Davis: No disappointments

The JSU women's soccer team just finished an evening's outing against Mexico's Under-20 Women's National Team.

The Gamecocks lost the exhibition 5-1, falling behind 5-0 before scoring with less than 15 minutes to play.

Despite the final score, JSU coach Julie Davis and her players found a number of things to be positive about. For one, the game drew an estimated crowd of 500, and Davis was pleased with the "wonderful" atmosphere.

The Gamecocks played their advanced visitors even for 35 minutes. And, perhaps most important of all, their youthful roster of 10 newcomers and 15 freshmen and sophomores gained valuable experience.

"We had a huge freshman class come in and we got them experience," senior goal keeper Kate Kelly said. "This was a once-in-a-lifetime (experience); they got all their nerves out of this game.

"To play an international match, really, and have freshmen who have never played at this level come in, that's the most important thing, the exposure we got and the experience those freshmen got.

"For those freshmen to get this under their belt, we're going to go into every game saying, 'Well, look what we did against Mexico.'"

There was a negative side to the evening, though. The Gamecocks lost junior defenders Trista Munster and Amber DeLaney to knee and leg injuries and it may not be until later in the week before they discover the extent of the injuries.

"That really hurt us," Davis said. "Now that's going to really test some of our other newcomers who didn't get as much playing time, to train them with some pressure to have to step up because there's a potential possibility those injuries might be extended."