GRAMBLING, La. | Jasmine Smith scored a pair of goals as the Grambling State University women's soccer team clinched a spot in next month's Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) Tournament with a 4-0 victory over Alabama A&M on Sunday afternoon at the GSU Soccer Complex.
"We had a bit of sloppy play today, but were able to settle down and figure things out as the game went on," Grambling State head coach
Justin Wagar said. "Our entire defensive line played great to limit Alabama A&M's chances and
Jasmine Smith scored two beautiful goals to help us pull away."
Grambling State (8-5-1 overall, 6-0-1 SWAC) sits atop the SWAC standings with 19 points and has three games remaining before the SWAC Tournament (Nov. 2-5).
The Lady Tigers quickly put Alabama A&M on its back heels as Grambling State opened the scoring in the eighth minute.
Kaylee Holt, who finished the day with a goal and an assist, was dragged down in the penalty area by Lady Bulldogs defender Camille Nurse to set up a penalty kick. Holt's shot went into the left corner to give the Lady Tigers a quick 1-0 advantage.
Grambling State doubled the score right before halftime as
Florence David played a perfect cross into the penalty area, where Smith headed in the goal past a diving Lady Bulldogs goalkeeper Jodi Medina to give the Lady Tigers a 2-0 lead.
Grambling State put the game away in the 78th minute when Holt dashed down the right sideline and played a ball into the penalty area as
Karen DeLeon connected for her first goal of the season.
The Lady Tigers added an insurance goal in the 86th minute to give Grambling State a 4-0 lead.
Kiawna Mounts played the ball to Smith, who dribbled out of traffic and to the left side. Smith launched a shot to the far back post to beat Medina.
Turning Point
Grambling State found a way to recover from an emotional victory on Friday night when the Lady Tigers knocked off the defending SWAC Tournament champions (Alabama State).
Kaylee Holt was able to break free from the defense in the eighth minute and was dragged down to the ground by Alabama A&M defender Camille Nurse in the penalty area.
That set up the penalty kick and Holt, who is now 2-for-2 from the penalty spot, collected her thoughts and fired a shot past Lady Bulldogs goalkeeper Jodi Medina to give Grambling State a 1-0 lead.
Alabama A&M couldn't recover from that point as the Lady Tigers tacked on three more goals over the final 82 minutes.
Inside the Numbers
·
Jordan Woodward recorded her second consecutive shutout and fifth of the season for the Lady Tigers.
· Alabama A&M goalkeeper Jodi Medina registered seven saves.
· Grambling State out-shot Alabama A&M, 15-4, including 10-2 in the second half.
· The Lady Tigers held a 3-2 advantage in corner kicks.
· There were 26 total fouls and two yellow cards.
News and Notes
· Grambling State ran its unbeaten streak to seven games.
· With the victory, Grambling State is just two victories shy of matching the 2009 team (10-7-1).
· During the Lady Tigers' unbeaten streak, GSU has won three one-goal games.
· The four goals scored were the most since Oct. 11, 2015 when the Lady Tigers beat Alcorn State, 4-1.
· Grambling State has now gone more than a month since its last loss (Sept. 13 – Louisiana Tech, 3-2, OT)
· Grambling State has three games remaining – two away (Mississippi Valley State and Alcorn State) and one home (Arkansas-Pine Bluff).
· With the loss, Alabama A&M fell to 2-13-0 overall and 1-6-0 SWAC.
Up Next
Grambling State will return to action with a 7 p.m. SWAC match on Friday, Oct. 20 in Itta Bena, Miss. Against Mississippi Valley State.
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