THE BASICS:
SCORE: West Alabama 2, Valdosta State 0
RECORDS: Valdosta State 11-7, West Alabama 12-5-1
LOCATION: Livingston, Ala.
THE LEAD: The Valdosta State women's soccer team dropped a 2-0 decision in the first round of the 2018 Gulf South Conference Championship Tuesday evening at West Alabama.    
 

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• Just five minutes into the match, UWA's Abbie Russell scored her second goal of the season on a header off an assist from Bailee Martin for a 1-0 lead.
• UWA had four more shots with two saves from VSU sophomore goalkeeper Caroline Embler, along with one off the post and one off the crossbar through the first 40 minutes of the match.
• VSU got its first shot at the 40:39 mark as freshman Kyleigh Reedy had a good look with a save from UWA goalkeeper Jenni Aarriva.
• Reedy had another shot, which sailed right just before the end of the half.
• The Blazers had two great chances early in the second for the equalizer, but junior Riley Tennant's shot was blocked and seconds later Aarriva came up with a save on a senior Mallory McDaniel attempt.
• Both goalkeepers made some great saves throughout the second half as Embler had two great saves on a pair of headers from Martin and UWA leading scorer TeMia Pride in the 71^st minute.
• Pride, however, scored her 18^th goal for the insurance score at the 78:15 mark as Kaylah Butterworth assisted the score.
• VSU had just one shot over the final 12 minutes in the contest.

 
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS:

• Reedy's two shots were the only two for the Blazers in the first half, while UWA tallied six in the frame.
• .Embler made three saves in the first half, while Aarriva had one save in one chance.
• UWA recorded two corner kicks in the first half and both teams had four fouls each.
• VSU had 11 shots with five on frame in the second half alone and finished with 13 shots and six on goal.
• UWA ended the match with 18 shots and 11 on frame, while recording 12 shots in the second half.
• Embler finished the match with nine saves and six in the second half, while Aarriva stopped six shots on goal.
• VSU struggled offensively in its last two matches as it was shutout in back-to-back matches for the first time this season and it also marked the first two match, losing skid of the season.

 

UP NEXT:

• With the loss, the Blazers will most likely be on the outside looking in at a potential NCAA South Regional berth as VSU probably needed to advance to the championship of the conference tournament to have a shot at an at-large berth.