By: Dionte Daniel,  Assistant Sports Editor

 After nearly two weeks’ wait to play their first game of the season, the Valdosta State women’s soccer team got the season started off right. 

The Lady Blazers defeated Middle Georgia State 4-2 Saturday thanks to an early jump and aggressive attack. 

VSU dominated offensively, finishing with 19 shots on the stat sheet and a 7-5 advantage in corner kicks. The Lady Blazers also put 10 shots on goal to just three by Middle Georgia State. 

Scoring was spread around four different players for VSU as Kyndal Smith, Sarah Hudson, Kayleigh Kearns and Ameliah Dixon tallied one goal each. Head coach Stephen Andrew hopes this offensive production is what becomes of his team this season. 

“I think we’re an entertaining team to watch,” Andrew said. “We’re going to score a ton of goals. I wish we’d concede less, but if I only won 4-2, we’ll take that.” 

VSU had been idle for about two weeks until Saturday’s game. Andrew said one game was lost to weather and another was called off due to off-field issues with its opponent. 

The layoff didn’t seem to affect the Lady Blazers as they jumped out to an early lead. Andrew said he was pleased with how his team looked during the opening 25 minutes to 30 minutes before some players began to tire. 

The Blazers continued to pressure the opponent and create scoring opportunities throughout the night. Hudson finished the game with three shots on goal and Kearns had four shots with two on goal. Jenni McIntosh also recorded four shots with two on goal. 

“I thought we were really good on the ball,” Andrew said. “A lot of stuff we’ve worked on was effective tonight. Our forwards did a really good job of getting in front of goal and just making good decisions.” 

Andrew was also pleased with how some of his younger players responded while given the opportunity to see significant minutes in their first college game. Andrew said those opportunities will prove vital as the season continues and the team looks to build depth. 

“There’s always some players who, when they play under the lights, play really well,” Andrew said. “We got a lot of youngsters in tonight. Just getting five, 10, 15 minutes, they get the experience of the physicality and speed of the college game.” 

While Andrew was pleased with the outcome, he knew there was plenty to clean up on the defensive end of the ball. Middle Georgia scored twice on only five shots on goal. VSU goalkeeper Adrienne Cartee finished with two saves on the night. 

Andrew noted that both goals were preventable and said the team will need to improve on defending set pieces. 

“We need to be better on set pieces,” Andrew said. “I thought we limited them to a low number of shots, but if we’re doing that, then we can’t just give away goals.” 

Despite some defensive shortcomings, Andrew believed his team set itself up for success by scoring four goals. He said he believes the Lady Blazers will only continue to get better as the season moves along. 

“The team you’ll see a month from now compared to us going tonight will be night and day,” Andrew said. “If this is our starting point, then we’re really excited for the season ahead.” 

VSU will host Georgia Southwestern Wednesday, Sept. 9 at 6 p.m. at the Soccer Complex.