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Faulkner clinches home filed advantage in SSAC tourney
November 4
Faulkner’s women’s soccer team finished third in the regular season Southern States Athletic Conference standings behind No. 2 Lee University and No. 16 Auburn Montgomery. The Eagles gain home field advantage against Brenau University in Saturday’s opening round of the conference tournament. The finish marks the program’s highest seeding ever in the final conference standings and represents only the third time the team has made it into post season play.
The Eagles’ previous best finish was in 2006 when the team placed sixth at the close of the season. Last year the team finished seventh. In both ventures to the tournament the Eagles were defeated in the first round. The birds will look to make opening round losses a thing of the past as they battle for a place in history with a tournament championship title.
For now, however, Faulkner has its sights set on the Golden Tigers who took home the 3-2 double overtime victory in early October. It was a game the Eagles led until late in the event.
“I think this team has what it takes,” said head coach Jeff Ireland when asked about bringing home a tournament title. “It’s going to take more than that though. There will be exceptionally skilled teams that we will have to play along the way and it all starts with Breanu. We have to remember that if we get a lead, it means nothing until the final whistle. Likewise, if we fall behind, it means nothing until the final whistle. If we can get healthy by Saturday and stay that way, that’s a huge part of the equation. If we play with the poise and mindset we did against Truett-McConnell and the intensity we did against AUM, then I think this team has a chance to do something that the program has never done. Lee will undoubtedly be waiting in the finals and they will be the biggest challenge for whoever makes it that far. I believe our girls can defeat them, but we will have to be aggressive and smart and virtually perfect in all facets of the game. For now though, we’re not getting ahead of ourselves. We have a very talented Brenau team that we have to prepare for. Anything after that, we’ll address as needed.”
The Eagles have all of the tools needed to make an impact in the 2009 SSAC Tournament and the action begins Saturday at 3 p.m. at the YMCA fields here in Montgomery, Ala.
Eagles have little trouble with Bears
November 3
Faulkner’s women’s soccer team took to the field for the last time in the regular season this evening against future conference opponent Truett-McConnell College. After a moderately slow start the Eagles began to heat up scoring five goals by the half way mark. The home team went on to rout the visitors 7-0.
The scoring assault started with sophomore forward Samantha Ruddick who knocked home the team’s fist two goals. Senior forward Nikki Jagt put in three of her own including a diving header off of a beautiful feed from Clio Rennalls. The birds entered the half with a 5-0 lead and subs that had already played nearly half of the game.
The starters retook the field to open the second period, but it took a bit longer to get back into execution mode. The Eagles produced a handful of great runs, before Jagt cut across the middle dishing the ball off to sophomore Jessica Monarch. The midfielder turned around a breaking defender and shot the ball into the crossbar and behind the keeper for the score. It was the second time in the game that Monarch hit the crossbar.
The final goal of the game came from Jagt on a well-placed corner kick by Ruddick. Jagt headed the ball into the opposite corner of the net to secure the event.
The Eagles looked extraordinary well composed and focused in the contest. A team that has a tendency to play at their opponents level executed very well and moved the ball quickly and with skill and determination.
“You all played extremely well,” head coach Jeff Ireland told his team after the game. “I am very proud of you. You did exactly what you know how to do. You defended well, organized some great runs and you played touch and pass just like we’ve talked about all season.”
Ireland was more than pleased with the fact that his girls didn’t let a slightly weaker opponent distract them from their method of play.
“Truett is a good team, but they didn’t have the speed and size our girls are used to seeing on the field,” Ireland commented. “It’s often easy for the girls to slack off or try to overdue it because the see a weakness and try to do things that we would ordinarily never do. Tonight they realized that their were weaknesses, but they tried to take advantage of them in a well thought out plan and when things didn’t work they simply adjusted. This is probably the best I’ve ever seen our team play. This, and probably the AUM game, stand out in my mind as examples of what we should look like at every outing.”
The Eagles limited the Bears to only three shots and only one on goal. The event’s single save went to Cassie Wilcox who stepped into the box for the first time all season in place of an injured Lisa Gallea. Kinsey Ogles secured the net in the second half for the birds and Wilcox return to the field for the offense.
Jagt led the scoring effort for Faulkner with four goals and a pair of assists. Ruddick followed with two goals and an assist. Monarch struck for a score and also had an assist. Jennifer Parrot finished with two assists and Rennalls and one assist.
In all, the Eagles took 26 shots and landed seven of their 17 on frame.
The Eagles will await the final outcome of the remaining conference games to find out where they will finish in the Southern States Athletic Conference regular season standings. It looks like the Eagles might secure third place which would give them home field advantage in the opening round of the conference tournament that will begin on Saturday.