MOBILE, Ala. — South Alabama released its 2014 women’s soccer schedule on Tuesday, a 20-match regular-season slate that includes 11 matches in Mobile as the Jaguars prepare to defend their Sun Belt Conference Tournament title.
Opening Weekend
The Jaguars begin with a home exhibition against Jacksonville State on Aug. 15 before opening the regular season at home against UAB on Aug. 22. UAB beat South Alabama 3-2 in Birmingham last season and finished 11-7-2.
Nicholls State visits on Aug. 24. The Colonels went 12-6-2 in 2013, and one of their two ties came against South Alabama in Thibodaux, La.
“The opening weekend is going to be big for us,” head coach Graham Winkworth said. “We play two teams that we failed to beat last season, so we know we’re going to be in for a test.”
Nonconference Schedule
South Alabama travels to the Trojan Classic in Troy the following weekend, facing Tennessee Tech on Aug. 29 and Kennesaw State on Aug. 31.
The Jaguars return home to host Southern Miss on Sept. 5, then play three straight road matches at Southern (Sept. 7), Mississippi State (Sept. 12) and Alabama A&M (Sept. 14).
A five-match homestand begins with the Jaguar Classic, where South Alabama faces North Florida on Sept. 19 and Francis Marion on Sept. 21.
Sun Belt Conference Play
The homestand continues with the start of Sun Belt play against Troy on Sept. 26, Louisiana-Monroe on Oct. 3 and Louisiana-Lafayette on Oct. 5.
The Jaguars then alternate pairs of road and home matches. They visit Texas State on Oct. 10 and Appalachian State on Oct. 12, return home for Georgia Southern on Oct. 17 and Georgia State on Oct. 19, and close the regular season at Arkansas State on Oct. 24 and Arkansas-Little Rock on Oct. 26.
“Our conference schedule is very tough,” Winkworth said. “We have a lot of traveling to do with flights and long bus rides, so that’s going to be very difficult. The hardest thing is that we’re going to have such a young squad and getting them used to the rigors of such intense travel is going to be difficult, but we have some pretty good leadership with the 10 that are returning so I’m excited about that.”
Tournament at Home
The 2014 Sun Belt Conference Tournament is scheduled for Nov. 5-9 at The Cage on the South Alabama campus, giving the defending champions the chance to defend their title at home.
2014 Schedule at a Glance
- Aug. 15 — Jacksonville State (exhibition)
- Aug. 22 — UAB
- Aug. 24 — Nicholls State
- Aug. 29 — vs. Tennessee Tech (Trojan Classic, Troy)
- Aug. 31 — vs. Kennesaw State (Trojan Classic, Troy)
- Sept. 5 — Southern Miss
- Sept. 7 — at Southern
- Sept. 12 — at Mississippi State
- Sept. 14 — at Alabama A&M
- Sept. 19 — North Florida (Jaguar Classic)
- Sept. 21 — Francis Marion (Jaguar Classic)
- Sept. 26 — Troy*
- Oct. 3 — Louisiana-Monroe*
- Oct. 5 — Louisiana-Lafayette*
- Oct. 10 — at Texas State*
- Oct. 12 — at Appalachian State*
- Oct. 17 — Georgia Southern*
- Oct. 19 — Georgia State*
- Oct. 24 — at Arkansas State*
- Oct. 26 — at Arkansas-Little Rock*
- Nov. 5-9 — Sun Belt Conference Tournament (The Cage, Mobile)
* Sun Belt Conference match
