MONTGOMERY, Ala. – The Alabama State University women's soccer team held strong against a heavily pressing Alcorn State attack, shutting down the Braves' offense in a 0-0 Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) opening draw at ASU Soccer Complex on Sunday afternoon.
The Hornets (0-7-2, 0-0-1 SWAC) looked forward to a clean slate on the season, as everyone entered the day with even chances to make and win the SWAC Championship Tournament at season's end. It ended the day with its second shutout of the year against the Braves (3-4-2, 0-0-1 SWAC), who finished last year two spots ahead of ASU at No. 6 in the postseason tournament bracket.
Six of Alabama State's starting 11 played the full 90 minutes, including goalkeeper
Valentina Espinel and defender
Queenster Mensah, who both took brutal beatings from their opposition at their respective positions. Another one of the six, midfielder
Tamami Nishio, recorded the only shot on goal in the seventh minute, a strong strike that succeeded a good look in the bottom right corner, only to be saved by the Alcorn keeper.
Alcorn's offense was so aggressive that three of its second-half shots bounced off the woodwork, only to land back in play and be cleared by Alabama State defenders. The Braves had a handful of second-half series with multiple shot attempts, all contributing to the 11 shots tried in the final half and the 16 overall attempts in the game. However, just one – a 57th-minute try into the bottom right corner – was counted as on goal, as the ball was saved by Espinel to conclude the effort.
The Hornets' push on goal was led by forward/midfielder
Kiana Lopez Wilson, who made her first career start in her second game and took a team-high two attempts. Nishio, Mensah and
Tyra Sterling each had a lone attempt in a stellar effort.
Renata Da Rosa for Alcorn had a lone save on the day, while Espinel, who is responsible for manning the net in both of the team's draws this season, matched that stat line on the other side of the field. On top of the 16-5 shot advantage for Alcorn State, ASU also had to withstand its opponent's 7-1 edge in corner kicks.
The Lady Hornets will be on the road for its next two matches, traveling to Huntsville, Alabama, for a meeting with the Alabama A&M Bulldogs on Sunday, Oct. 4, at 1 p.m. at the Bulldog Soccer Field. ASU returns to its home pitch to host Grambling State the following Sunday, Oct. 11, with kickoff set for 1 p.m.
