PRAIRIE VIEW, Texas – The Prairie View A&M Lady Panthers won their third Southwestern Athletic Conference match in four tries Sunday as they pummeled short-handed Alcorn State 10-0.
 
Junior striker Alicia Cooper posted her third hat trick of the season and freshman midfielder Mila Bustos recorded the first multi-goal match of her collegiate career to lead the Lady Panthers (6-4-1, 3-1 SWAC to the victory.
 
Already hampered by a small roster size, injury-plagued Alcorn State played only nine players for the entirety of Sunday's contest. The Lady Braves fell to 0-8, and 0-4 record in conference play.
 
Bustos also claimed the first match-winning goal of her career Sunday when her shot from 12 yards out beat Alcorn State goalkeeper Tristan Smith barely six minutes after the opening whistle. Fellow freshman Courtney Aleman gave Bustos the assist, the first of four assists Aleman would hand out Sunday.
 
Seven minutes later, senior defender Breanna Powell gave the Lady Panthers a solid 2-0 lead when she forced a turnover at midfield and dribbled some 40 yards before firing home a shot from 11 yards out.
 
Cooper scored the first of her three goals in the 19th minute when her shot from the right wing bounced off the left goal post and in. Barely a minute and half later, freshman Shelby Johnson scored her first career goal to stretch PVAMU's lead to 4-0. Bustos capped the first half scoring with her second goal in the 38th minute.
 
The two-player advantage meant the Lady Panthers were in control of the ball for most of the match; the home side outshot Alcorn State 37-5, and held a 19-3 advantage in shots on goal.
 
Two of Alcorn State's three shots on goal were off free kicks, and the Lady Braves didn't have a scoring chance until after the half-hour. By then, the Lady Panthers had already built a 4-0 lead and substituted starting goalkeeper Dominique Dillon for Clarissa Ledesma, who made two saves Sunday.
 
By playing the most minutes and making the most saves, Ledesma, a sophomore, ended the match with her first collegiate victory. Thalia Limon also saw time in goal for the Lady Panthers, playing 20 minutes in her first PVAMU appearance.
 
The second half featured more of the same from the Lady Panthers, who matched their first-half total with five goals. Cooper completed her hat trick with two goals in the first eight minutes after the restart, while Arianna Rountree, Santa Clarisa Maldonado, and Reshana Watson also scored after halftime.
 
The Lady Panthers concluded a seven-match homestand with Sunday's win. Their final home match will be Oct. 30, when Prairie View A&M hosts Texas Southern.
 
Prairie View A&M returns to action next Sunday when the Lady Panthers head to Washington, D.C., to face defending SWAC champion Howard. Match time is scheduled for 1 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time.
 
TWEET of the MATCH:

First match-winning goal (5') and first multi-goal match for @milabustos13! pic.twitter.com/cu3tPtr8v5

— PVAMU Panthers (@PVAMUPanthers) October 4, 2015

 
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