MONTGOMERY, Ala. – With aggressive battles on both sides, high-energy sidelines and physical defenses from both postseason-bound teams, the Alabama State University women's soccer team secured a 0-0 draw against the Jackson State Tigers on Sunday afternoon at the ASU Soccer Complex in the Hornets' Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) regular season finale.
The Hornets (2-10-4, 2-3-3 SWAC) broke a five-year home losing streak against its opponents while showing its stellar defense, one that has surprised many teams and has become one of the best units in the entire conference. One of those teams surprised by the effort was the Tigers (7-6-3, 4-0-3), an undefeated team currently at the top of the conference standings, who gave every last ounce of effort to break the ASU backline, which stood strong until the very last second.
The game started with JSU leaning aggressively on the front of the attack, as the first 15 minutes featured four offside calls against the Tigers. Four shots followed, two being on goal by Jackson State and the fourth being an overshot by
Tamami Nishio, the team's first shot of the day in the 20th minute. Three more shots followed, all off-target, and the Hornets walked confidently into their halftime huddle, keeping things even through 45 minutes.
The next half of action would be the true test, as it opened with a JSU yellow card and two more fouls, a hint at how the rest of the game would go.
From the 55th minute, the Jackson State offense pushed things downfield and kept the ball on their side of the field for the most part, save for Alabama State's lone on-target attempt by
Kiana Lopez Wilson in the 74th minute.
Just prior to that, ASU came even in the card category with a 73rd-minute booking, although some aggression on the opposing side led to a card just four minutes later. The heat turned up as the clock wound down, with two more yellows handed out in the final nine minutes.
As for the shot attempts in the last part of the second half, a Tiger try in the 76th was saved by keeper
Deetya Satyal, and a last-ditch effort in the 89th was jumped on once again by the senior goaltender. On the ASU attacking side, Lopez Wilson's second try sailed high, while a perfect ball off the boot of Nishio in the 86th minute hit top woodwork for the last try by the home team.
The game combined for 20 fouls and five yellow cards, one of the more physical showings by both teams. JSU led the day in shots (12-6), on-target tries (6-1) and corner kicks (9-1), while Alabama State held a 6-1 advantage in saves. Nishio and Lopez Wilson were the only two Hornets with multiple shots, the latter attempting the only shot on goal. The Hornets handed its opponents a third straight draw, a fantastic result for the young Bama State squad that looks to take the momentum into the postseason.
With the regular season concluded, the Lady Hornets await its opponent for the SWAC Championship Tournament, which will take place from Thursday, Nov. 12 through Sunday, Nov. 15 in Prairie View, Texas. There is a possibility of Alabama State, which is all but locked in to the seventh seed, getting a rematch with the Tigers in the opening round. Other options include Grambling State or Alabama A&M, but everything will be decided following the final day of conference competition on Thursday, Nov. 5.
