MOBILE, Ala. – The ULM soccer program came back from a first half deficit, but South Alabama scored a pair of late goals to take a 3-1 result in the Warhawks season finale on Sunday at The Cage.
ULM ended the 2013 campaign with a 6-12-1 overall record and 1-7 in Sun Belt Conference play.
The Warhawks trailed 1-0 in the second half when freshman
Amanda Borstelmann knotted it up with a penalty kick goal in the 51st minute. It was the second goal of the season for the Farmingdale, N.Y., product as she drilled it into the lower right corner.
“We battled really hard today. We knew when we were down at halftime that we needed to come back and get a result. Our goal really got us going and we had several chances moving forward after that since we had all the momentum,” said ULM head coach Mazza.
The Jaguars (12-5-2, 5-2-1 SBC) got on the board in the third minute off a corner kick goal by Shelby Owen. She was able to finish off a rebound from a shot by Nini Rabsatt-Smith.
With the game tied 1-1, USA posted goals by Lauren Allison and Monique Autmon in the 79th and 81st minutes, respectively. It was a league-leading 14th goal for Allison on the season, and the third by Autmon.
“It was just one simple breakdown defensively that hurt us,” said Mazza. “After we went down, we pushed everyone forward to try and tie the game, but USA was able to score on a breakaway.”
ULM fired 13 shots in the contest with six on goal. Eight different Warhawks recorded a shot, with sophomore
Mariah Mitchell leading the way with three.
In net, freshman goalkeeper
Holly Mallinson made eight saves in 82 minutes. Senior
Karlin Aloisio came in and finished the last eight minutes strong with a pair of saves.
“The difference between this team now and at the beginning of the season is night and day. We learned so much about each other and the game, and we just needed a year to develop,” said Mazza. “There's no question that we all got a lot better.”
The Warhawks started nine freshmen in the contest and 13 saw action. ULM started at least eight freshmen in 18 of 19 games this season. Freshman
Cameron Stoker started all 19 games as a central defender.
“We competed in every conference game this season and we accomplished so much in such little time,” said Mazza. “It was a huge improvement from last season where we got dominated in almost every game. We will come back strong next season after a great learning experience this year.”
