An early goal was the deciding factor in a tough 0-1 loss for the Lady Lions as they made their home debut.
Southeastern (1-2) fell behind Southern Miss (1-1-1) only two minutes into the game, when midfielder Casey Adkins scored off her own rebound. The resulting 88 minutes saw the Lady Lions possess much of the ball, yet unable to finish their chances.
“We actually performed really well today,” said head coach Blake Hornbuckle. “It’s when we get into the attacking third our decisions need to be a little sharper. We really just fell asleep there for just a few seconds, and that was the difference in the game. I thought we controlled large portions of the game, we just couldn’t find the net.”
The Lady Lions continued to fight back, pushing forward at any chance. However, being down for the entire game only put more pressure upon the team, getting four shots the entire match.
“Getting a goal that early is really hard to come back from,” said senior midfielder Kerry McWhirter. “I think we did a good job of not letting them score again and kept attacking them. There are obviously some things we need to work on, but it’s early in the season, so we’ll work on it and get better at it.”
Returning nine starters from last season’s squad, the Lady Lions have an experienced group of players, with 11 seniors overall. One of those returners, senior midfielder Karly Dagys, knew the Lady Lions were up for a tough contest, but recognized the team needed to improve their play from here.
“It’s scary that it’s our last year, our senior year,” said Dagys. “It’s good to be at home, open up the season, but we played a tough game and it just didn’t come out on our end. We have to turn it up from here and make sure we do our job for the next few games at home and when we’re away as well.”
After losing in their first match of the season away to Mississippi State 2-1, the Lady Lions rebounded against Alcorn State, 4-0. After losing last season to Southern Miss, Dagys did not want to let this opportunity slip by.
“I wanted this game so bad,” said Dagys. “This is a huge game for me. We have never beaten Southern Miss and it was frustrating not being on right away, but I got to watch the girls, watch the game progress and when it was my turn to go in, I was fired up and ready to go.”
Dagys started in the loss to Mississippi State, but did not play in the thrashing of Alcorn State. After the 2011 season, she was out eight months with a leg injury, but was more than thankful for being able to play in her final season as a Lion, two assists away from becoming the all time leader for Southeastern.
“It’s so amazing finally being back,” said Dagys. “It was a long eight months not being able to play. Just to play in my last year, it’s so good.”
The Lady Lions visit Texas Southern on Sept. 2 before returning to Hammond for a six game home stretch.