Sporting Club Jax, the first professional women’s soccer team in Jacksonville, faced off against KC Current II on Friday, Sept. 19, at the University of North Florida’s Hodges Stadium. Sporting Jax won the match 1-0, marking their first home win of the season.
It was also a night of firsts for Andrea Fernandez, who had the only goal in the game and her first of the season. Head coach Stacey Balaam said she hoped this was the first of many for Fernandez.
“It helps Andrea with her confidence; she thrives on scoring goals,” she said.
This match was a special friendly match to make up for the international series that was cancelled earlier in the season due to weather. Balaam said that getting the home win in front of the fans was the biggest highlight of the night.
“They show up every week and support us and show love towards these players,” she said. “It’s nice to be able to give it back to them and actually be able to share the victory together.”
Even though this match did not count, Balaam was still looking for certain things from her team.
“One of the challenges that I gave to them before the game was to get the shutout. Every game that we’ve played so far we have conceded a goal and tonight we really wanted to be resilient at the back,” she said.
Sporting Jax is currently 1-2-1 and will be on the road on Sept. 28 to face Carolina Ascent FC. Balaam recognizes that her team still has some work to do.
“Every opponent in this league is tough, so if we don’t toughen up and get more combative then we will fall short in some games,” she said.
