The soccer teams and officials line up before the match. Courtesy photo
Last weekend’s action by the Lady Tiger soccer team saw them split their games against two Alabama SWAC schools.
Friday’s game saw them play against the Alabama State Hornets and Saturday against Alabama A&M.
Game one agasint Alabama State saw a large offensive effort by the Tigers, scoring two goals in the first 10 minutes.
The first goal came just 59 seconds into the match by forward Kailey Pena who was assisted by midfielder Sarah Teubner. Teubner later socred a goal of her own in the 15th minute.
Prior to Teubner’s goal, freshman Zenaya Barnes added a score off of a cross pass from forward Miranda Urbizu, marking down her first career goal and ending scoring in the first half.
Grambling’s defense held up with the help of goalkeeper Rachel Pugh who recorded three saves and hold out for teams third shutout victory of the season.
In the second half, the Lady Tigers added two more goals. Barnes tacked on a second goal in the 46th minute right out of the break to extend the lead to 4-0.
Playing around shots from the Hornets, another late goal came in the 79th minute by freshman Lindsay Jaiyesimi for the first of her collegiate record.
The players believe that their communication on the field and discipline on the pitch is what led to their victory. The Lady Tigers held Alabama State scoreless in the match.
“I think that we did pretty good, we played as a team, we have been struggling lately to score,” forward Haylee O’Leary said. “So this 5-0 win got our confidence up to play Alabama A&M on Sunday.”
Game two on Sunday against Alabama A&M did not see nearly as many goals as the first game.
The Lady Tigers went into the game defending immediately and held their defense for the length of the match.
The lone goal was snuck in at the 23rd minute by Alabama A&M senior midfielder Iris Torres. The remainder of the game was an aggressive defensive match, resulting in the 1-0 victory for Alabama A&M.
GSU headed to Mississippi on Oct. 3 to face off against a struggling Mississippi Valley squad before a match on Oct. 6 with a winless Alcorn team.