For all that didn't go quite as planned in Friday night's 5-1 loss at Prairie View A&M , the Alabama State women's soccer team can point to sophomore Kayla Edwards' performance as a sure-fire positive to take away from the match.
 
ASU (3-7 overall, 0-1 SWAC) will look to build on that when it takes on Texas Southern (0-6-2 overall, 0-0-1 SWAC) in Houston on Sunday at 1 p.m. in another conference tilt. 
 
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Despite the fact that defenders are  of the least likely to score on a soccer field, the Cypress, Calif. native made good on her chances when she had the ball by scoring her first career goal on a strategic ball that angled into the corner of the net. 
 
Shifting to the outside midfielder position, Edwards was positioned about 15 yards away from the post when Lady Hornets' top scorer Aaliyah Lewis found her and made the quick find on  a crossing pass. 
 
Edwards was among the most active player on the Lady Hornets' squad all evening, racing up and down the field and providing some good energy minutes for eighth-year coach Jodie Smith.  Coach Smith did not hesitate to play her heavy minutes as she stayed in throughout most of the match. 
 
As a captain at Millikan High School, Edwards helped lead her team to the second round of the California Interscholastic Federation State Tournament back in 2012.  The sophomore demonstrated some of those leadership qualities on Friday when she took it upon herself to push the tempo.  Her fired shot just over the goal post in the second half nearly gave her a two-goal night. 

"It's more difficult to focus on attacking [when you're used to playing defense] so sometimes I have to catch myself and think about how I have to move forward and try to score," Edwards said.  "I had to use my offensive skills and help the forwards out.  I was really into the game and I felt that I played my best game." 
 
Edwards said she thought she had a good chance at scoring as soon as the play opened up. 
 
"I was pretty open and I could see the goal well," she added.  "I just didn't want to shank it.  It didn't click to me at all until after the game.  I thought, 'Wow, I just got my first career goal.'  It didn't really occur to me until afterwards.  I feel like my role is to be positive and make sure everybody knows what they are doing on the field." 
 
ASU last met Texas Southern in 2010 and won 2-1.   However, none of the current players on the Lady Hornets' team are leftover from that squad. 
The match up also adds some intrigue in that Tigers' coach Kathryn Saunders spent the three previous seasons coaching as an assistant under coach Smith at ASU. 
 
Sophomore striker Aaliyah Lewis leads the Lady Hornets with eight points.  Her second assist of the season pushed her into a three-way tie for third all-time in program history with nine assists. 
 
The Tigers are coming off a 0-0 tie against Alabama A&M on Friday. 
 
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