CONWAY, Ark. - On Saturday the Warriors beat the Birmingham-Southern Panthers 2-1, earning their first win of conference play.
Saturday afternoon, the Orange and Black hosted their first game of the Southern Athletic Association regular season. The game began fairly evenly matched, with Birmingham-Southern having more of an offensive advantage. However in the 13th minute, a header from Zack Roberts in the box to Jack Nolen allowed the Warriors to be first on the board. The Panthers spent the next 25 minutes trying to even the game up, taking many shots that were well defended off by James Leone. However in the 42nd minute of the game, Omar Pelayo ripped the ball into the back of the net off of a free kick right outside the 18, sending the Warriors into halftime 2-0.
In the second half, the Panthers came out with much less energy and intensity than the first half. However in the 24th minute, a foul from Ethan Nelson gave the Panthers a free kick from the center circle. The ball was lobbed in high and headed at James Leone who tried to punch it away but the Panthers got the rebound and scored their first goal of the game. Birmingham Southern picked up their energy following the goal, trying to tie up the game. Due to weather in the area the game was delayed and then concluded with five minutes left unplayed, allowing the Warriors to clench the win. The Warriors are now ranked 87th nationally and 3rd in the conference for their shot accuracy of 52.3%.
The Warrior defense put out and outstanding performance, only allowing one goal for the Panthers off of 14 shots. Senior captain and center back Zack Roberts anchored the back line, earning the title of SAA Defensive Player of the Week for his performance. Sophomore goalkeeper James Leone made five saves during the game, posting another great performance. Leone is currently ranked 82nd nationally and third in conference for posting two shutouts this season.
The Warriors will be back in action tomorrow evening as they host the Belhaven Blazers at Warrior Soccer Field at 5 pm CST, live coverage can be found on the Warriors Sports Network.
