Glassman Earns Soccer National Championship With Tennessee Southern
PULASKI, TENN.- Once playing soccer by herself as early as age four in her backyard and dreaming of winning a college national championship, now at age 20, Jessica Glassman has lived out that dream as she and her teammates at Tennessee Southern pulled together to win the N.A.I.A. National Championship.
“It feels right,” said Glassman. “It’s been my dream since I was a small girl as I spent many hours playing soccer alone in my backyard and at the local park.”
A 2020 graduate of Bob Jones High, Glassman was a two-year team captain and earned the Offensive Most Valuable Player two consecutive years. She helped lead the Lady Patriots to the playoffs each of her seasons playing at Bob Jones and was recruited by several colleges before taking the ride to Tennessee Southern, which was known as Southern Methodist College located in Pulaski, Tenn. She was actually offered a scholarship to the Tennessee school as a sophomore at Bob Jones. She also played competitive soccer for the United Soccer Club based in Huntsville and the team won the Alabama State Championship in Div. 1.
As a student, Glassman carries a 3.8 grade point average and is studying accounting.
Her play for the Firehawks assisted the team to post a 23-1 overall record in 2021 and the program won its third National Championship with a wild contest against then undefeated William Carey. In the championship match, regulation was not enough as the two teams battled through two scoreless overtime periods and went head-to-head in penalty kicks to decide the epic match of the No. 1 (William Carey) and No. 4 teams in the national ranking.
The two squads each scored in the opening 10 minutes of the match. The Firehawks then scored at the 31-minute mark to take a 2-1 lead. The Crusaders of William Carey (22-1) came roaring back with two more goals of their own to take a 3-2 lead at halftime time. The second stanza was a defensive battle before the Firehawks tied the game at the 70-minute mark.
“While riding the bench a good portion of the match it was nerve racking,” added Glassman. “Coach (Will) Austin decided to put me in the game and I was assigned to “man-mark” their top player the remainder of the match. That player never scored after that point.”
In the penalty kicks to decide the championship, Tennessee Southern provided some outstanding play in goal and came away with a 5-4 victory, thus hoisting the championship trophy.
“We wanted to win so badly and there was excitement galore,” added Glassman. “Our championship rings have been ordered and at school we all walk prouder than ever before.”
After winning the national title, the Firehawks were asked to participate in the annual Christmas Parades in both Pulaski and nearby Prospect. Among the barrage of parade participants, the Tennessee Southern soccer team walked taller and prouder and seemed to have that extra step of excitement due to its victory held in Orange Beach, Ala.
