PRAIRIE VIEW, Texas | It took nearly 70 minutes of action, but Kaylee Holt's goal was the difference as the Grambling State University women's soccer team advanced to the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) Women's Soccer Semifinals with a 1-0 victory over Jackson State on Thursday night at the PVAMU Soccer Field.
 
"I am happy with our team," Grambling State first-year coach Justin Wagar said. "We had many opportunities to score, but Jackson State's goalkeeper had a lot of great saves. Jackson State played a great game and I am glad we were able to put one way late in the second half. Tomorrow we face Howard and they are also a great team. We are looking forward to the challenge."
 
Grambling State (10-7-1), the No. 2 seed in the tournament, moves on to meet Howard in the semifinals at 5:30 p.m. on Friday. The Lady Bison (9-9-1), the No. 3 seed, rolled past Mississippi Valley State, 4-1, in their quarterfinal matchup. Jackson State, which entered the tournament as the No. 7 seed, concludes its season with a 2-14-3 overall record.
 
GSU dominated the match from start to finish as Grambling State fired 16 shots on goal and Jackson State goalkeeper Faith Toennies was up to the task on all but one of those shots.
 
In the 71st minute, Jessica Miller-Ulmer's pass found Holt for the goal and gave Grambling State a 1-0 lead.
 
GSU continued to keep the pressure on Jackson State for the final 19 minutes until the whistle blew, which gave Grambling State its first SWAC Postseason victory since 2009.
 
Grambling State is looking for its second victory of the season over Howard as GSU defeated the Lady Bison, 2-1 on Sept. 24. In that match, Holt provided the first goal of the game just 22 seconds into the contest to grab an early 1-0 lead. A goal by Kela Gray in the 80th minute tied the contest at 1, but with just 20 seconds remaining, Brittany Terry scored off a long throw-in to give GSU the 2-1 victory.
 
 
Inside the Numbers
· Grambling State goalkeeper Dominique Bridges made her second start in goal and logged 45 minutes.
· GSU's Jordan Woodward replaced Bridges at the half and notched one save in 45 minutes.
· Faith Toennies finished with 15 saves in all 90 minutes of action for Jackson State.
· Grambling State out-shot Jackson State, 24-1, including 15-1 in the second half.
· GSU held an 8-1 advantage in corner kicks.
· There were just five total fouls in the 90-minute affair between the two teams.
 
News and Notes
· Grambling State is led by SWAC Coach of the Year, Justin Wagar.
· Grambling State had three players named to the All-SWAC Teams on Tuesday (Brittany Terry – First Team; Kaylee Holt – Second Team and Haileigh Adams – Second Team).
· Grambling State has now matched the 2009 team with a 10-7-1 record.
· The Lady Tigers were predicted to finish 10th in the SWAC Preseason Poll.
· Grambling State is in search of its first tournament championship since 2006.
· GSU has won two SWAC Tournament titles (2004 and 2006).
 
Up Next
Grambling State will await its opponent, which will be the No. 7 seed, for the upcoming SWAC Tournament in Prairie View, Texas (Nov. 2-5).
 
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