Box Score Huntsville, Ala.--The Lady Statesmen took the pitch for their first regular season game of 2011 on Thursday taking on the University of Alabama-Huntsville. After tying the game late in the second half, the Lady Statesmen fell in overtime 2-1 to the Lady Chargers.

“I thought the girls played well,” said head coach Paul Babba. “I asked them to do three things for the game today. I asked them for organization, intensity, and with communication, and they did all three things.”

The Lady Chargers (1-0, 1-0 GSC) held the lead for most of the game. Luting Sun scored the first goal of the game for the Chargers in the 34th minute.

The game remained at 1-0 until Sophomore forward Payten Pearson tied the match with five minutes left.

The match went into golden goal overtime. The match remained at 1-1 until the Lady Statesmen put the ball into their own net while defending a cross into the box.

“It is a terrible way to lose on an our mistake, but it was more unlucky than anything,” Babba said.

The Statesmen (0-1, 0-1 GSC) now turn to a Labor Day match on the road against Bethel University. The match takes place at Bethel and gets underway at 2 p.m. in McKenzie, Tenn.

The Lady Statesmen will make their home debut in the regular season on Sept. 7. They will take on Union University at 4:00 p.m. You can listen to that game on the Statesmen Radio Network. You can also follow the team on Twitter @LadyStatesmenSC.