Lady Jags shutout Alcorn State, UAPB

The Southern University Lady Jaguarswomen’s soccer team (5-3, 5-3 Southwestern Athletic Conference) shut outthe Lady Braves of Alcorn State (0-5, 0-9 SWAC) for the second time this seasonon Friday with a score of 2-0.
“We played bad and we can dobetter,” said sophomore defender Khrystina Pindle. “But we held theshutout.”
Although the Lady Jags beat the Braves 6-0in the first match up in September, this time it was not so easy.
Alcorn State made scoring difficult for theLady Jags by having five defenders in their18-yard box (the area in front ofthe defenders’ goal).
Alcorn State, however, did not avertsophomore midfielder Jama Slaughter from assisting freshman striker AshleyBoutte in scoring the first goal.
Boutte, a three-time SWAC Player of theWeek, continues to lead the nation with 25 points, averaging five points pergame.
Later in the half, junior midfielder HillaryBruno scored the last goal of the game.
After the first half, the Lady Jagscountless efforts to score were unsatisfied, but their defense keep them in thegame.
Throughout the game the ball entered AlcornState’s zones only four times in each half and the Southern defendersallowed ASU only one chance to take a shot during the entire game.
The Lady Braves’ inability to scorealso caused tension between the teams. In the second half, senior stopperStephanie Robinson complained about the unsportsmanlike conduct of LadyBraves’ midfielder Ember Wright.
After numerous complaints to game officials,Robinson and Wright eventually got into a physical fight that was quicklybroken by officials.
Robinson was issued a yellow card andeventually removed from the game by Lady Jags’ head coach Rohan Naraine,while Wright received a warning.
Naraine was pleased with the victory, butnot the Lady Jags overall performance.
“A win is a win, but our girls can domuch better,” said Naraine.
Many of the players felt that they hadgotten a little relaxed based upon ASU’s last performance. FreshmanJessica Manning was disappointed with the team’s performance also.
“We played like crap,” saidManning. “We are a better team, but we played down to their level.”
According to Jags assistant coach JohnKnight, the match was not one of Southern’s better games.
“We need to work on moving the ballquicker,” said Knight. “We beat them 6-0 before and today, some ofthe players were a little relaxed. There are a lot of young players and theyare developing at a good rate. This game was truly a learning experience.”
In Sunday’s game against theUniversity of Arkansas-Pine Bluff, the Lady Jags produced another shutout,defeating the Golden Lionettes 4-0.
Bruno and Boutte scored two goals apiece inthe Lady Jags victory.
Southern’s defenders have been makingstrides in their recent defensive efforts. Pindle, freshman Cyra Charles, alongwith sophomores Robinson and Jaeteya Rusden have collectively delivered theirconference-leading third shutout this season.