ALEXANDRIA, LA – The Louisiana State University of Alexandria women's soccer team fell to No. 6 Tennessee Southern, 3-2, in a non-conference match.
 
"Little bit of the same story," LSUA Head Coach Mark Hammond said. "Each time we've been out on the pitch, we've gotten a bit better. Obviously, you can take the moral victory of taking the number six team in the country to the end, but we have higher standards than moral victories.
 
The Generals (0-3-0) scored a pair of second-half goals from Alexia Bermejo Jo and Sara Escribano García-Miguel and finished with nine shots, seven of which came in the back half. Tennessee Southern (1-0-0) recorded 13 shots.
 
The Firehawks were first on the board with an early 11^th-minute goal. Kamilia Tayebi pressed a back pass from the Generals, won the ball away, and buried her chance from close range for the lead on their second shot of the game.
 
Hannah May made a pair of saves in the first 45 minutes. She turned away an effort from Sharaid Palmeros-Solis in the fifth minute and denied Riho Masuya in the 17^th.
 
In the 55^th minute, Hikaru Uchida notched a penalty kick goal after a handball in the box from LSUA for a 2-0 edge.
 
The Generals wasted no time responding, burying their next chance just two minutes later. Sacha Backus delivered a corner, and Bermejo Jo headed it into the top corner, cutting the deficit to 2-1.
 
"Alexia is a fantastic player," Hammond added. "I think it's no secret that she's been a fantastic player for us for four years. What a header, great delivery from Sacha – we know the quality that Sacha has from set pieces, but the desire to get across the front post and the skill to put it in the top corner, what a goal."
 
Tennessee Southern gained breathing room in the 66^th minute with a goal from Millie Rayner to put the Firehawks ahead 3-1. Another quick response from LSUA resulted in a shot on goal from Abril Cobos, but Hodgson stymied the effort.
 
A second penalty in the 78^th minute to Tennessee Southern was turned aside by May. She finished with three saves on the afternoon.
 
In the 86^th minute, Linnéa Lundstroem played a ball over the top for Escribano García-Miguel,
 who put her shot past the keeper for the game's final goal and cut the margin back to one, 3-2.
 
"The second goal was a little bit of being a dog," Hammond noted. "It was a great ball into space from Linnéa and Sara out-muscled their center half for a fantastic finish. Really pleased with both goals, really good quality.
 
LSUA heads on the road for a pair of matches against Texas Wesleyan on August 30 and Nelson University on September 1.