COLUMBUS — Mississippi University for Women men’s and women’s soccer teams began the 2024 season last weekend, facing off in Friday and Sunday matches at the Roger Short Soccer Complex.
The women’s team under first-year head coach Ana Ramos played matches against Huntingdon College and LaGrange College over the weekend. They failed to score a goal, losing 3-0 to Huntingdon on Friday, but earned a 0-0 draw against LaGrange on Sunday afternoon.
Senior goalkeeper Alex Moon faced 30 shots from LaGrange, making 19 saves to keep the visitors out of her goal. The senior faced the third-most shots of any goalkeeper in the program’s history, and did so with her team down a player after injuries left the squad short-handed on the day.
“We really grew as a team last night fighting through several spells of adversity and rising to the occasion each time,” Ramos said to MUW media after the match. “The first half saw us go down to 10 players for almost 20 minutes, yet every player from the field to the bench rallied behind each other and pushed through to see us out through halftime with the score remaining at 0-0. We regrouped at half, made some minor adjustments, and came out the second half playing a great style of soccer.
“Throughout all of this, we remained disciplined and committed to playing our style of soccer which was evident in our defensive line being smart and tactical in making shots predictable to help our keeper.”
Men drop first two matches of 2024
The men’s team began its season over the weekend as well, losing 3-1 to Huntingdon on Friday before a 5-0 loss to Piedmont University on Sunday.
Defender Josh Zuniga scored the only goal of the weekend for either team, converting a penalty in the 88th minute against Huntingdon to take some of the sting out of the loss. Zuniga is one of a handful of upperclassmen in a very young Owls team under head coach BJ Pheasant. The roster features seven freshmen, six of whom are from either Caledonia or New Hope as Pheasant looks to continue building the program with some talented local players.
Both teams hit the road for the first time this season for their next matches. The women’s team will travel to Piedmont on Saturday while the men travel to LaGrange on Friday.
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