RUSTON,
La. (8/29/10) - Solid goalkeeping and a goal from junior forward Kara Nitti in
the 79th minute (78:57) kept the Arkansas State women's soccer team
undefeated with a win past Louisiana Tech, 1-0, Sunday at Lady Techster Field.
The
Red Wolves improved to 2-0-1 on the season while the Techsters took their first
loss of the campaign, falling to 2-1.
"I am
very pleased with this result, particularly because we played a team that was
tougher than we were, especially in the beginning," said ASU head coach
Tafadzwa Ziyenge. "Our team was able to adjust and force La. Tech to
back-peddle in the second half. For us it was a tale of two halves. In the
first half we were a little nervous and they completely overwhelmed us, but
fortunately we held strong and did not allow them to score. As the second half
came, we realized that we had to attack them as much as they had attacked us. Fortunately
it worked and we caught them back peddling which allowed Kara Nitti to score a
fabulous goal."
Nitti's
goal came on a header off a corner kick from Junior Michele Clark. Nitti rose
above everyone to put her head on the ball and sent a powerful header past
everyone, finding the back of the net.
Sophomore
goalkeeper Susan Brown made five saves, turning in her second clean-sheet of
the season. In fact, Brown has not allowed a goal yet this season making two
starts in goal and playing 42 minutes in reserve action.
The
Red Wolves were outshot in the contest 13-6 and in shots on goal 5-3.
Nitti
led three Red Wolves players with two shots. Alex Furr and Kelsey Finders also
had two shots for Arkansas State. Olivia Lukasewich led all players with five
shots for Louisiana Tech.
ASU
returns home for its next match facing off against Lipscomb on Friday at the
ASU Soccer Complex. Game time against Lipscomb is set for 5 p.m.