Texas Southern soccer left it all on the field Sunday afternoon as they tackled through Alabama A&M to earn an important 3-1 win.
"This was a great Sunday win for us. It's hard to win on Sundays but I think we took advantage of being home and we kept the energy up the entire game," said head coach Lindsay Vera.
There was no denying the physicality in today's match as both the Tigers and Bulldogs were aggressors when the kickoff whistle blew. Texas Southern initiated attacks on goal in the 10th minute of the match with graduate student Ari Mendez and freshman Melissa Knutson posting attempts, respectively.
Junior Victoria Pucci posted her second goal of the season in the 16th minute of the first half and was assisted by senior Ayana Noel pushing the Tigers to an early 1-0 lead. There was a shot attempt and corner kick by sophomore Kaila Smith followed by a header by junior JJ Binder before the Tigers' second goal was posted in the 26th minute of the match.
Ari Mendez was already hot and capitalized on it when she scored her third goal for the season extending the Tigers' lead to 2-0. Her phenomenal shot was assisted by Camille Robinson.
"We were focused from the start today. We were organized and competitive in the first half which earned us two great goals from Pucci and Ari," Vera added.
Robinson had a shot attempt in the 36th minute shortly before the buzzer went off concluding the first half and a 2-0 lead for the Tigers.
The Bulldogs delivered their only goal in the 68th minute of the second half. There were several attempts to see the back of the net again by junior Ashley Arnes, Robinson, Smith, Mendez, and junior Sammie Garcia. Goalkeeper Jaidyn Christophe also had five saves throughout the game.
"We haven't been up at halftime yet this season and we proved that we could manage the lead. Although A&M scored, I think we did very well responding to their efforts by continuing to play our style," Vera noted.
Both teams fought through to the very last moment of the match, but the Tigers secured the win when Ayana Noel delivered the final goal in the 89th minute.
"Yaya's goal in the last minute or so was exactly what we needed. It was awesome to see our players celebrating with one another. This weekend's success was a major team effort and we are looking forward to some rest before we get back on the road next week," Vera concluded.
The Tigers are back on the road next week as they continue conference play when they take on Grambling State and Arkansas-Pine Bluff. Kickoff for Friday's match against the Grambling State Tigers will be at 5 p.m. in Grambling, La.
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