The UNA Lions hope to improve from last Sunday’s loss to Valdosta State on the road against rival West Alabama at 7 p.m.

The Lions (10-3, 3-1) rallied in the second half behind Chloe Roberts’ three-goal half to defeat West Georgia 4-1 and were prime to stay undefeated after last Sunday’s game against Valdosta State, but a goal in the 79th minute gave the Lions their first loss in Gulf South Conference play.

“It hurts, but we are not devastated,” UNA coach Graham Winkworth said. “We created a lot more chances than Valdosta State but credit Valdosta State for playing good defense. I’m proud of the way we played; it was just a lucky break, and that’s the kind of things that happen in soccer.”

UNA was down one goal in the West Georgia game last Friday late in the second half. The Lions were able to score four goals in nine minutes to seal the deal for the Lions.

Roberts continues to improve on her school record, pushing it to 71 career goals, and Nikki Brown also increased her career record for assists to 42 for the Lions.

“We really struggled in the first half of the West Georgia game, and we talked about things at half time,” Winkworth said. “We made a couple of adjustments to be more aggressive, and we really fought hard in the second half.”

UNA was held scoreless for the first time all year and fell behind Valdosta State and West Florida in the GSC standings. It makes the game against West Alabama that much more important as the end of the season nears closer.

West Alabama (6-6,1-2) is under the first year of the program and coached by a former UNA assistant Graeme Orr. West Alabama averages 1.58 goals per game, led by Nicki Gears with seven goals on the season and Natalie Perry with four goals.

UNA’s offense could come up big in the game, as West Alabama gives up two goals per game.

“I have no question in my mind that the girls are going to be able to bounce back,” Winkworth said. “Most of all, we have winners on our team and are very capable of getting back on track.

“West Alabama could be very dangerous for us, given the fact that they will know what we are doing, and they have two really good forwards. It should be a very interesting battle for us.”

UNA currently ranked second in the GSC Standings, hopes to rebound this Monday at 7 p.m. and stay on track in the standings with only three conference games left until the GSC tournament.