OXFORD, Ala. | Claire Peterson's goal, off a rebound, proved to be the game-winner as the Alabama State University women's soccer team dropped a heartbreaker, 3-1, to Jacksonville State on Sunday at the JSU Soccer Complex.
 
"This was a disappointing result today," Alabama State head coach Jodie Smith said. "We talked about coming out and setting the tone early, which we did. But some careless mistakes in the second half proved to be our downfall."
 
Alabama State (0-2-0) opened the scoring early as Inma Martinez assisted on Ariela Lewis' goal to give the Lady Hornets a 1-0 advantage in just the third minute.
 
The Lady Hornets kept the lead until the 60th minute when Cheyenne Carden scored off an assist by Kayla Thompson, tying the game at 1.
 
Jacksonville State (1-1-0) broke the tie in the 79th minute as Peterson's penalty kick was initially saved by Alabama State goalkeeper Gianna Guyot, but the ball bounced right back to Peterson, who knocked it into the back of the net to give the Gamecocks a 2-1 advantage.
 
Peterson played a hand in the third and final goal as she assisted on Danielle Monroe's goal in the 81st minute as Jacksonville State extended the margin to 3-1.
 
Turning Point
With the score tied at 1 in the 79^th minute, Peterson stepped up to the penalty spot and the shot was saved by Guyot. The rebound went right back to Peterson, who knocked it in for the go-ahead goal.
 
Just two minutes later, Peterson assisted on Monroe's goal to put the game out of reach.
 
Inside the Numbers
• Jacksonville State out-shot Alabama State in the opening half, 14-2, and for the game, 22-5.
• ASU's Guyot finished with seven saves in 90 minutes in goal.
• Jacksonville State goalkeeper Carolina Robinson registered two saves.
• The Gamecocks led the way in corner kicks with a 10 -0 advantage.
• With the early goal by Lewis, Alabama State snapped its streak without a scoring a goal (209:30).
 
News & Notes
• Alabama State and Jacksonville State both opened the season on Friday and against SEC opponents as the Lady Hornets fell to Ole Miss (8-0) and the Gamecocks lost to Alabama (5-1).
• The Lady Hornets came so close to picking up their first-ever win against Jacksonville State. With the loss, Alabama State fell to 0-7-0 all-time against the Gamecocks.
• Lady Hornets head coach Jodie Smith (11th year) is 41-63-3 in Alabama; 24-50-2 on Sunday and 21-42-2 in games played at 1 p.m.
• With Sunday's loss, Alabama State missed a chance to tie for the best start in school history. The last time the Lady Hornets had started a season 1-1-0 was in 2014.
• Alabama State will have one more game to before wrapping up a stretch of three games in five days.
 
Up Next
Alabama State will get one day to rest before its home opener on Tuesday as the Lady Hornets play host to Troy at the ASU Soccer Complex. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. Troy enters the game off a 5-0 loss to Florida on Sunday.
 
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