Regional Odds & End Briefs From The Southeast USA.
Soccer In Arkansas
Arkansas made its first appearance since 2000 in the Southeastern Conference tournament, but was eliminated in the first round by the South Carolina Gamecocks. USC scored four minutes into overtime for a 3-2 win. The Razorbacks, under first-year head coach Colby Hale, finished 9-10-1, but had a school record six wins in SEC play. The nine wins are the most since 2008…..Arkansas State scored three unanswered goals to top Arkansas Little Rock 3-1 in their season finale. Sophomore Ariel Galletti gave UALR a 1-0 lead in the eighth minute, but ASU (11-7-1) got the win with goals from Madison Joyce, Christina Fink and Ashley McMurtry. Arkansas Little Rock’s head coach Freddy Delgado’s five-season run as the Trojans’ head coach came to an end with the loss to ASU. Delgado was 33-64-4 in his five seasons, and missed the conference tournament the past three seasons….A new era of men’s soccer began under first year head coach Ross Duncanat at Central Arkansas this fall, as the Bears quadrupled their win total from the 2011 season (8), picked up their first Missouri Valley Conference Tournament win, and received five All-MVC honors, more than doubling the number of players who have previously earned such honors.
Soccer In Kentucky
The top-seeded Lindsey Wilson’s Blue Raiders advanced to the second round of the NAIA Men’s National Tournament with a 7-2 win over Point Park (Pa.) behind two goals from sophomore Philip Sandgren (Sweden), who also assisted on two other scores….Western Kentucky suffered its first postseason loss since the 2008 conference championship game as WKU fell 1-0 to North Texas in the semifinals of the 2012 Sun Belt Conference Championships at “The Cage” at the University of South Alabama. WKU (12-5-3, 7-2-3) had its seven-game unbeaten streak broken with the season-ending loss…..Murray State senior midfielder Veronika Pribyslavska has been named First Team All-OVC. Her seven goals, three game-winners, are just one shy of putting her into the top-five for single season goals in MSU history…..A pair of freshmen scored goals in Morehead State’s 2-1 overtime victory at Murray State to close out the 2012 season. Kimberly Golden and Teig Palmateer led MSU with a goal each, while sophomore Elizabeth McSparin (Paducka) was credited with the only Eagle assist.
Soccer In Louisiana
Southeastern Louisiana senior forward Maiya Cooper and senior goalkeeper Lacey Bockhaus were named to the first team to highlight an eight-player Lady Lion contingent on the 2012 All-Southland Conference Soccer Teams….Just when it was looking like LSU and Ole Miss would go to overtime for the second time in 11 days, lighting struck in the form of Mississippi striker Rafaelle Souza, who scored the game-winning goal with just 43 seconds to play in regulation to hand the Tigers a 1-0 loss in the opening round of the 2012 SEC Women’s Soccer Tournament…..Kristin Bos’ school-record 10th goal of the season just 2:22 into the game, propelled the Lamar Lady Cardinals to a 2-0 win over Sam Houston State. With the win, Lamar (10-8-1 overall, 6-2-0 Southland) claimed second place in the conference, its highest-ever finish in the six-year history of the women’s soccer program…..The 2013 Louisiana Soccer Association Winter Meeting is scheduled for January 12-13 at the Belle of Baton Rouge.
Soccer In Maryland
Back-to-back scoreless draws! The UMBC Retrievers played Old Dominion to a 0-0 draw in the opening round of the NCAA men’s Division I tournament, and advanced to the second round with a 4-2 penalty kick shootout. In the second round against the UNC Tar Heels, UMBC once again played a 0-0 draw, but could not pull off another shootout victory. The Retrievers came up short in that PK shootout, 3-2….. The University of Maryland women, runnerup for the ACC championship saw their season come to a close with a 3-2 overtime loss to Denver in the second round of the NCAA tournament. Junior Hayley Brock and senior Becky Kaplan scored for the Terps, who finished their season with a 14-7-2 mark….Dan Metzger’s goal in the waning moments of regulation was the difference as #2 Maryland defeated Brown 2-1 in the second round of the 2012 NCAA Men’s Soccer Tournament at Ludwig Field. Bobby Belair scored early for Brown (13-3-3), before goals by Patrick Mullins (New Orleans, LA) and Metzger lifted Maryland (18-1-2) to the third round of the tournament……Gonzaga College Prep (Washington, D.C.) is ranked #9 nationally in the NSCAA Fall Boys High School national poll. DeMatha Catholic (Hyattsville, Md.) is ranked #17.
Soccer In Mississippi
Days after being named the Southeastern Conference Co-Scholar Athlete of the Year, Rafaelle Souza continued to pull in accolades for her academic performance when she was named a Capital One Academic All-District First Team selection by the College Sports Information Directors Association. Souza, a junior from Salvador, Brazil, was one of three athletes selected from the Southeastern Conference from the District and will move on to the Capital One Academic All-America ballot by virtue of being a first team All-District selection….Ole Miss’ Erin Emerson (Fayetteville, GA) notched her first goal of the season in the 81st minute to pull the Rebels into a tie with top-seeded Florida at the SEC Tournament, but a Gator goal by Erika Tymrak with 91 seconds left on the clock proved to be the difference. Ole Miss (13-9) fell to Florida (15-4-1) by a score of 2-1 in the second round of the 2012 SEC Tournament…..Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles seniors Caitlin Leumas (Mandeville, LA) and Jordan Wagner (Genesco, IL) have been named to the first team Conference USA All-Academic team. For Leumas it was her third-straight first-team selection.
Soccer In West Virginia
Marshall senior goalkeeper Daniel Withrow (Rochester Hills, MI) has been named Co-Conference USA Player of the Year. He becomes Marshall’s first-ever C-USA Player of the Year following a stellar season that saw him break the school records for single-season and career shutouts. His 9.5 clean sheets and .52 goals against average were the best marks in the league and fifth-best in the nation……The West Virginia Chaos is one of three USL 10+ Clubs that will be recognized at the league’s Hall of Fame Banquet on Dec. 14 in Clearwater, FL., Founded in 2003, the Chaos have provided West Virginia soccer talent with an opportunity for advancement for the past 10 seasons. Among the Chaos alums who have moved on to play professionally is West Virginia native Chase Harrison of the MLS Philadelphia Union. The Chaos are on the upswing recently, having put together back-to-back winning seasons in 2011 and 2012, narrowly missing out on a playoff berth this past summer….Marshall University held a groundbreaking ceremony for the new Veterans Memorial Soccer Complex on Friday, Nov. 16. The soccer complex will provide stadium seating for 1,000 and a press box, as well as coaches offices for both the men’s and women’s programs, locker rooms, a concession area and ticket offices. The facility is part of Marshall’s $30 million Vision Campaign that also includes an indoor practice facility that will include an indoor track, an Athletics Hall of Fame center, and an academic support center….West Virginia University’s women were unbeaten in the regular season and won the Big 12 Conference championship.