PINE BLUFF, AR – The Lady Lions came away with an exciting win tonight against the Lady Trojans of the University of Arkansas – Little Rock. The Lady Lions made history tonight by winning its most out-of-conference games – four – and by beating UALR for the first time in the history of the soccer program.
The 1st half was dominated by UALR who tallied eight shots to UAPB's two. The Lady Lions defense held off the Lady Trojans until half time and kept the score at 0-0. At the start of the second half the Lady Lions came out with intensity and took control of the game.
At the 46th minute junior forward Jade West opened the scoring from a Silvia Fuentes assist. Fuentes made a quick one-touch pass at the top of the 18yrd box for West, who beat a Trojan defender 1v1 and placed the ball into the side netting for her 6th goal of the season. West's scoring percentage is an impressive one goal per game.
“Every team has bad starts but the good teams learn how to overcome them and today UAPB overcame a bad start. I think we can overcome anything. Today's match was great for us. We learned something new about ourselves. We learned about teamwork and intensity,” said Fuentes. Fuentes tallied two assists in today's game giving her a total of 9 assists so far this season.
Senior Lady Lion goalkeeper Bre-Ann Laypoole recorded seven saves in today's game. Laypoole was beat at the 62nd minute when Holly Holland crossed the ball into the box to Christine Veasley who finished a one-time shot.
At the 65th minute Fuentes made her second assist to junior forward Nicole Parks-Powell. Fuentes beat a Trojan defender down the line and crossed the ball into the box right to the head of Parks-Powell who headed the ball into the net. Parks-Powell also has six goals this year for a one goal per game scoring average.
“The team showed great mental strength to pick up our game, pull it together and get our desired result. Our keeper Bre did everything and more that is expected for an exceptional keeper. She kept us in the game and in the lead,” said West.
After the Parks-Powell goal UALR kept coming at UAPB but the Lady Lions kept their focus and defended with hard tackles, winning headers and overall hard work.
“This was a very good win for our program today. I think that we came out flat at the start but we adjusted really well coming out in the second half. In the second half we started to pick up our attack and find our forwards' feet. It was only a matter of time before we would put a goal away. It was almost like watching two different games today. The first half was flat but the second half was intense, for both teams. Overall, though it was gutsy performance by my players tonight and I am proud of their resilience,” said Mazza.
The Lady Lions travel to the University of Louisiana – Monroe Tuesday for a 3:00pm kick-off against the Lady Warhawks.
