LORMAN, Miss. – The Howard women's soccer team got out on the right foot in its Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) opener with a 4-1 win over Alcorn State on Friday night at Jack Spinks-Marino Casem Stadium.
The Bison (4-3-1, 1-0 SWAC) quickly got on the board after less than four minutes ran off the clock. Junior Kela Gray made a long run down the field and centered the pass to freshman Hollie Cartwright, who finished in the lower right corner for a 1-0 lead.
Senior Sara Vaughan cushioned Howard's advantage when sophomore Anna Mitchell got her the ball on the right. Vaughan sent a shot into the far corner past the diving keeper to put the Lady Braves down 2-0.
Alcorn (0-3, 0-1 SWAC) cut the deficit to 2-1 in the 32nd minute on a free kick that was finished off by Viktoriya Mihaylova.
Ten minutes later, Gray scored her first goal of the season after sophomore Jasmin Miller got her the ball in the center. Gray aimed for the lower left corner and pushed the edge to 3-1 as the two teams headed into halftime.
The Bison took their final 4-1 tally in the 73rd minute on an on-goal mishap by one of Alcorn's defenders.
Howard took a season-high 20 shots, led by Gray with five attempts, and forced the Lady Braves' goalkeeper Giselle Rojas to make 10 saves. Junior Noelle McCullom, sophomore Makela Davidson and Vaughan tallied three shots apiece.
The Bison split time in goal between sophomore Mackenzie Diotte and junior Gabrielle Emilien as each played 45 minutes. Emilien posted Howard's only save.
Howard remains on the road to face Mississippi Valley State on Sunday, Sept. 25 at 2 p.m. ET.
