MONTGOMERY, AL – The Lady Hornets soccer team will get their first big dose of home matches in the 2016 season when the team opens a four-match home stand beginning on Friday at 6 p.m. against Lipscomb and continuing on Sunday at 1 p.m. against Jacksonville State.

It comes at a time where Alabama State (0-5) has moved closer toward finding their chemistry as a squad in coming off a four-goal performance this past Sunday at the University of North Florida.

"Certainly, it was nice offensively to get Inma [Martinez] on the score sheet with two goals," said ASU head coach Jodie Smith.

"Ariela [Lewis] kept the pace going and then Emily Fleming, out of the back, got a goal.  I would have expected that with scoring four goals that we would have won. The problem was, at halftime, we had to make some adjustments due to injuries on our back line and we paid the price for it." 

Even so, coach Smith remains upbeat. 

"But, two things stood out to me," Smith said.

"In the Jacksonville game, we could have quit and kept battling to put a goal away in the 86^th minute.  So that's a positive.  Then, even when we got down [against North Florida], we kept battling and took the lead again at 4-3.  So I'm very pleased overall in how we are playing, but we can't continue to turn it on and turn it off.  We have to stay engaged for 90 minutes."

Alabama State leads all SWAC schools in goals scored with seven, goals per match (1.40) and total points (17).

The Lady Hornets will be facing Lipscomb (4-1-1), a team that is having one of its most historic runs thus far in knocking off two SEC schools in the early going of 2016. 

The Lady Bison beat Vanderbilt 2-0 and then won at Mississippi State 1-0 for its first wins in school history against SEC teams. 

Lipscomb is led by freshman Olivia Doak, who paces them with a team-high six goals. 

On Sunday, ASU will take on Jacksonville State (1-4-1) of the Ohio Valley Conference. 

The Gamecocks began the season with an early 3-1 win against Georgia Southern, but have been held scoreless in their prior three matches against Troy, Georgia State and Louisiana Tech. 

Goalkeeper Caroline Robinson has been solid between the net for Jacksonville State with a 1.29 goals against average and 22 saves. 

Tops in the conference

Ariela Lewis extended her consecutive goals scored streak to three when she received a slip ass from her sister Aaliyah Lewis and found the net in the 23^rd minute against North Florida on Sunday.

She remains just one assist shy of becoming the fourth active player in NCAA Division I Women's Soccer to record at least 30 goals and 20 assists in their collegiate careers.  

Ar. Lewis has totaled 31 goals and 19 assists.

For her efforts last week, she was named the SWAC Offensive Player of the Week as she leads all individual players in the conference with three goals. 

Star performance

Junior Inma Martinez scored her first two goals as a player at Alabama State in Sunday's match at North Florida. 

Showing an assortment of skills, Martinez scored her first on a deep ball outside the box and later drew contact inside the 18 and made good on a penalty kick.

The Madrid, Spain native has a combined 19 goals scored in 28 career collegiate matches at Missouri Valley College and Alabama State. 

HOW TO FOLLOW

LIVE STATS
Friday vs. Lipscomb 6 p.m.
http://www.sidearmstats.com/alasu/wsoc/

Sunday vs. Jacksonville State 1 p.m. 
http://www.sidearmstats.com/alasu/wsoc/

LIVE STREAMING VIDEO
Lipscomb
http://livestream.com/accounts/20860658/events/6310749

TWITTER 
Follow in-game updates on @ASUBUZZ.
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