MONROE, La. (10/10/14) – The Arkansas State women's soccer team picked up a crucial Sun Belt Conference road victory Friday with a 1-0 win over Louisiana-Monroe at the ULM Soccer Complex.
Jena Kelley scored the game's only goal in the 30th minute after taking a cross from Mykel Ward and heading it into the bottom left corner of the net. It was Kelley's first goal of the season and third goal in the last 65 minutes of action for the Red Wolves after scoring a pair of second half goals against Georgia State a week ago.
Kelley's goal was the first for the Heber Springs, Ark., native since Sept. 30, 2012 against Louisiana-Lafayette. She now has six goals in her career, five of which have been game-winning goals, a mark that is tied for the third most in the A-State women's soccer record book.
“It was an incredible effort against an extremely improved Louisiana-Monroe team,” A-State head coach Tafadzwa Ziyenge said. “Today we played the Arkansas State way. I'm extremely proud of Jena' Kelley for getting the game-winner and helping get a win.”
After the goal, A-State (4-10, 1-4 SBC) continued to attack the Warhawks (7-7-1, 1-4 SBC) defense and had five shots on goal at halftime. Kelley registered the first shot on goal of the game in the 15th minute, while Loren Mitchell quickly followed with a strike of her own in the 17th minute that was stopped by ULM goalkeeper Katherine Werther.
Jenna Vaught had an excellent scoring opportunity in the 36th minute but Werther came up with another save to prevent the Red Wolves from taking a two-goal advantage. A-State appeared to score in the 42nd minute but the goal was waved off for an offside call and Arkansas State took a one-goal advantage into halftime.
In the second half, the Warhawks tested Amanda Lee right away with a shot on goal in the first 30 seconds, but the veteran goalkeeper made the save to prevent ULM for tying the game. Lee came up big again in the 70th minute when she stopped a shot off the head of Mariah Mitchell and ended a Warhawk threat in the 81st minute with a save on a shot by Kelley O'Dwyer. A-State also caught a break in the 77nd minute when Karlea Fehr's shot hit off the cross bar and was cleared away before ULM could get off a second shot.
Despite being pressured, the Red Wolves continued to take chances against the Louisiana-Monroe defense and made Werther work in the second half. Tayler Carter, Mitchell and Crystal Zeledon all had shots on goal in the half, while Lauren Crimi narrowly missed a goal in the 61st minute when her shot bounced off the post.
Mitchell led Arkansas State with three shots on the afternoon, while Kelley and Zeledon added two each. A-State and ULM tied with eight shots each on goal, while the Warhawks held a 7-1 advantage in corner kicks.
Lee (2-4) recorded her first shutout of the season and the third of her career while making a season-high eight saves.
A-State concludes its Louisiana road trip Sunday, Oct. 12 at Louisiana-Lafayette. Kickoff is set for 1 pm. and fans can keep up with all the action by following @AStateGameday on Twitter for up to the minute information. Live stats for the match will be provided at AStateRedWolves.com. For the latest on Arkansas State soccer follow the team on Twitter (@AStateSoccer) and Facebook (Arkansas State University Soccer).
