CLEVELAND, Miss. — The Delta State University women's soccer team used a strong second-half performance to pull away from Christian Brothers University, earning a 3-0 victory Wednesday night at Signaigo Field. The win pushes Lady Statesmen into a tie for second place in the Gulf South Conference Standings.
The Lady Statesmen (5-3-3, 4-1-2 Gulf South Conference) scored once in the opening half before adding two goals after halftime to secure the conference victory. Christian Brothers fell to 1-8-2 overall and 0-5-2 in GSC play.
Delta State struck early, with
Lola Cunningham finding the back of the net in the fourth minute. Cunningham's first goal of the season came off an assist from
Mariela Dolan, giving the Lady Statesmen a 1-0 advantage at the 3:58 mark.
Delta State carried the one-goal advantage into halftime despite both teams recording three shots in the opening 45 minutes. Goalkeeper
Kim Bircher made three saves in the first half to keep the Buccaneers off the scoreboard.
The Lady Statesmen came out aggressively in the second half, generating 14 shots while holding Christian Brothers to three. The pressure paid off in the 58th minute when
Kennedi Turner doubled the lead. Turner finished a pass from
Caroline Chandler at 57:56 to give Delta State a 2-0 advantage.
Delta State continued to control the attack before adding its third goal in the 77th minute.
Avery Allison scored her second goal of the season at 76:06, with
Bryleigh Taylor providing the assist to cap the scoring.
The Lady Statesmen finished the night with a 17-6 advantage in shots and put 12 shots on target. Delta State also earned 16 corner kicks compared with three for Christian Brothers while holding a 53-47 edge in possession.
Bircher recorded four saves in the shutout victory, improving to 5-2-2 on the season. Christian Brothers goalkeeper Kaylee Allen made nine saves.
Delta State returns to action with its next scheduled contest as the Lady Statesmen continue Gulf South Conference play.
