COLUMBIA, SC – The Jacksonville women's soccer team fell to the 12th ranked team in the country, South Carolina, 6-0 on Sunday afternoon.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Coming off a season-opening win on Friday night, the Dolphins (1-1) were tasked with facing off against the nationally ranked Gamecocks on Sunday. It took the SEC foe just 17 seconds to record the game's first shot, and USC ripped off another eight shots in the preceding 12 minutes. The Dolphins' defense stood tall throughout the opening minutes, but South Carolina broke through in the 14th minute on a goal from Shae O'Rourke. JU nearly responded less than two minutes later as
Madelyn Radtke swung in a bending cross towards
Hannah Bielicke. However, the Gamecocks' keeper was able to meet the ball before the Dolphins' redshirt junior.
While South Carolina maintained a good bit of possession, the Dolphins' defense continued to fend off any Gamecock attacks for another 18 minutes, in large part due to
Aubrey DeJong, as the freshman netminder recorded eight saves in the first half alone. Though South Carolina scored twice more just four minutes apart at the 30th and 34th-minute marks, the Dolphins' offense began to gain more possession as the half wore on. The reigning 13th-best defense in the country in South Carolina proved to be stout enough to keep the Dolphins off the board in the first half.
The Gamecocks opened the scoring in the second half at the 49th-minute mark; however, the Dolphins continued to obtain more possession and create chances throughout the middle third of the second half. USC was able to hold off the JU attack and was rewarded with two late goals to finish off the contest.
WHAT THEY SAID
"It was a tough game today," said head coach
John Constable. "That was the toughest opponent we have faced in my three years here. There are things we can do better and there are things we did well. We will learn from both. On the whole though I appreciate our players. Our players didn't mean to lose today and I didn't mean to coach them to lose. Coaches and players combined, we all tried our best and it just wasn't enough. Whether we win by a few goals or lose by a few goals, we still have a fantastic group to work with and they are a joy to coach every day".
ADDITIONAL NOTES
UP NEXT
The Dolphins return to the pitch on Thursday, August 24
th as they travel to Miami for a battle with Florida International. The match is scheduled for a 7 PM start and can be watched on ESPN+
