The MSU women’s soccer team completed their weekend slate of games by defeating the Memphis Tigers 3-1, and the South Alabama Jaguars 5-0.
Friday night marked the opening game for the Bulldogs and they wasted little time in grabbing an early lead.
Junior Ngum Suh scored the initial two goals of the game within the first 25 minutes. Suh’s goals marked her first career multi-goal game in Maroon and White.
MSU’s scoring capped off in the 88th minute as freshman standout Heidi Ondra netted her first career collegiate goal.
Ondra, who hails from the Memphis area, was extremely excited about scoring her first goal in front of a home town crowd.
“This was one of the best feelings in my life,” said Ondra. “My entire family was there, along with a bunch of my friends and it was an awesome feeling.”
The MSU defense was dominant and created several problems for the Memphis offense. The Tigers took only nine shots on goal for the entire game.
“We’ve worked very hard on getting better defensive organization from the strikers through the midfield and all the way back,” said head coach Neil McGuire. “We’re now seeing that we’re giving up less shots and creating more opportunities for our offense.”
Freshman keeper Luisa Marzotto’s bid for a shutout ended with less than a minute left in the game. Memphis managed a last minute goal that sneaked by the hands of the outstretched Marzotto.
The Bulldogs returned to action on Sunday as they played host to the South Alabama Jaguars. South Alabama was totally overmatched and overpowered by the Bulldogs on both sides of the field.
The Bulldog defense dominated the entire match as the Jaguars managed only three shots on goal. The Jags squandered their only realistic scoring opportunity early in the first half. Morgan McDonald’s kick save inside the unprotected goal prevented South Alabama from scoring the game’s first goal.
“I think the defense did good today,” said sophomore Heather Ammann. “We had them with their backs to the goal, and as long as they’re not behind us, that’s fine with us.”
The 5-0 blanking of the Jags also marked the first career shutout for freshman keeper Luisa Marzotto.
“We have been working a lot on our defense over the last preseason, and it has really come together quite well,” said Marzotto.
While the MSU defense was busy stopping goals, the offense was scoring them. Junior forward Ngum Suh scored her third goal of the season in the 11th minute, and later Heidi Ondra notched a goal on a penalty kick and another after a pass from Karen Sandrik.
Junior midfielder Allison Mullen scored on an Amber Meesey assist and Megan Nugent completed the scoring as she connected for her first goal of the season.
“We’ve been working really hard on people understanding their roles and responsibilities offensively,” said head coach Neil McGuire. “We’re starting to see that these players are sticking to their roles which is making our offense better.”
MSU will try to increase their record to a perfect 4-0 as they host Southwest Missouri State Friday at 7 p.m. and Florida International on Sunday at 1 p.m. Admission to all MSU home games is free.
“Both Southwest Missouri State and Florida International will be good tests for us,” said McGuire. “Our goal is to play the way we know how, and give our best in each game.”