MONROE, La. --- The ULM women's soccer team kicked off the sixth annual Parents' Weekend in style, posting a commanding 5-1 victory against Arkansas State in front of 273 fans at the ULM Soccer Complex on Friday afternoon.
"We are definitely pleased with the results of today's match," ULM head coach Stacy Lamb said. "We have been working hard all week on getting a balanced attack and I think it really showed today. For the most part we executed our offensive plan and we were able to get our first conference win of the season."
A pair of career firsts gave the Warhawks a lead they would not relinquish. Sophomore Molly Kissler scored her first career goal in the 32nd minute after beating the diving ASU goalkeeper five yards in front of the net to put ULM on the board. Kissler was assisted by freshman Elena Vazquez.
Four minutes later junior Brittany Lee scored what would become the game-winning goal off an assist from freshman Tiffany Bombard. The score by Lee was also the first of her career and gave ULM the 2-0 lead.
Lee would return the favor for Bombard, assisting the Las Vegas, Nev. native in the 44th minute to give ULM (5-7, 1-2 Sun Belt) a 3-0 lead going into intermission.
The Warhawks quickly put the game out of reach in the second half, scoring a pair of goals in the first five minutes of play to push the advantage to 5-0. Sophomore Britnie Markham connected on her second goal of the year in the game's 49th minute. Markham was assisted by Bombard on the score.
Just over one minute later junior Kendall Dawkins became the fifth Warhawk to register a goal on the day, scoring her second of the season. Dawkins was assisted by sophomore Sara Islas on the goal.
ASU (3-7, 0-3) would avoid the shutout after receiving an unassisted goal by Kellye Hamm in the 85th minute of the match.
"I would have really liked to have preserved the shutout," Lamb said. "We went away from our game plan in the final 15 minutes and started to play sloppy. The goal didn't end up mattering today, but it might in the future. We know what we need to work on to get ready for a tough opponent in UALR."
ULM finished the game by out shooting Arkansas State by a 27-11 margin including a 17-6 advantage in the second half. The Warhawks also finished with 16 shots on frame in comparison to ASU's five.
ULM returns to action on Sunday with the conclusion of Parents' Weekend when it hosts UALR at the ULM Soccer Complex at 1 p.m.
MATCH NOTES:
-A season-high seven Warhawks finished the day with at least one point.
-Junior Rachel Hobson moved into a tie with Hope Davidson for fourth place on the consecutive starts list. Her 52-straight starts remain the most by a Warhawk to begin their collegiate career.
-ULM's five goals were the most scored by the Warhawks this season. ULM tied the record for most team assists in a game (5) in school history, last done against Southern on Sept. 5, 2006.
-Freshman Tiffany Bombard became the 10th Warhawk to register two assists in a single game, tying the school record. The feat was last done by junior Rachel Spady on Sept. 18, 2005.
