The Warhawks prevailed Friday afternoon 3-1 past Mississippi Valley State at the Warhawks Soccer Complex to improve their record to 5-3-1.

The Warhawks started the game slowly despite facing off against the winless Delta Devilettes but were able to break through a scoreless tie in the 23rd minute when sophomore Jenna Pillon shot a strike into the upper left corner. 

Fellow sophomore Whitney Tuckfield assisted on the play setting Pillon up beautifully in the middle of the box.

The assists should come as no surprise this season. ULM leads the nation in average assists per game.

The Delta Devilettes were not shaken by this early goal and knotted it back at 1-1 in the 35th minute on a goal by the Devilette’s Nykosi Simmons. 

Entering their locker room at halftime, the Warhawks were tied with the Devilettes at one goal a piece.

That was despite a heavy offensive barrage in which the Warhawks outshot the Devilettes 18-6.

The Warhawks continued their strong offensive play into the second half and time and again brought the ball down the field only to be denied by the MVSU goalie. 

This changed in the 55th minute when Pillon knocked her second goal on a follow-up shot that ricocheted off the goalie’s gloves.

 Junior Karlea Fehr took the initial kick that led to Pillon tallying up her second goal.

 The goal marked Pillon’s seventh wof the year and her second game-winner.

The Warhawks continued to display their offensive prowess and dominated possession of the ball throughout the second half, outshooting the Devilettes 32-12. 

This led to them sealing the win on what came as a corner kick from the left of the box. 

Sophomore Kylie Kukowski crossed the ball over toward the middle of the field, and it was knocked towards the goal on a header by red-shirt sophomore Antonia Land.

The ball was left spinning in the air, and Mariah Mitchel took the opportunity to sail one in.

 ULM head coach Robert Mazza seemed proud of the team’s overall performance.

“We had a slow start and I think we need to do a better job against teams that are not at our level. We ended up moving the ball better and playing a better game in the second half,” Mazza said. 

Right back Nancy Kirk echoed the same sentiments.

“I think we started out not at the level we wanted to but with a good halftime talk we ended up pulling a good halftime win out,” Kirk said.