The Lady Lions bounced back on Sunday to end a two-game losing streak before heading into conference play.
Southeastern (6-4) got off to a quick start against Grambling (0-4), with senior midfielder Karly Dagys finishing a volley from inside the box in the 8th minute. The Lady Lions would find it tough to finish goal opportunities the rest of the first half.
“They had less players and we took it for granted,” said senior midfielder Kelsey Salcido. “We played real slow.”
The Lady Lions would settle down in the second half, finding the net three more times. Senior forward Maiya Cooper drew a penalty on the Grambling goalkeeper, scoring from the spot in the 73rd minute. Shortly thereafter, freshman midfielder/forward Kayla Vera curled another goal into the back of the net, her fourth of the season. The Lady Lions scored another late one in the 86th minute, this time by sophomore midfielder Jen Babcock.
“We kinda sat back instead of attacking and really exploiting the areas on the field that were open or the players that were open,” said senior goalkeeper Lacey Bockhaus. “Other than that, we started to capitalize at the end.”
Bockhaus added another shutout to her Southland Conference career record, now at 34. She credits her teammates, understanding that they are instrumental in her ability to keep her record going.
“It’s not just my shutouts,” said Bockhaus. “My name is up there, but it’s the other ten on the field in front of me and the other 12 on the bench. They’re the ones who also prevent a lot of shots on me. I just get the ones that squeak through. They’re the reason I get there.”
As for turning things around, Salcido hopes that correcting some of the mistakes in practice will help them improve. With 35 shots taken, 16 of those on goal, the play was not as sharp as the players would have liked it.
“Today was a hard game because we didn’t play to our level,” said Bockhaus. “We kinda played down to their level. It seems to be that whenever we play a better team, we rise to the challenge.”
The Lady Lions open up conference play away from home against Stephen F. Austin (7-3) Friday at 7 p.m. The Ladyjacks have proven a tough opponent, including a 2-0 win against Houston Baptist, who beat Southeastern.
“We have a very imposing opponent to open up conference play with in Stephen F. Austin,” said head coach Blake Hornbuckle. “We look forward to the competition and a great match.”
The next home game for Southeastern will be against Sam Houston State on Friday, Oct. 5 at 3 p.m.