The UNA Lions soccer team topped the UAH Chargers 2-0 Sunday with both goals being scored within 20 seconds of each other in the second half of a local rivalry.

Senior forward Chloe Roberts  found the net in the 78th minute with one of her eight shots of the day.  The UAH goalkeeper had been coming up with one big save after another before Roberts was able to sneak one in at the near post.

Twenty seconds after the restart, midfielder Chloe Richards took the ball down the left side past a couple of UAH defenders before finishing with a goal. The Lions dominated possession and peppered the UAH goalkeeper all day before the score.

“I would have been disappointed leaving today with a draw,” said Head Coach Graham Winkworth. “With our players, I knew we had a goal out there.”

The win at UAH came on the heels of a 4-1 win at Union University Thursday in which Roberts scored her second hat trick of the season.

In Sunday’s game, the two goals came five minutes after a barrage of scoring attempts were denied by UAH goalkeeper Iris Gunnarsdottir as well as the post. Up until that point, it seemed as though all of the Lions’ hard work would only result in a draw.

“We always feel like we’ll be able to get a goal out there,” Roberts said. “We never panic, we just keep working.”

Richards said a halftime tactical change may have allowed her to finally find the net.

“At halftime we went from a 4-3-3 formation to a 4-4-2 so that we could put Jen (Osmond) up with Chloe (Roberts) to occupy more of their defenders,” Richards said. “That allowed us to have more space on the wings.”

Winkworth said the tactical change helped Roberts to escape the two – sometimes three – defenders that were marking her.

“In the second half we put Jennifer (Osmond) up with Chloe (Roberts) to put more pressure on their back line and allow Chloe (Roberts) to have more space,” Winkworth said.

Freshman goalkeeper Schyler Arnold got the clean sheet for the Lions. Arnold, along with the defense, calmly handled the few threats they faced all day.  

Freshman midfielder, Antonia Rigby, saw a lot of playing time in the center as senior Nikki Brown suffered a leg injury in the first half, remaining on the sideline for the second half.

This weekend Lions host Gulf South Conference teams West Alabama, Sept. 14 at 7 p.m., and West Florida, Sept. 16 at 2 p.m.