PINE BLUFF, Ark.- The Lady Lions came out with their first win of the season with a dominating 9-0 performance over the Lady Eagles of the University of Ozarks Wednesday evening. Nicole Parks-Powell led the Lady Lions with three goals. Silvia Fuentes, last week's SWAC 'Offensive Player of the Week' continued to stand out offensively as she delivered one goal and four assists.
The Lady Lions posted its first shutout of the season with freshman goalkeeper Olivia Wood's first career start. The Lady Lions out-shot the Lady Eagles 32-0.
“It is great to come out and score goals, and it feels even better to dominate a game.” head coach Roberto Mazza said.
The Lady Lions scored first when Austen Keithley fired a shot to the top left corner. The Lady Lions posted a 2-0 advantage when Nicole Parks-Powell found the back of the net on a great pass from Silvia Fuentes. In the 35th minute, Rachel Harker blasted a shot from 25 yards out into the top left corner.
Three minutes later Britney Boler dribbled down the left wing and fired a shot from the left side into the far right post. Just before the half, Silvia Fuentes scored the fifth goal to conclude the first half.
“Because of all the early goals it was a difficult game to play,” Mazza said. “We talked about it at halftime. The challenge was to keep our discipline, keep our form and to continue to play at high level. I thought that the girls did a good job of dong that.”
Casey Hogan gave the Lady Lions an 8-0 lead when she scored on a 15-yard first-time, strike from Rachel Harker in the 84th minute. Jade West then capped the game with her first recorded goal of the year on a pass from Silvia Fuentes in the 89th minute.
“I feel that I am still improving my skills as an offensive player and my improvement showed tonight on the field,” Parks-Powell said.
“I think that our team performance improved as the game progressed. I am happy with my individual performance tonight and the team's performance as a whole. I still feel that we have some things to work on but I know we will improve as the season moves forward,” Fuentes said.
The Lady Lions hit the road this weekend to face the Lady Techsters of Louisiana Tech University on Friday night and the Ladies of Centenary College on Sunday afternoon.
