By: Habtom Keleta-Asst. AD for Media Relations
Box Score PINE BLUFF, Ark. | In the last match of the regular season, the Grambling Tigers trailed 2-0 on the road before storming back to score three unanswered goals for a dramatic 3-2 victory over Arkansas-Pine Bluff at Pumphrey Stadium in Southwestern Athletic Conference action. Junior super striker
Kailey Pena was once again marvelous and scored the not only the match-tying goal, but later scored the go-ahead goal with just minutes remaining in regulation. The win marks the fourth-straight victory for the red-hot Tigers, who will finish no less than the number two seed in next week's conference tournament.
Grambling (6-2-1 overall, 6-1-1 SWAC) got behind in the 11th minute when Iyannah Hicks scored a goal for UAPB. The Lady Lions added another goal in the 27th minute of action to take a 2-0 lead.
GSU Preseason All-SWAC selection
Miranda Urbizu made her presence felt after missing a handful of matches and scored a huge goal (40th min.) before halftime just moments after being subbed into the match.
In the second half, Grambling redshirt junior and two-time
SWAC Women's Soccer Offensive Player of the Week Pena scored the equalizer in the 50th minute to give GSU the momentum in the tense battle. In the 86th minute, Pena made a brilliant move in the box and dodged two defenders as she stretched her foot out and kicked the ball with the front portion of her boot. UAPB goalkeeper Kimberly Moss was able to get a foot on the ball in an attempt to save the shot, but Pena struck the ball with enough force and rolled into the back of the net to give Grambling a 3-2 lead with just minutes remaining in regulation. Click
here to view the crucial go-ahead goal from Pena.
GSU goalkeeper
Britt Verhees played the full 90 minutes and made three saves in the victory. Despite giving up two first-half goals, Verhees came up big in the second-half and did not allow any goals to help seal the comeback.
Junior
Kamaron Powell led the Tigers with three total shots on the afternoon.
Up Next
Grambling State will participate in the 2021 SWAC Women's Soccer Tournament which begins on Thursday, April 8, with the championship match to conclude the tournament on Sunday, April 11 at 11 a.m. GSU currently awaits final seedings from the conference.
SWAC Women's Soccer Tournament
Thursday, April 8 - Sunday, April 11, 2021
Championship Match- Sunday, April 11, 2021 at 11:00 am
Hosted by Prairie View A&M University
Prairie View, Texas
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