Braves Look to Rebound against Grambling State

LORMAN, Miss. – Alcorn State Soccer will look to rebound from Thursday's season opening defeat, as the Braves host visiting Grambling State to Sports Force Parks on the Mississippi for a nonconference affair between traditional league foes in Vicksburg, Mississippi on Sunday, Aug. 21, at 11 a.m.
 
THE GAME: Alcorn State Braves (0-1-0) vs. Grambling State Tigers (1-0-0)
WHEN: Sunday, Aug. 21, at 11 a.m. CST
WHERE: Sports Force Parks on the Mississippi (Vicksburg, Miss.)
 
IN THE RANKINGS
Alcorn is not ranked in this week's United Soccer Coaches Top 25 poll. Grambling is not ranked in this week's United Soccer Coaches Top 25 poll.
 
SOCIAL MEDIA
Keep up with everything Alcorn State Soccer this year by following the Braves on all of their social media platforms. You can follow @AlcornWomensSoccer on Instagram and @AlcornSoccer on Twitter.
 
SERIES VS. GRAMBLING STATE
Grambling State leads the all-time series against Alcorn with a sizeable 16-3-1 advantage. The Tigers have captured the last four games consecutively in the series. The last victory for the Braves against the Tigers came back on Oct. 22, 2017, when Mireya Gonzalez and Rita Okoro secured goals to help gather the 2-0 clean sheet victory.
 
ABOUT SPORTS FORCE PARKS ON THE MISSISSIPPI
Sports Force Parks on the Mississippi is a multi-functional sports facility in Vicksburg, Mississippi, located just around 45 miles away from the Alcorn State University campus in Lorman. The facility features professional-level synthetic turf fields, in addition to on-site recreation and entertainment options with high quality concessions. Throughout the year, the facility hosts a number of tournaments including youth baseball, softball, soccer, football and more.
 
LAST TIME OUT
Alcorn State goalkeeper stopped eight shots in goal, but Southern Utah used a hat-trick performance from substitute Sammie Sofonia to gather a 7-0 road win in the season opener for both teams at Sports Force Parks on the Mississippi in Vicksburg, Mississippi. The Thunderbirds tallied 31 shots in the game, with 15 of those falling on-target. The Braves countered with five shots on target, including shots from freshman Samara Nunn and subs Zea Anderson and Yaisa Reyes.
 
LAST TIME VS. GRAMBLING STATE
A pair of first half goals from Mireya Gonzalez and Rita Okoro allowed the Alcorn State Braves to keep a 2-0 clean sheet and gather the win over visiting Grambling State at Jack Spinks – Marino Casem Stadium in Lorman, Mississippi. The opening goal was scored off a saved shot that bounced back favorably to Gonzalez just 10 minutes into the contest. Just under seven minutes later, it was Okoro pouncing on a missed shot by the Purple and Gold, as she slotted the ball home to deliver the final 2-0 score line.
 
YEAR THREE OF THE KEVIN LARRY ERA
Head Coach Kevin Larry is one game into his third season at the helm of the Alcorn State Soccer program. Larry coached the Braves during the COVID-rearranged season of 2020/21 when the team played largely a Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) schedule in spring 2021, as well as the traditional fall 2021 campaign. To-date, Larry holds an overall record of 4-25-1 in his time in Lorman.
 
ALCORN PREDICTED TO FINISH 8TH IN SWAC
Alcorn Soccer was predicted to finish eighth in the 2022 SWAC Predicted Order of Finish, released by the league office Friday, Aug. 12, from the conference headquarters in Birmingham, Alabama.
 
ALCORN SIGNS GATORADE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Freshman forward/winger Samara Nunn was named the 2021-22 Gatorade Player of the Year for the State of West Virginia out of Parkersburg South High School in Parkersburg, West Virginia. Known as a prolific scorer, Nunn was tabbed West Virginia High School Soccer Coaches Association Class AAA (3-A) Player of the Year and a United Soccer Coaches All-South Region performer following her senior season in 2021, en route to breaking several school records under Head Coach Ron Bucholtz and the Patriots program. In 2021, she registered 13 multi-goal performances, including six hat tricks.
 
The Gatorade Player of the Year program annually recognizes one winner in the District of Columbia and each of the 50 states that sanction high school football, girls volleyball, boys and girls cross country, boys and girls basketball, boys and girls soccer, baseball, softball, and boys and girls track & field, and awards one National Player of the Year in each sport. The selection process is administered by the Gatorade Player of the Year Selection Committee, which leverages experts including coaches, scouts, media and others as sources to help evaluate and determine the state winners in each sport.
 
UP NEXT
Alcorn State comes home to the friendly confines of Jack Spinks – Marino Casem Stadium when the Purple and Gold play host to Louisiana-Monroe on Wednesday, Aug. 24, at 6 p.m. For the Braves, the home game will be their first true home game of the 2022 season after hosting Southern Utah and Grambling State for a pair of matches in Vicksburg, Mississippi.
 
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