Blazer soccer to red out game Friday

Valdosta State Athletics and Blazer Soccer are asking all Valdosta State fans to fill up the stands at the VSU Soccer Complex with as much red as possible to help cheer the Blazers on in their match against defending Gulf South Conference Champion North Alabama on Friday at 5 p.m.

All children wearing their Azalea City Soccer Club or South Georgia United Academy/Select uniform will be let in free of charge to support the Blazers.

In 2011, just its inaugural season, Valdosta State went all the way to the Gulf South Conference Championship match against North Alabama. After beating North Alabama, 1-0, during the regular season, the Blazers fell to the Lions, 5-3.

Friday night is Valdosta State's first chance to get North Alabama back in this championship rematch. It's an important conference match for Valdosta State and the Blazers need the support of their fans.

Bring everyone out to pack the stands at the VSU Soccer Complex and wear plenty of red to back your Blazers against North Alabama.

For those not familiar with parking for VSU Soccer matches, please read the following:

Valdosta State will run shuttles, starting approximately an hour before the match (6 p.m. Friday) that will be on a regular path from the Sustella Parking Lot (the lot between the Centennial Residence Hall and the VSU Student Recreational Center) to the VSU Soccer Complex. The shuttles will run until the start of the match and will resume at the conclusion of the match.

VSU soccer looking to avoid sophomore slump

2011 Freshman of the Year Abbi Edwards.
(Pat Gallagher | The VDT)

The Valdosta State soccer team begins its second season Friday. The Blazers will host Coker at 8 p.m. at the VSU Soccer Stadium.
After winning 11 games in the program’s inaugural season in 2011, the Blazers are looking to avoid the infamous sophomore slump, a decrease in productivity and wins from last season.
“We avoid that by staying focused,” said goalkeeper Olivia Mills. “We don’t even address the sophomore slump, because we don’t believe it is going to happen. And it is not going to happen. We are focused and we just need to focus on what we need to do to be the best in the game.”
With such a young team last season, the Blazers took the Gulf South Conference and South Region by surprise, finishing the year with an 11-6-2 record and knocking off heavily-favored West Florida in the first round of the conference tournament. The young Blazers lost in the conference championship game to more-experienced North Alabama.