Box Score

JACKSON, Miss. - The Delta State University women's soccer team used a pair of goals and a great performance from Kelsey Elling in net to defeat Belhaven 2-1 Tuesday night to open the 2012 campaign with a victory.

The victory over the Lady Blazers was the first time the Lady Statesmen had defeated Belhaven in program history and was the first victory in a season opener since 2009 over Alcorn State.

Erin Tucker put the Lady Statesmen ahead early on, capitalizing on a perfectly placed corner from Ashley Goodlett. The freshman from Tupelo, Miss. wasted little time, knocking the header into the back of the net and putting Delta State up in the 10th minute.

At that point, It turned into a control game for the Lady Statesmen, forcing Belhaven into long shots on net and maintaining a good tempo.

"We played very good soccer tonight," said head coach Paul Babba. "We moved the ball good and set our plays up nicely. We controlled the game well for a good bit of the game."

Belhaven did outshoot Delta State 15-7 in the game and 13-4 with shots on goal. Sophomore goalkeeper Elling stepped up defensively for the Lady Statesmen and picked up right where she left off in her freshman campaign.

The San Diego, Calif. native stopped eight shots on net in the first half. The Lady Blazers then added four more shots on net in the early part of the second half before they finally found an equalizer at the 72nd minute mark with a goal from Ashley Harber.

"Kelsey played great tonight and made some big saves for us," said Babba. "The goal she gave up was a great shot and was just going to be a tough angle to get to. She held her composure and the team did as well."

After a few minutes of play, coach Paul Babba went for a move to put some fresh legs on in the forward positions. The move paid off as the Lady Statesmen generated an attack just minutes later.

Junior midfielder Charlotte Benson found space in front of the Belhaven goal with a loose ball and the London, England native put home a shot the gave the lead back to the Lady Statesmen in the 78th minute.

With just under 12 minutes remaining, the Lady Statesmen kept the pressure on Belhaven. Delta State did not allow a strong attack from Belhaven in the final 12 minutes after securing the lead and held on for the programs first win over the Lady Blazers.

"We handled the pressure well in the second half," said Babba. "We gave up the goal but kept our composure and it paid off."

Coming into the matchup, Belhaven held a 2-0-1 record over the Lady Statesmen.

Elling finished with 12 saves on the evening, one shy of her career-high mark (13) set last season against Bethel College.

The Lady Statesmen finished with four shots on net and seven shots total. Payten Pearson and Angela Palazzolo also had shots on target in the game.

Tucker did receive a yellow card in the 89th minute, the only card on the night. The teams each finished with 11 fouls in the game.

Delta State will return home for their next match, as the open up conference play this weekend with games against Valdosta State and West Georgia on Friday and Sunday, respectively. The Lady Statesmen will take on the Lady Blazers of Valdosta State at 3:30 p.m. on Friday at Delta Field.