LORMAN, Miss. - The Alcorn State University women's soccer team is home this weekend as the Lady Braves host Arkansas-Pine Bluff in a 4 p.m. contest Friday at Jack Spinks-Marino Casem Stadium. The team then takes on Grambling State in a 1 p.m. match on Sunday.
"Every game brings its own challenges and we need to approach every game business-like," said head coach Junior Noel. "We don't look at scores or standings, we look at competition. Every team in the SWAC is going to be competitive. We have to approach every game with the same mindset to get results. The last couple of games, we fell off a little bit. For some reason, we didn't start the way that we usually start. But we're back at home and we should be comfortable."
Redshirt-sophomore Rita Okoro has five goals to pace the Alcorn offense, followed by senior Alexandra Salvador with two goals and an assist. Freshman keeper Kameran Proby is 2-5 this season with 38 saves on 92 shots faced and one shutout.
Arkansas-Pine Bluff | Oct. 20 | 4 p.m.
The Lady Lions (1-11-1, 1-5-1 SWAC) are looking to snap a four-game skid and are coming off losses to Alabama A&M and Alabama State last weekend. Rebecca Holmes leads the team with four goals and three assists. Karissa Fenwick follows with a pair of scores and an assist, while Allison Herrin has found the back of the net twice. Goalkeeper Sariah Orocu is 1-6-1 with 54 saves against 23 goals allowed.
UAPB leads the all-time series 14-5. Last season's meeting on Oct. 16 was a 10-3 decision in favor of the Lady Lions. Viktoriya Mihaylova converted a pair of penalty kicks in the second half and Okoro added a score late. Sophomore Giselle Rojas played 90 minutes in the net and recorded nine saves.
Friday's game marks Alcorn's Pink Game. The Lady Braves will play for victims and survivors of breast cancer.
Grambling State | Oct. 22 | 1 p.m.
The Lady Tigers (8-5-1, 6-0-1 SWAC) picked up wins over Alabama State and Alabama A&M last weekend and sit atop the conference standings heading into the weekend. Kaylee Holt has five goals and three assists to lead the conference with 13 points. Jasmine Smith follows with four scores and an assist. Jessica Miller-Ulmer was named the Defensive Player of the Week on Monday, while teammate Jordan Woodward collected Goalkeeper of the Week honors. Woodward is 8-5 on the year with 40 saves on 140 shots faced and 15 goals allowed.
GSU holds a 12-2-1 mark in the all-time series and has won the past three meetings. On Oct. 14 last season, the Lady Tigers jumped out quick with two first-half goals. Okoro put Alcorn on the board in the 42nd minute before the hosts added a tally early in the second half.
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