PRAIRIE VIEW, Texas | A goal in the 62nd minute by Birgit Rijnders helped fourth-seeded Alabama State advance to the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) semifinals with a hard-fought 1-0 victory Thursday afternoon over Prairie View A&M.
 
"I think we played really well and did a lot of nice things," Alabama State head coach Jodie Smith said. "It's tournament time so we will continue to play hard and take it one game at a time."

PVAMU (7-10-2, 5-4-2 SWAC), the fifth-seed in the tournament, controlled the first half of the contest but was not able to convert on 16 shots, including eight on goal.
 
Alabama State (7-10, 7-4 SWAC) was able to get in a rhythm offensively after halftime and finally broke through when Rijnders converted a Teaggan Ilela cross from the right side.
 
"We will prepare for Grambling, a team we obviously have a lot of history with," Smith said. "It will be another tough game, but we will be prepared."
 
Alabama State will face top-seeded Grambling State in the semifinals tomorrow at 3 pm.
 
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