The Mississippi University for Women men’s soccer team will open play in the United States Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Championships at 12:15 p.m. CST today, as the sixth-seeded Owls take on second-seeded Bryant and Stratton College-Syracuse to open pool play in Virginia Beach, Virginia.
Pool play continues for the Owls at 11:15 a.m. Saturday against third-seeded Paul Quinn College. The winners of each pool will meet at 4:30 p.m. Sunday in the championship game.
“We are extremely excited about getting to play in this national tournament,” Owls coach Louis Alexander said. “It’s a great experience for not just our program, but our athletic department as a whole.
“Obviously we want to win games, but we have opportunities to do and see things that, normally in life, these guys wouldn’t get to experience. Like seeing the Atlantic Ocean. Or all the trappings that go along with a national tournament. It might seem small to some, but this will be a first for some of these guys.”
It also means two more games for The W’s seniors.
“We will soak up everything on this trip,” Alexander said. “Of course, our goal is to bring a national championship back to The W. That would just make the entire trip that much more special.”
This will be the Owls’ second trip to the USCAA championships in the five-year history of the program. The W also reached Virginia Beach in 2019, tying Maine-Fort Kent 1-1 and losing to Florida National 4-1 in pool play.
“We have a tough test right out of the gate in number two-seed Bryant and Stratton-Syracuse,” Alexander pointed out. “Not knowing much about this team will serve 3as a challenge. But with that being said, they don’t know much about us, either.
“If we can play disciplined defensively and capitalize on our chances that we create, we can play with anybody. We’ve shown that throughout the year. Obviously, how we are able to make adjustments on things we see during the game will be key.”
Volleyball
Owls land seven on USCAA All-Academic team
Caledonia High School graduate Madison Suggs heads a group of seven sophomores from The W’s volleyball team that earned recognition on the 2021 USCAA All-Academic Team.
To receive recognition on the All-Academic Team, student-athletes must carry a cumulative grade-point average of 3.50 and have completed 24 credit hours.
Suggs, a sophomore biology major, was joined on the All-Academic Team by classmates Olivia Eubanks of Leakesville, an English major; Briana Huerta-Ramirez of Russellville, Alabama, a nursing major; Maggie Ledbetter of Belmont, a speech pathology major; Karmen McCrory of Greensboro, Alabama, a biology major; Evelyn Pruitt of Brandon, a nursing major; Jadelyn Trice of Cherokee, Alabama, a psychology major.
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