SOG
0
Goals
0
Assists
0
Players Mentioned
D
/ Women's Soccer
GK
/ Women's Soccer
D
/ Women's SoccerF
/ Women's SoccerF
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