7HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (July 11, 2024) – The University of North Alabama women's soccer team is taking their talents to Huntsville on August 18, as the Lions will host in-state rival Jacksonville State at Joe Davis Stadium in the first collegiate soccer match in stadium history.
Joe Davis Stadium is the current home to professional soccer team Huntsville City FC and is the former home to the Huntsville Stars minor league baseball team.
The match will kickoff at 7 p.m. with tickets available through the Huntsville City FC
box office website. UNA will be the home team for this game.
"We are excited to have the opportunity to work with the city of Huntsville and host our game against Jacksonville State at the fantastic Joe Davis Stadium," said UNA head coach
Chris Walker. "We would love to invite the Huntsville community and UNA alumni in the area to come out and enjoy a great night of women's college soccer."
The Lions finished 11-5-6 last season and advanced to the 2023 Atlantic Sun Conference Championship final against Florida Gulf Coast. UNA returns 19 players from last season and will look to make another run in 2024.
UNA Athletics has hosted and participated in a number of special events in the Rocket City the last few years, including football, baseball and cross country. UNA Softball will also compete in the Rocket City Showcase at Toyota Field in 2025.
"We are thrilled to partner with Huntsville City FC to bring the UNA-JSU soccer rivalry to Joe Davis Stadium," said UNA Director of Athletics Dr. Josh Looney. "UNA has experienced tremendous exposure in the Huntsville market with a number of unique athletic events in recent years. Our football game and baseball series at Toyota Field, the cross country regional at John Hunt Park and the upcoming softball showcase in 2025 are prime examples of successful events we've enjoyed thanks to our successful partnership with the Huntsville Sports Commission and CVB."
The UNA-JSU match will be the first of many special events at Joe Davis Stadium, according to Huntsville officials. This includes conference and national championship-level soccer matches.
"One of our goals is to continue building our soccer portfolio and this match starts a big fall of events for Huntsville," said Joel Lamp, Sports Development Manager for the Huntsville/Madison County Convention & Visitors Bureau. "We expect this to be the tip of the iceberg for more events at Joe Davis Stadium."
The rest of the 2024 North Alabama soccer schedule and home match locations will be announced next week on RoarLions.com.
For more information on North Alabama Athletics, visit www.roarlions.com and follow UNA Athletics on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
