ALEXANDRIA, LA – The Lady Lions played their first round game of the SWAC tournament today versus Alabama State. The weather conditions of the game were sunny with a cold, gusty wind. The game ended with UAPB commanding a 4-0 victory.

The Lady Lions came out roaring to play and scored in the second minute of the game. The goal started with a play from sophomore midfielder Molly Stone who passed the ball to senior forward Silvia Fuentes up the left sideline. Fuentes beat the ASU defender and crossed the ball into the box. Sophomore midfielder Reaghan Zilkie got her foot on the cross and finished the play with a first-time shot on goal that landed in the upper ninety and easily beat the ASU goalkeeper.  

The game continued with UAPB dominating play. The Lady Lions tallied 17 shots in the first half but were unable to capitalize on those chances. The score going in to halftime was 1-0 UAPB.

With the wind at their backs, the Lady Lions kept the ball in ASU's end of the field for most of the game. The second goal of the game came at the 60^th minute when senior forward Nicole Parks-Powell fought hard in the box to hold the ball up for enough time to find Silvia Fuentes in the midfield. Fuentes took one-touch, struck the ball perfectly and scored in the upper left ninety of the ASU goal.

The scoring would not end there as the Lady Lions had two more goals to add to the score sheet. At the 65^th minute, senior midfielder Rachel Harker scored a goal when she rifled a shot from 30 yards out.

“My foot just felt like it was on today and I told myself that I needed to take some more shots. I was happy to score for my team because we were all working hard out there. ASU came to play today but we were just focused and prepared to play our game,” said Harker.

Senior midfielder Austen Keithley would add one more goal to the score sheet in the 82^nd minute. Assists on Keithley's goal came from freshman Emily Antoku and senior forward Jade West.

Freshman goalkeeper Meaghan Storie is credited with a shutout performance today and the defensive back four were a vital part of not letting ASU get any chance at goal. ASU recorded one shot which was easily picked up by Storie.

The total shots at the end of the game were 25 to 1 form UAPB and corners were 10 to 2 for UAPB.

“I am so proud of the girls for their performance today. The girls were focused and played well. I am also proud of the players that came off the bench today because they played hard and were very influential to the flow of the game. We are taking one game at a time at this point,” said Head Coach Roberto Mazza.

The Lady Lions advance to the semifinal game tomorrow versus Southern University. Kick-off is scheduled for 3:30PM.