HAMMOND, La. – The Southeastern Louisiana University women's soccer team finished its season opener with a tie against Grambling State Friday evening at Strawberry Stadium.
Southeastern (0-0-1) came out to a slow start, but held Grambling State (1-0-1) scoreless for the entire 90 minutes of the contest. Lady Lion goalkeepers Kendall Curan and
Anna Blankenship split time in the net to finish with two saves.
Both teams came out flat in the first half, but SLU maintained a solid defensive effort to contain the Lady Tigers who were picked first in the SWAC preseason poll.
"We're proud of the competitiveness showcased tonight and that'll be the theme for the entire season," stated head coach
Nathan Gillespie. "We will continue to battle every match, but there's room for improvement in maintaining our composure to get ahead of the ball moving forward."
The Lady Lions ended with eight shots in the contest led by junior
Emma Ramsey with two shots on goal. Ramsey broke free midway into the second half with a close shot on goal that strayed bottom center from the net.
Haylli Roe and
Sara Bancevic also each finished with one shot on goal in an attempt to put Southeastern on the board.
Grambling State struggled to find its rhythm in the first half of the match, but gained momentum in the final 45 minutes of the contest with two shots on goal. Senior Aria Whitney and Adaliene Hernandez remained aggressive in the second half with two shots on goal. The Lady Tigers attempted two corner kicks in the second period in hopes to secure an advantage. Goalkeepers Madison Covey-Taylor and Kaia Bace also split time in the net for Grambling State to end with four saves.
SLU relied on its defensive front that held SWAC Preseason Midfielder of the Year Aria Whitney to only one shot on goal throughout the match.
Southeastern will return to action Sunday, Aug. 25 at 1 p.m. against South Alabama for its final non conference game at home. Fans are encouraged to stick around after the match for post-game autographs with the Lady Lions.
SLU – 0 0 – 0 (0-0-1)
GSU – 0 0 – 0 (1-0-1)
Scoring Summary
Shots – SLU 8, GSU 7
Saves – GSU 4, SLU 2
Corner Kicks – GSU 4, SLU 2
Fouls – GSU 18, SLU 7
Offsides – SLU 3, GSU 0
SCORE ONE MORE CLUB/S CLUB
Fans interested in becoming active supporters of the women's soccer program are encouraged to join the Score One More Club. Lion alums are encouraged to join the exclusive S Club, which is restricted to Southeastern athletic letter winners. All membership fees and donations to Score One More Club are available for the exclusive use of the Southeastern soccer program. Membership information is available by contacting the Lion Athletics Association at
laa@southeastern.edu or (985) 549-5091 or visiting
www.LionUp.com.
SOCIAL MEDIA
For more information on Southeastern Soccer, follow @LionUpSoccer and @Nathan90G on X, like /SLUathletics on Facebook and follow slusoccer on Instagram.
