LORMAN, MS --- A pair of late second half goals proved to be the difference for the Howard women's soccer team as the Lady Bison capped their inaugural Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) contest with a 2-0 shutout of Alcorn State Friday evening at Spinks-Casem Stadium.

For Howard (2-7-1, 1-0 SWAC), the victory is their first as a member of a conference since 2012, when the Lady Bison were part of the former Great West Conference. Howard's two-game win streak is its first since the team won four straight from Oct. 7-22 of last season. 

"It feels great to get our first win in our new conference out of the way in our opening game," said Howard head coach Brent Leiba. "We've played well all season and getting a positive result when it starts to matter more was crucial."

Statistically, the victory over Alcorn State (0-4, 1-0 SWAC) was Howard's most dominating performance of the year. The Lady Bison outshot the Braves 20-3 overall and 9-2 in shots on goal and took three corner kicks to ASU's one.

Winning the shots battle has naturally benefited Howard this season: HU is 1-0-1 when getting off 20+ shots (1-7 with 19 or less) and 1-1-1 when 9+ shots land on goal (1-6 with 8 or less).

For as much as Howard overmatched Alcorn State, the game was scoreless at halftime and remained that way unitl the final five minutes. Junior forward Nikanya Clark scored the first Howard SWAC goal unassisted in the 87th minute and doubled her stat line with another in the 89th.

Howard will continue its first SWAC road trip with a match against Mississippi Valley State on Sunday, September 28 at 1 p.m. Central Time (2 p.m. Eastern).