FOLEY, Ala. – Goals from freshmen Mara Grutkamp and Taylor Henry proved to be enough as the ULM soccer team advanced to its first-ever Sun Belt Conference Championship semifinal with a 2-1 win over regular-season champion and top-seed Arkansas State Wednesday afternoon in the quarterfinals at the Foley Sports Tourism Complex.
 
The Warhawks (8-11 overall) will face the winner of the last quarterfinal matchup between No. 4 seed Georgia State and No. 5 seed Coastal Carolina at 7 p.m. Friday.
 
Grutkamp wasted little time putting ULM on top and putting pressure on the No. 1 seed. Graduate student Aysha Bentick sent a cross from the top left of the 18-yard box that sailed across to the right side. Henry collected the ball and slid it in front of the net to Grutkamp, who spun to her right and fired the ball past Arkansas State (10-6-2) goalkeeper Megan McClure and into the lower right corner of the net for the 1-0 advantage in the 10th minute.
 
ULM's next five chances in the first half were all on goal, but they were unable to add to the lead. Senior Theoni Zerva had a penalty kick in the 39th minute, but McClure made the save. The 1-0 lead held to halftime.
 
In the second half, the two sides traded chances early, with ULM junior goalkeeper Hailey Hillock and McClure making three saves apiece over the first 22 minutes.
 
The Warhawks doubled the lead in the 69th minute. A through ball allowed Henry to get behind the A-State defense. As McClure charged from the net, Henry shot the ball to the left of McClure and into the net for the 2-0 lead.
 
The Red Wolves answered in the 73rd minute as a cross from Rachel Kutella found Sarah Sodoma open by the left post. Her shot slid to the right past Hillock and into the net to cut the deficit in half, 2-1.
 
A-State had two more chances in the next 10 minutes, but Hillock picked up two more saves.
 
In the final minute, A-State's Sarah Strong unleashed a shot from the top of the box, but Hillock deflected the ball up and over the goal. With the clock stopped with six seconds remaining, A-State had one last chance as a corner kick flew in front of the net. The Red Wolves' Haley Husted was able to get a shot away, but Hillock smothered the ball and the Warhawks celebrated the upset victory.
 
Each team had 17 shots, with ULM putting 12 shots on goal to 10 for A-State. Hillock and McClure made nine saves each.