LORMAN, Miss. - The Alcorn State University women's soccer team opens the 2017 season at home as it hosts New Mexico State on Monday in a 1 p.m. match at Spinks-Casem Stadium.
The Lady Braves are returning nine of their 11 starters from 2016, including their top three goal scorers from last year. Sophomore and SWAC Preseason First-Team selection Rita Okoro is expected to lead the team on attack. In her first season at Alcorn, she netted eight goals and enters 2017 ranked fourth in program history. She was also the SWAC Freshman of the Year.
Also leading Alcorn on offense are junior Yaira Guardado and senior Viktoriya Mihaylova, who combined for nine goals last season. The team will also look to seniors Priscilla Guardado and Alexandra Salvador, both of whom played in every match last season.
"These three seniors, they are coming in with a lot of ambition," said first-year head coach Junior Noel. "They've been here through the tough times and they want to go out with something they can be proud of. They've been working hard in practice and it shows me that they are focused and want to do well. They want to leave a good impression for those coming behind them, and I've seen a great attitude from them. They're very positive."
The Aggies enter Monday's contest sporting a 3-0-1 record, their best start in program history. The team earned a 1-0 victory over its in-state rival New Mexico on Aug. 24 and is coming off a 1-0 victory at Grambling State on Saturday.
Audriana Chavez has scored two goals on 11 shots with an assist to lead New Mexico State. Aileen Galicia, who scored the game winner against Grambling State, and Devin Hart follow with a goal and an assist each. Goalkeeper Dmitri Fong recorded her second consecutive shutout game with five saves and was named the Western Athletic Conference's Defensive Player of the Week on Aug. 21.
"The challenge for me is always the unknown," added Noel. "I'm still trying to figure out my group and for me, primarily, it's trying to make my group a cohesive unit. I'm not so much concerned with what challenges New Mexico State brings, but Monday gives me an opportunity to see how well my group can adapt and change to different situations. I believe for an opponent like New Mexico State, they're probably similar to a lot of teams that we're going to see in the SWAC. So they're going to give us a good gauge as to where we are."
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