The Prairie View A&M soccer team put itself in great position after a win over Southern University on Oct. 30 (1-0), but they fell to Jackson State later on in the road trip, 1-0.
The match in Baton Rouge turned out to be a very tough, hard fought contest as both teams combined for 27 fouls. Goalie Jessica Garcia did her job to keep the win on the mind of the Lady Panthers, snatching fives saves in the match.
After a scoreless first half and 38 minutes into the second half, the Lady Panthers finally got on the board off a penalty kick in the 84th minute. There would be no more scores in the afternoon as the ladies would leave Southern with a highly contested 1-0 victory.
In the second matchup of the road trip, Prairie View traveled up to Mississippi to meet the Lady Tigers of Jackson State.
This game also proved to be very chippy as the Panthers were whistled for a total of 14 fouls. The team also received a total of three yellow cards during the contest.Somewhere in the middle of all the rugged play, Niara Crimiel connected on the only goal of the day for the Jackson State win. “JSU is a strong team, but it got a little messy for us there,” said Coach Abe Garcia.
However, the Lady Panthers’ win over Southern moved them to 2-2 and placed them third in the SWAC’s western division.
The team is now preparing for the SWAC Tournament, which takes place in Itta Bena, Miss. from Nov. 4-6. Their first opponent will be host MVSU, who lost to the Panthers 3-0 earlier in the year.
“We definitely have to stay humble,” said Coach Garcia. “They’re at home and it’s the start of the road to the championship so everybody is pumped. The thing is we can’t underestimate any team in the tournament.” The game against MVSU will begin promptly at 1 p.m. on Thursday.