DOVER, Del. | Despite relentless pressure and an intense second half, the Alabama A&M women's soccer team dropped a narrow 1-0 decision to the Delaware State Hornets on Sunday afternoon.

Just over a minute into play, Delaware State took their first opportunity to shoot, with Megan Castricum missing the goal high and right. DSU saw two more shots in the eighth and ninth minute, one blocked and the other saved by Adriana Durango. The hornets tallied another pair of shots before Moriah Watkins took a go to the high right corner in the 22nd minute, though it was saved by DSU's Johoanna Lynn Hornyak.

Shortly thereafter, freshman Brea Bailey took a shot of her own to the lower left corner, but Hornyak was able to get her hands on it to keep the contest deadlocked. Delaware State added three more shots, one of which earned Durango another tally in the save column as both teams entered the break.

AAMU entered the second half with renewed intensity with Gabriella Machuca and Charlotte Cuthbertson added two shots in ten minutes. AAMU's Albany Rios and Renee Miller also saw scoring opportunities in the 6oth and 61st  minutes, both missing high. DSU grabbed their first shot of the second half moments later, but after a trio of AAMU substitutions, freshman Ryan McLemore forced Hornyak into action after taking a shot to the lower left corner.

The Bulldogs kept the offensive pressure with Rios and Bailey each recording a shot, but it was Nicole Cargill who found the back of the net when she sent the ball to the high center of the back of the net for the lone score of the match. AAMU tried relentlessly to level the contest, recording seven more shots, four of them on target, but were unable to convert and ultimately fell 1-0 to Delaware State.
 

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE 

• AAMU outshot the Hornets, tallying 16 shots with seven on target, compared to DSU's 11 shots with just five on target.  
• AAMU saw its best offensive performance in the second half, logging 14 of 16 shots.  
• Freshmen Ryan McLemore and Charlotte Cuthbertson led the Bulldogs with three shots each, with McLemore leading the team with on target shots (3) 
• Moriah Watkins, Brea Bailey and Albany Rios each recorded a pair of shots 
• Megan Castricum led the offense for Delaware state with five shots, three of them on target 
• Nicole Cargill was the contests' lone scorer (71:36) 
• Hornyak saved seven balls compared to Durango's four.  
• AAMU logged 10 fouls compared to DSU's nine, including a Yellow Card from Moriah Watkins.  

The Bulldogs return south to take on the Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders at the Dean A. Hayes Soccer & Track Stadium in Murfreesboro, Tennessee on Thursday, Aug. 21. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. and will be live streamed via ESPN+.  
 

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