TROY, Ala. - Jackson State continued to develop a young squad on Sunday afternoon versus the University of South Alabama in Troy, Ala. at the Trojan Classic.

The Tigers were unable to pull out game two of the season, falling 9-0 to a very talented SA team, but they have learned some valuable lessons moving forward into the season after facing arguably its toughest stretch of competition for the season. 

"It was a good weekend for us from a learning standpoint" said Tigers first year head coach, Dr. Ted Flogaites, "Credit to South Alabama today, they were good. We've learned in a short time to deal with adversity". 

The first half for JSU was tough after battling a few injuries but the youthful Tigers were resilient throughout the match as they continued to fight without folding for one-second against the Lady Jaguars. 

"We had to play 25 minutes in the first half shorthanded due to a concussion and we were a lot better in the second half than the first. We showed the kind of commitment in the second half that we need from a desire standpoint, and that absolutely has to be on display at the outset of a match," added coach Flogaites, "there are no freebies at the Division 1 level, and our non conference schedule doesn't have any cupcake matches on it which ultimately is better for our development as a program".

Assistant Coach Kevin Larry also spoke well to the development of the team throughout the weekend and the direction the team is heading, "We played 7 players this weekend that were just in high school attending prom 4 months ago. Not making excuses, just optimistic. Our future looks bright here at Jackson State".

The Tigers recorded a total of four shots on the game against South Alabama. Patricia Calderon, Tanagna Payne, Caiah Smith, and Ana Leticia Batista each had one shot in the match with Calderon and Payne having the only shots on goal for the Tigers.

Thea Ebbe Brich added six more saves in the game despite a heavy attack from the Lady Jaguars, increasing her save total to nine saves through the first two games of the season. 

Jackson State, despite the loss, left Coach Flogaites encouraged by his teams effort as they continue to lay the foundation for the program. "We had some good performances today and instead of leaving the match deflated, I was encouraged by the spirit we showed in the second half, but now we have to replicate that in every minute of the season going forward. We cannot build JSU Soccer in two weeks, all we are doing is learning and building brick by brick. I was proud of the way we finished the match and know that we'll get better if we are committed to every facet of what's important; mentality, Fitness, nutrition, rest, limiting the non stop cell phone usage, connecting with people on a real human level, excelling in the classroom, and most important treating each other with class and respect".

Jackson State will have a few days off from competition before heading to Hammond, La. on Friday to take on Southeastern Louisiana University for a 3 p.m. matchup versus the Lions. 

SOCIAL MEDIA

For more soccer information and updates please follow the Tigers on Twitter at @GoJSUTigersSOC, Facebook at Jackson State Soccer, @gojsutigerssoc on Instagram. You can also follow head coach Ted Flogaites on Twitter @flogaites