By Dionte Daniel, staff writer 

VALDOSTA, Ga. — VSU women’s soccer suffered a late-goal setback against Jacksonville University Saturday afternoon in a spring exhibition game on the VSU Soccer Fieldhouse turf. 

 The scoreless deadlock was broken with just over five minutes left in regulation, as Jacksonville put the game away. 

 Despite falling to the Dolphins, the Blazers stayed composed against the Division I program and were able to compete with Jacksonville for most of the game. 

 “I thought it was a good game,” Head Coach Stephen Andrew said. “Playing a Division I opponent is what we wanted to challenge ourselves with, and I thought it was a good opportunity for us. There was not a whole lot in it, and it allowed our players to get some good minutes.” 

 Communication and chemistry were solid for VSU after halftime adjustments and the team played evenly with their opponent for the majority of play. 

 “We were a little rushed on the ball early,” Andrew said. “But once we settled in after five or 10 minutes, I thought it was a pretty even game.” 

 VSU entered Saturday’s match wanting to match Jacksonville physically and accomplished that task as the game wore on, after an early period where the Jaguars showed their speed. 

 “We wanted to match their athleticism,” Andrew said. “We did some of that early on I thought we kind of lacked a little bit there.” 

Giving players’ game time and evaluating depth was vital for Saturday’s match as rotations were made late in the game. 

 “A lot of substitutions late, so that hurt our rhythm a little bit,” Andrew said. “But it was good to get them into the game and help with their development moving forward.” 

 Creating chances was positive for the Blazers’ offense but finishing was difficult for VSU in the final third. 

 “I thought our final ball and decision-making could be better,” Andrew said. “We kind of rushed things at times when we didn’t have to, especially against a very athletic team like Jacksonville.” 

 Even in defeat, Andrew was glad to take away positives from the exhibition match and his team’s performance against Jacksonville. 

 “All in all, I was pretty pleased with our performance,” Andrew said. “It was a tough match for us but it’s something we can build off of moving forward.” 

 VSU will look to continue their spring play leading up to the fall season.