Alabama State University Athletics

MONTGOMERY, Ala. – On a day when real-feel temperatures reached into the mid-100s and officials halted play four times for hydration, the Alabama State University women's soccer team fell to the Presbyterian Blue Hose, 3-1, on Sunday afternoon at ASU Soccer Complex.
 
The Lady Hornets (0-2 overall) struck first in the sixth minute off the boot of second-year striker Serenity Safeeullah, who was fed a pass by Tyra Sterling to get the game started early. The Blue Hose (1-0 overall) had different plans, scoring three unanswered tallies in the 16th, 57th and 74th minutes to tie the game, take the lead, and protect the advantage in its first game of the year.
 
ASU continued to be aggressive, as defender Queenster Mensah caused trouble in the middle of the field, while Safeeullah, Sterling and fellow forward Lucca Porter made several attempts to push the pace downfield, only to be stopped by the Blue Hose defense.
 
With the Hornets' sprinting all over and continuing its aggression early, Presbyterian saw momentum tip its way late with the heat continuing to beat down on the two teams. The Blue Hose began seeing more opportunities as players fired passes ahead, with several opportunities coming later in the final period.
 
Both keepers played the entire 90 minutes, with PC's Alexia Garcia picking up the win while making a pair of saves on the afternoon. Freshman Slater Copeland of ASU made five saves on the day in a losing effort.
 
Presbyterian led the way in shots (13-7) and on-target attempts (8-3), while ASU had three more saves than the Blue Hose (5-2). The teams were even in corners, 5-5, with the Hornets attempting the first four in the opening half.
 
The Lady Hornets will head to enemy territory this Thursday evening, where it will face the South Alabama Jaguars at The Cage. Kickoff time on August 20 is set for 6 p.m.