AUSTIN, Texas - After playing a scoreless tie against Texas on Friday night, the No. 22/25 Arkansas women’s soccer team registered a season-high four goals to collect a 4-2 victory over a talented Stephen F. Austin team in Austin, Texas.

The Razorbacks scored early and often on Sunday, as they scored two goals in the game’s first 15 minutes. Arkansas would be challenged all afternoon, as the Lady Jacks would quickly counter an Arkansas score on two separate occasions, before a 77th-minute 21-yard free-kick goal would keep the Razorback lead at two for the remainder of the afternoon to help fend off SFA.

The first of two Arkansas first-half goals came in the 11th minute, as Plano, Texas native Tyler Allen collected her first goal of the year.

Redshirt senior Shelby Payne forced a Stephen F. Austin turnover on their side of the pitch and sent the ball up field to junior Ashleigh Ellenwood. The Michigan City, Ind., native perfectly placed a through ball past three Lady Jack defenders to Allen in the six-yard box as she blasted a shot into the bottom right side of the goal, giving the Razorbacks a 1-0 advantage.

Arkansas scored again just four minutes later with Ellenwood’s second goal of the 2014 season. The Razorbacks had an advantage in open-space and Allen swung a pass into the six-yard box to sophomore Rachel Riggs. Riggs then flicked the ball left to Ellenwood and after a pair of touches, the forward fired a shot through the legs of a SFA defender to score her team’s second goal of the day.

The 2-0 advantage would not last long, as Stephen F. Austin scored their first goal in the 16th minute.  After a clearance from the Razorback defense, the Lady Jacks sent the ball back up field to Amanda Doyle, who found herself in a one-on-on situation against keeper Cameron Carter, and took full advantage of the situation by burying a shot just inside the 18-yard box to make it a 2-1 game.

Arkansas would take the one-goal lead into the locker room, as they have yet to go into the break trailing this season.

Just like the first half, Arkansas scored quickly in the second frame, as Payne registered her first career goal as a Razorback just 10 minutes in.

Allen had open space to dribble into the 18-yard box and crossed the ball in front of the goal to find the foot of Payne, who connected with the back of the net to give Arkansas a 4-2 lead.

The Lady Jacks again countered the Razorback score quickly, as eight minutes later the school’s all-time leader in goals, Chelsea Raymond, took a pair of impressive touches into the 18 and placed a shot into the upper left-hand corner to pull her team back within a goal.

Arkansas ended any threat of a SFA comeback in the 77th minute with a Claire Kelley free kick goal. The sophomore took the free kick roughly 21 yards out in front of the box after Ellenwood drew a foul. Kelley’s kick was placed into the upper left corner past the goal keeper to give her team the 4-2 advantage.

The Razorbacks were able to sit on that lead for the final 13 minutes, as they scored the two-goal victory over a quality Stephen F. Austin team.

The No. 22/25-ranked team in the country held a slim 15-14 advantage in shots, and won the shots on goal battle 6-5. Arkansas dominated in corner kicks, as they took seven, compared to Stephen F. Austin’s two.

Arkansas will continue its four-game road trip next weekend, as they travel to the Tar Heel State to take on No. 21 Duke and No. 9 North Carolina in Durham, N.C. The two-game weekend begins on Friday night at 6:30 p.m., as the Razorbacks will seek revenge against a Blue Devil squad that knocked them out of the 2013 NCAA Tournament and conclude on Sunday with another Top 25 matchup against the ninth ranked Tar Heels at 11 a.m.

Coach Hale Postgame Sound

On Today's Win Over SFA:
“I’m super proud of this team. We played a 110 minute, conference level match on Friday night and SFA was coming off a 3-0 win, where they were able to rest their players. We knew today would be a grind, but if there’s anything that we do better than anyone is the country, it’s grind.”

On Next Weekend at the Duke Nike Classic:
"I think this weekend prepared us, from a fitness and mentality standpoint. Clearly Duke and UNC will be good, but we're excited for another great test."

Post-Game Notes

• Today’s win give Arkansas a 3-0-1 record for the month of August. The Razorbacks are now 6-0-1 in the month over the last two seasons
• The win gives Arkansas its third-straight three-win August, all of which have come under head coach Colby Hale
• Arkansas moves to 3-1-0 all-time against Stephen F. Austin
• The win improves the Razorback’s neutral game record under head coach Colby Hale to 3-2-1
• Arkansas is now 27-18-3 in the Hale era
• The four goals by Arkansas are the most since Nov. 4, 2013, when they scored a 4-0 win over Missouri in the first round of the SEC Tournament
• The six combined goals are the most in an Arkansas game this season and the most since Oct. 18, 2013 when the Razorbacks won a 5-4 decision at Vanderbilt
• Ashleigh Ellenwood’s goal is the 22nd of her career, which is puts her two goals behind Heather Cato (1996-99) for sixth on Arkansas’ all-time goals list
• Ellenwood’s three points, (goal and assist) is the most for her in a single game this year.
• The three points today gives Ellenwood 55 for her career, moving her into a sixth-place tie with Alexis Hyrup (1992-96) on Arkansas’ all-time points list
• Tyler Allen’s four points, (one goal, two assists) ties her with sophomore Alexandria Fischer (2 goals vs. Utah State) for the most points in a single-game this season
• Allen now has 20 points in her career (3 goals, 14 assists)
• Shelby Payne scored her first career goal for Arkansas in just her fifth game. In 55 games for Stanford, Payne only recorded one goal
• Claire Kelley’s goal is her second of the season for the sophomore and the fourth of her career
• Kelley’s six points in four games this season ties her entire point total from a year ago

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