BATON ROUGE, LA — Southern University battled Southeastern Louisiana to a halftime draw despite playing much of the match down a player, but the Lady Lions scored twice in the second half to hand the Lady Jaguars a 3-1 loss Thursday night at A.W. Mumford Stadium.
Southern answered Southeastern's opening goal late in the first half when Gia Johnson scored in the 44th minute, sending the teams into halftime tied at 1. The Lady Jaguars faced a difficult challenge for most of the night after Jazmyne Shannon was issued a red card for unsporting behavior in the 30th minute. The ejection left Southern playing with 10 players for the remainder of the match.
Despite the disadvantage, Southern remained within a goal until the final five minutes. Southeastern applied pressure early and generated the first dangerous opportunity in the fifth minute when Nelson put a shot on goal that Southern goalkeeper Sydney Whitten saved. Southern earned corner kicks in the sixth and 23rd minutes while keeping the Lady Lions off the scoreboard through the opening half-hour.
The complexion of the match changed in the 30th minute with Shannon's red card. Less than five minutes later, Southeastern capitalized.
Johnson scored at 44:00, converting an opportunity set up by Kensley Simmons for her first goal of the season. The goal erased Southeastern's advantage and sent Southern into halftime tied 1-1 despite playing the final 15 minutes of the period with 10 players.
Southern goalkeeper Sidney Wooldridge replaced Whitten to begin the second half, and Southeastern increased its offensive pressure almost immediately. The Lady Lions recorded shots in the 47th, 51st, 53rd and 54th minutes, with Wooldridge stopping Charlotte Lewis' attempt in the 51st. Southeastern continued creating opportunities as Southern worked to protect the draw while playing shorthanded.
The Lady Jaguars continued to hold Southeastern without a second goal through the first 28 minutes of the half.
Opferman scored her third goal of the season off an assist from Isabella Walls, putting Southeastern back in front 2-1. The goal came after Southern had kept the match even for nearly 40 minutes following Johnson's equalizer.
Southern remained within one goal as the match entered its closing minutes, but Nelson ended the comeback opportunity at 85:18. She scored an unassisted goal — her first of the season — to extend Southeastern's lead to 3-1. The Lady Lions generated three more shots before the final whistle.
The final statistics reflected Southeastern's second-half pressure. The Lady Lions outshot Southern 20-3, including a 16-1 advantage after halftime. Southeastern put six shots on goal compared with Southern's two and held a 7-2 advantage in corner kicks. Southern committed nine fouls to Southeastern's five.
Whitten played the opening 45 minutes in goal for Southern and made one save while allowing one goal. Wooldridge played the second half, making two saves and allowing two goals. Curran made one save for Southeastern.
Johnson accounted for Southern's lone goal on her only shot of the match, while Simmons recorded the assist. Pinto put Southern's other shot on goal, and Alba Carcamo-Alvarado recorded the Lady Jaguars' third shot, which was blocked in the 69th minute.
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