Soccer In Arkansas
Senior Evan Palmer found the back of the net for the fifth time of the season in the 88th minute to lift the University of Arkansas soccer team (11-5, 4-4) over Tennessee (7-6-3, 2-4-2), 2-1, at Razorback Field. Trailing 1-0, sophomore Ashleigh Ellenwood scored the equalizer in the 28th minute of the match to erase the early Tennessee lead. Ellenwood now has a team leading 10 goals on the season which ties her for the #10 spot in program single-season history. Arkansas is now 8-1 in games where Ellenwood scores a goal. USSF “E” Coaching License courses are scheduled for December 13-15 in Fort Smith and Jonesboro. Online information available at www.arkansassoccer.org…..Arkansas State’s Loren Mitchell enjoyed a three-goal weekend to help the Red Wolves clinch a berth in the Sun Belt Conference tournament for the second consecutive season. Thesophomore from Lawrenceville, Ga., was named Sun Belt Conference Player of the Week after scoring two goals against Western Kentucky and the game-winner in overttime for a 3-2 win over Georgia State. That goal was her 11th of the season, which leads the SBC.
Soccer In Kentucky
University of Kentucky junior forward Ann Gilliland (Lexington, Ky.) was named SEC Player of the Week after scoring three goals in a 4-1 win over Tennessee, which was her first career hat trick. She now has seven goals and eight assists on the season…..Kentucky Youth Soccer will host a National youth License coaching course at the Elizabethtown Sports Park March 28-April 1. Candidates must attend all sessions. Online information available at www.kysoccer .net….. Northern Kentucky scored a pair of early goals by Allison Ponzer (Covington, KY) and Megan Frye (Mason, Ohio), assisted by Ponzer, then broke the game open with four second half goals for a 6-1 A-Sun victory over South Carolina Upstate. The loss eliminated Upstate from the battle for a spot in the conference tournament…..Sacred Heart Academy moved up one spot in the NSCAA Girls High School Fall National poll to #9 and remains unbeaten at 17-0-3…..Georgia State’s Ashley Nagy finished off Whitney Ravan’s cross in the 82nd minute to squeeze the Panthers past Western Kentucky, 1-0 on Senior Night at the WKU Soccer Complex. However, due to Louisiana-Lafayette’s loss at South Alabama, WKU still clinched the Sun Belt Conference regular-season title and #1 seed in the SBC Tournament with a 6-2 mark in league play.
Soccer In Louisiana
US Youth Soccer has announced that the 2014 US Youth Soccer Region III Championships for U4-U19 boys and girls will be held at the BREC Burbank Soccer Complex in Baton Rouge, La., June 19-26…..LSU saw its seven-game unbeaten streak snapped at the hands of Ole Miss on a drizzly Friday night at the LSU Soccer Stadium with All-SEC striker Rafaelle Souza scoring the only goal of the match for the Rebels on a corner kick in the 28th minute. The Tigers (9-4-2, 5-1-1 SEC) were the last team to be knocked from the ranks of the unbeaten in Southeastern Conference play…..Junior Tori Lasiter (Plano, TX) scored a golden goal to give McNeese State its first Southland Conference victory of the season, 1-0 over Abilene Christian in overtime. The win improved McNeese to 6-10-2, while dropping the Wildcats to 13-5-1……The earliest a goal that had ever been scored by a Louisiana Tech player was 41 seconds. That record was broken when freshman forward Kathryn Sloan (Kansas City, Mo.) netted a goal just 11 seconds into the match to propel the Lady Techsters to a 2-0 win over Southern Miss at the Lady Techster Soccer Complex. LA Tech (9-7-1, 4-3-0 C-USA) is now riding a three-game winning streak and has won four of their five matches, all coming in conference play…..Nicholls State University closed out a five-match Southland Conference road trip with a thrilling 1-0 victory over the Houston Baptist Huskies, as sophomore forward Spencer Valdespino’s goal in the ninth minute sealed the victory for the Colonels. With that goal, the Spring Hill, Fla., native became the all-time single-season leader with her 13th goal of the year.
Soccer In Maryland
Leo Weil, the women’s head coach at Johns Hopkins ever since the school elevated its club program to varsity status 20 years ago, picked up his 300th career win with a 5-0 win over McDaniel. In the game, junior Hannah Kronick (Westfield, NJ) became the Blue Jays’ all-time leading scorer with a pair of assists to run her career points total to 142. Johns Hopkins, ranked #6 nationally at the time, extended its overall record to 14-1-1….The 2014 US Youth Soccer National Championships are set for July 21-27 at the Maryland SoccerPlex in Germantown, Md. Kingston, RI, will be the host for the 2014 US Youth Soccer Region I Championships, June 26-July 1, on the campus of the University of Rhode Island….Maryland Baltimore County sophomore forward Alexa Quaranta (Baltimore, Md.) had a seven-point week in helping the Retrievers secure a spot in the America East Championship for the first time since 2005. She was named the league’s Player of the Week. Quaranta’s goal in the 107th minute gave UMBC their first America East win since Sept. 26, 2010….The UMBC Retreivers moved up one notch to #7 in the NSCAA Division I poll (12-1-1) after a 1-0 win over New Hampshire. Senior forward Pete Caringi III (Perry Hall, Md.), son of the men’s head coach, leads the squad with 10 goals and 22 points…..McDonogh School in Owings Mills is ranked #10 nationally in the National Soccer Coaches Of America (NSCAA) Boys High School Fall National poll. McDonogh was 16-0 after a 2-1 victory over rival Gilman.
Soccer In Mississippi
The Daily Journal in Mississippi is reporting that, according to an attorney representing high school players, a federal judge has decided not to issue a preliminary injunction against what is known as the 50 percent rule imposed by the Mississippi High School Activities Association. Many supporters of high school soccer in Mississippi view this as a step backward, since the rule will limit the number of players from any one club team from being on the same high school team. Soccer is a winter sport in Mississippi…..Mississippi State battled #13 South Carolina to the wire in its home finale, but a 70th-minute goal proved the difference as the Gamecocks escaped Starkville with a 1-0 win at the MSU Soccer Field. The loss dropped MSU to 3-14 overall, 0-10 in SEC play…..Senior forward Rafaelle Souza (Brazil) leads the Ole Miss Rebels in scoring with 34 points on 14 goals and six assists. Senior Mandy McCalla (Fayetteville, GA) is #2 in scoring with 11 goals and 27 points. The top scoring freshman is Addie Forbus (Amory, Miss.) with three goals and a pair of assists. She has played a reserve role in all 18 games.
Soccer In West Virginia
Winfield High School continues to enjoy its best-ever girls soccer season, and moved up in the NSCAA Fall Girls High School national poll from #24 to #17. Winfield was 17-1-1 at the time the poll was released…..Champs again! The #6-ranked West Virginia University women’s soccer team won its fourth straight conference championship and retained its 15 match Big 12 Conference unbeaten streak with a 2-1 double-overtime victory at Oklahoma. The win pushes the Mountaineers’ (13-2-2, 7-0 Big 12) 2013 win streak to nine matches and puts their all-time Big 12 record at 14-0-1. Junior forward Kate Schwindel (Livingston, NJ) scored her second golden goal in two weeks.