MONROE,
La. - The ULM soccer team opened the 2009 campaign in style by downing
Belhaven College 5-1 in front of field-record 278 fans at the ULM
Soccer Complex on Saturday afternoon.
Sophomore
Lindsey Tubbs scored a pair of goals, including the eventual match
winner, to pace a ULM (1-0) attack that featured seven players
having a say in the scoring. Tubbs finished the day with a team-high
five points when counting her assist on the Warhawks first score of the
game.
"It
always feels good to start the season with a win, especially when you
are playing at home and in front of a great crowd like ours was today,"
ULM head coach Stacy Lamb said. "I thought it was obvious in the first
half that we were having a bit of the 'first game jitters,' but we were
able to break out of it in the second. That being said, we left a lot
of chances on the field that we know we are going to have to convert if we want to win in conference."
Taking some time to find their offensive touch the Warhawks wouldn't draw first blood until the 38th minute.
Setting up for a corner kick, junior Tiffany Bombard saw the ball
passed back out to her on the wing where she sent an arching shot over
the fingertips of Belhaven keeper Sarai Long into the top far corner of
the net. She was assisted on the play by sophomore Elissa Fralicks and Tubbs.
The
score moved Bombard into sole possession of fifth place on the ULM
career goals list and helped the Warhawks take the 1-0 lead into the
half. The 12 career goals for the Las Vegas, Nev., native makes her one
shy of moving into a three-way tie for third place on the list.
Belhaven
(0-1) got on the scoreboard early in the second period after Nicole
Trawick collected her own rebound and found the back of the net in the
54th minute. Trawick's first attempt deflected off the crossbar back to her and she was able to collect it and score.
The ULM defense locked down and the offense took off. Belhaven would attempt only two more shots over the remainder of the match.
Tubbs
struck less than two minutes after Trawick's score by collecting a
high-arching entry pass from junior Megan Payne that Long partially
lost in the sun. The Austin, Texas, native would ice the match in the 67th minute by taking a pass from senior Raydan Phillips and scoring her second goal.
Sophomore Kelly Browne pushed the ULM advantage to 4-1 with an unassisted goal in the 77th minute
and added an assist on the Warhawks final score, a strike from the
corner of the box off the foot of senior Britnie Markham.
Freshman
Alex Holland picked up her first career victory between the pipes by
going the distance in goal and collecting seven saves.
On the evening, ULM out-shot Belhaven 21-11 including an 11-8 advantage in attempts on frame.
The Warhawks return to action on Friday when they travel to Natchitoches, La., for a 7 p.m. match against former Southland Conference rival Northwestern State.
Goal History
ULM 1-0 - 37:29 Tiffany Bombard (1)
Belhaven 1-1 - 53:16 Nicole Trawick (1)
ULM 2-1 - Lindsey Tubbs (1)
ULM 3-1 - Lindsey Tubbs (2)
ULM 4-1 - Kelly Browne (1)
ULM 5-1 - Britnie Markham (1)
